View towards Santa Fe of one of the many clusters of petroglyphs at this site.
Cieneguilla is close to the Santa Fe Airport, attendants at the airport gave me the best directions.
Each time I've used Google maps it has taken me about a mile south of the pull off Parking Area which is behind a fence. Trust the force and recognize where you are when you arrive there.
View from up above at the rock line cliff.
BIRDS
First image I saw once up at the top was this water bird.
There are more Bird images at this site than you'd expect to see, it is probably the richest 'bird sanctuary' in the southwest.
Bring binoculars with you to bird watch the real deal as they flick and fly around you into the scrub trees
Love Birds
Birds raiding the corn or seed stalks and birds down below waiting for seeds to drop.
Double Phoenix Rising the unofficial logo of D.H. Lawrence.
Parrot stylized Bird
Birds and worms(?), the early bird catches the worm
Bird in the maze
Animals, Birds & Thunderbird
Maze tail animal and Bird with a view
Bird in flight over water source
Multi figures with Thunderbird
I see 5 birds, how many do you see?
Abstract Fish with bird
Love Birds
Roadrunner
Love Birds
2 Birds
Thunderbird or Bat?
Dragonflies. When the Spanish first came into the region the Natives believed that they were carrying the symbol of the Dragonfly, which was actually the Cross.
A rare Fish Petroglyph
Spring and Hand (clan sign)
VIEWS of MULTIPLES Panels
View
View
Multi Panel
Dragonflies with multiple glyphs
View
Multiples
View
Multiples
Multiples, notice the long necked figure at bottom center
Multiples
View
HUMAN FIGURES
Figure with staffs
Two Figures, (pregnant woman?)
Water Bird with hunting figure. I wouldn't be surprised if this site is rich with 'bird point' arrowheads.
Long figure with Frog(?)
Peeping figure with antenna
Waving Figure, friend gesture
Multiple figures
Figure with Love Birds
Waving Figure, friendly gesture
Faces
Figure on multi panel
Outstretched Figure
Falling man
Face peering out of corner of rock to create a Three Dimensional effect
Multi Panel
Horned Mask
Figural Group
Horned Mask
MORE VIEWS of MULTIPLES
View
View
Multi panel
Multi Panel
View
Large Multi Panel
Star people (Clan Sign?) Shooting Star
Multi panel
Multi panel
View
FOUR LEGGED ANIMALS
Animal with Hand (Clan Sign)
Animals/Birds perhaps Quail with 'Fabric' pattern
Four Legged Figure
Falling Duck, Four Legged Animal Figure and small Bird
Bird with Four Legged Animal Figure
Four Legged Animal Figure
Multiple Four Legged Animal Figures
Rabbit with abstract and Spring
Lizard
ABSTRACTS & SPRINGS
Walking rain over Spring
Zig Zag Journey
Possibly Hispanic Shepard glyph of Morada(?)
Headdress Crown
Mask
Bear paw Clan Sign with Human Figure
Corn Stalk
Variation of Corn Stalk with Figures
Abstract
Abstract Humanoid Fish
Snakes
KOKOPELLI aka HUMP BACKED FLUTE PLAYERS
The Kokopelli figures are considered bringers of Fertility, Rain and Seeds. By playing the flute as they approached a village they sent out the message of friendship and of their arrival.
This particular site has some of the best Kokopellis in the Southwest. It is rich with them, surprisingly Santa Fe never took them up as a symbol for the city.
View with Kokopelli
Kokopelli with Key Design
Figure with Kokopelli
Figure with Kokopelli
At Bottom Kokopelli on Back with striped human figure (Koshare) hovering above
Kokopelli
Thunderbird with Kokopelli
Five Kokopelli all in a row
More MULTIPLE PANELS
Multi Panel
Multi panel
View
Multi panel
Multi panel
Multi panel
Three Mountain Lions
View
Multiples
Multiples
View
Rock Squirrel skull found along the trail sitting on the top of the nest of a Packrat.
View from below, this boulder which may have fallen from the rock cliff above has Petroglyphs and Hispanic Shepard marks on it along with contemporary graffiti.
If you would like a true explanatory tour of a petroglyph site, please get in touch. My rates are quite reasonable, I've been told they are too inexpensive. I can take you to 3 or 4 sites in Taos and the area if you would like. You will be in wonderful places and see incredible imagery.
Petroglyphs in the Southwest can be as old as 400AD and as new as 1700/1800.
Much like Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Sanskrit, Hobo Signs or even cursive handwriting they tell a story and leave behind documentation that a group of people lived at this place depicting what they did, what they saw and where they saw it.
Each site should be considered National Treasures and be protected. In my opinion the best way to keep the sites protected is by you the visitor. Closed to the public and secretive sites are magnets for mischief due to them being places where vandalism will not be noticed by other visitors. Report anyone damaging a site, document this type of behavior with photographs and make a report to the state.
If you feel it is safe to do so, ask a vandal to stop.
If you've enjoyed the photo essay posted here please consider the purchase of a Gift Certificate from our shop in the Taos Historic District Two Graces.
With the pandemic at hand and forced closures,
our business is at a standstill leaving us without an income.
We have maintained this blog without monetizing it in order to keep it from being distracting to our readers.
We strive to write useful information and promote others on a regular basis.
Thank you.
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or a check in any amount to
Two Graces
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Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557
