2 Mar 2019 - Three Rivers Petroglyphs and McGinns PistachioLand

2 Mar 2019
Temps are mild but the winds here are nuts-o!  On the east side of the Organ Mountains they are expecting high winds all day, but 30-40 mph gusts this evening.  The winds followed us today as we headed back east on Highway 70.  We were routed into the Border Patrol Checkpoint.  They have a whole array of cameras and sensors checking us out as we approached the inspection point. 

The Border Patrol agent was very nice, asked us a couple questions and sent us on our way.  We continued east on highway 70 and then north on highway 54 to the Three Rivers Petroglyph site.

Petroglyphs are rock artwork created by 'pecking' through the dark petina surface on the volcanic rocks with stone tools to create designs. The lighter color stone shows through with some amazing artwork. The petroglyphs at Three Rivers dates back to 900-1400 AD and were created by the Jornada Mogollon people. This site contains over 21,000 petroglyphs "including masks, sunbursts, wildlife, handprints, and geometric designs".  The nice part of this site is the petroglyphs are easy to access and are within a 0.5 mile trail.

We made our way to the visitor center and met a couple from Wisconsin at the desk.  She was the park ranger and he was taking care of the entrance fee and helping us with maps.  I presented my National Park Pass and the entrance fee was waived.  We forgot our trekking poles in the RV but they had some nice walking sticks for us to use.

We entered the trail head and made our way up the trail to the first petroglyphs.  From there, we were literally tripping over them.  

The park ranger told us to use our imagination as to what the artwork symbolized.  Some appears to be animals, possibly fish, deer or turtles.  The further up the trail we climbed, the better view of the white sands we had.  The wind was creating havoc there.  We could see the sand dust clouds obscuring view of the mountains in the background.

We continued up the trail and discovered more and more petroglyphs.  What were they doing when they created these?  What is the significance of them?  

We reached the top of the loop and then headed back down the other side.  We could have gone further, but with Doreen's recent back surgery and the back issues I've had recently, neither of us thought it prudent to push our luck.  

In the distance were some interesting and scenic rock formations. 

Snow on the mountains behind

We captured a few more pictures before exiting the trail loop.

Dry river bed

 As we departed the park, we passed the old Three River's School, dated 1904.  It looks as if it has been preserved very well, and may even still be in use.

We continued our drive south to Alamogordo and the winds and dust storms on the white sands continued to be very visible in the distance. 

Our next stop was the McGinn PistachioLand Tree Land and Store.  They also have a winery there. 

World's largest pistachio!

We went inside and did a wine tasting while waiting for the next tour. 

Doreen selected one of their wines and we got a couple bottles to go.  While we waited for the tour to start, we walked around the store and discovered their pistachio bar.  You can sample all of the flavors of pistachio nuts and they have some pecans as well as various flavors of pistachio brittle too!

The pistachio bar with cups for your samples.

Bags of the various flavors available for purchase.

Soon we headed out on the tour with our tour guide James.   We had a family from the Phillipines on our tour bus also.

 PistachioLand encompasses a 111 acre farm with over 12,300 pistachio trees and 7600 grape vines.  They produce approximately 7000 gallons of wine each year.  This amount would have been tripled, but in February 2011 they lost 85% of their vines with temp's at -15 degrees F.   James took us around the vineyard and the pistachio grove.  He explained what is involved ion growing both, and there is obviously a lot to it.  Most of the pistachios in the United States are grown in New Mexico, Arizona and California.  Most of the world's pistachios are grown in the Middle East.

Vineyards

Pistachio groves

The larger of the trees, pictured here,  is the male and it does not produce nuts, it produces pollen to fertilize the female trees.  

The male trees produce pollen pods the size of pine cones.  The female trees do not flower, so bees do not pollinate the trees.  Wind carries the pollen to the female trees that have a sticky bud on them.  The nuts produced ripen in July and each nut consists of a hull, a shell, and nutmeat.  Pistachio trees require one gallon of water per day to thrive.  At the end of the growing season, the water supply is increased, the nuts swell and they crack! 

After the tour, we headed back into the store and sampled a pistachio cookie and some pistachio ice cream.  Both were delicious!

As we drove back to the RV Park, the wind continued to stir up the white sand.  We decided to postpone our visit to the White Sand National Monument until tomorrow.

Back at the RV Park, Doreen got us all caught up on laundry and we 'battened down the hatches' for the relentless winds that continue as I write this 10:49 pm.