HItch 13

As you are aware by now, this is the first time New Mexico's BLM has collaborated with the SCA's
DRC thanks to the big man, James Sipple. So, the DRC's newest crew is back for another round of
New Mexico experimentation, but this time, working with the Socorro field office in the Eagle Peak
and Mesita Blanca WSAs near the little town of Quemado. We got a taste of what it would be like to
be a monitoring crew since we spent a good chunk of our days driving around looking for the assigned
roads. We restored any job sites found, but lucky for us, Father Time went right ahead and took care
of the other half of the old roads we were supposed to work on. Since he so nicely truncated our work
time, that left us with more flexibility to explore the area. We were able to check out Zuni Salt Lake,
make acquaintances with a big rancher, Bobby McKinley, and appreciate cryptic dinosaurs remains.
Zuni Salt Lake is a rare, high desert lake that is very sacred for religious ceremonies. It is considered
neutral and scared ground amongst local pueblos, historically and currently. Unfortunately, I didn't get
to take any personal pictures because getting close enough would require crossing into Reservation
land. Bobby McKinley is one of the nicest ranchers I have ever met. He seemed straight out of the
movies: booming voice with a southwestern accent, toothy smile, free ranging cattle, rodeo trophies
decorating the house, and a big family of sons and daughters who have also gone into the ranching
business. Bobby and his wife very kindly welcomed us into their home if we ever needed a phone or
information about the lands. He was such a willing and helpful resource in pointing us in the right
direction to these evasive roads. Alas...if only all BLM land users were this amicable and open to the
work we do. As for paleontological studies in the area, Eagle Peak and Mesita Blanca WSAs have
had a few of their own small discoveries. Kevin Carson, our Socorro BLM contact, took us to a huge
slab of sandstone rock and ask us if we could “see” anything reminiscent of a dinosaur being there.
We looked for a good few minutes and couldn't really spot anything, to which he then pointed out 3-
pronged fossilized footprints, 4 or 5 of them. How exciting! I really appreciated him showing us that
and telling us about some of the past research conducted in these areas by New Mexico and Arizona
students; I felt more connected to our work place and more “in the know”. Despite a slightly irregularly
scheduled hitch and plenty of gusty weathered days, the NM crew still worked diligently and connected
to the land as much as they could during their time there.

-Samantha