3 Days 2 Nights Part 3

 Sunday dawned nice and early and we headed out to the infamous Nine Mile Canyon. Just to get things strait, Nine Mile Canyon is a hell of a lot longer than 9 miles. So this is the first thing that you see as you begin the long journey of NMC. It also gives you advance warning that 99 % of the canyon is private property. As you pass through the canyon you begin to notice that there are a lot of old buildings scattered throughout the canyon. Some are accessible while others are not. 

 The first bit of Native American graffiti begins early in the drive and is properly called First site. It has a few drawings  scattered about a small rock and they are easy to see and find. Like the writings in City of Rocks, these too are showing signs of wear and tear and will someday disappear. 

 C. W. decided way back in 1881 that he too wanted in on the graffiti so he added his name to the art area. I am sure we could find out who he was if we wanted too, but I really don't want to know. Some ass holes from modern times have also added their "artwork'' to some of the sites and that's a big no no. Modern people need to realize that this stuff left by people from the past needs to be left alone. Why it is so hard to understand this baffles me. People are really that stupid.

 This old farming area had a lot of old buildings and machinery lying around. The big main building was across the street and fenced in while the other side was wide open and free to wander through. Farming is still a big thing in the canyon and most of the old time buildings are used for some purpose based on farming. This also explains why 95% of the roads lead to locked gates. 

 I found it interesting that there were 2 of these bull dozers in this one area. They are very old and both have been stripped down to almost nothing. They were made in either Indiana or Ohio and it would have been really neat to see these old bad boys run.

 The next graffiti stop was a ways up the road. It had its own parking lot along with a Bowery and picnic tables. There is a half mile long hike you can take to see all of the writings in this area. They are pretty cool to see and i wonder what they were really saying. 

Further up at almost the end of the road you come to the famous drawings. The most famous one above is known as the Great Hunt. This is regarded as one of the best drawings ever found. I will admit it is very cool, but its a long, hot way to get to it and once you have seen it, it is time to head back down the canyon to civilization. Of course we had to try every dirt road we could find that wasn't gated shut so it was fun. I forgot the map to this area so we blindly followed the GPS and saw some really pretty country. We even began filming the trail up Prickly Pear  canyon and had our Samsung decide it wanted to burn. No, it did try to burn. By the way, if you smell burnt onions when you shouldn't, more than likely it is a Samsung product burning. My final thought on this canyon are mixed. Yes we saw some cool graffiti and some really beautiful canyons but I don't think I'll go back. 
#1- Not a lot of Native drawings. 
#2- A lot of the canyon is gated and you can't follow every road. 
#3- Lack of onsite information. We came across 2 literature boxes and both were empty. Not good when you have forgotten your map
Like I said, beautiful country but the majority of it is behind locked gates and I really don't like that. If you go, plan on 6 hours and bring plenty of water and food. There is no cell service nor electricity in the area so be forewarned of that!  Jeep on my friends!