Hueco Tanks State Park and El Paso

We left Katchner Caverns State Park on March 12 and headed to Hueco Tanks State Park northeast of El Paso.  On the way we crossed a very flat continental divide.

Hueco Tanks State Park consists of three unique stone mountains that were sacred to prehistoric and historic native people.  There are numerous sites on the mountains with pictographs painted on the ceilings of caves.  Here is  a picture of our campsite with one of the three stone mountains in the background.

On the first day we hiked up the north mountain to a cave kiva.  There was no trail.  They provided written directions with photos of landmarks.  One landmark was a stone that looked like a giant rubber duck.  Another was a stone that looked like an alligator (see photo later in this post).  When we finally found the cave we had to slither in to get to the place where the pictographs are painted on the ceiling.

Here is a photo of the view looking out of the cave entrance.

And a photo of Donna Sue coming out of the cave.

The alligator.

Day 2 at Hueco Tanks State Park

After visiting Hueco Tanks we spent a day in El Paso.  First stop was the Lhakhang Temple at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The Ysleta Mission

The Socorro Mission

The town of San Elizario

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