Waco Mammoth National Monument

Visited: April 2024

Nearby city: Waco, TX

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, Columbian mammoths roamed the hills and plains of North America as far south as present-day Nicaragua. These extinct beasts, cousins of the wooly mammoths that lived farther north, could reach heights of 13-ft at the shoulder and weighed over 10 tons. They had large tusks, and their diet consisted of varied plant life ranging from grasses to conifers. 

Just outside the city of Waco, Texas, this NPS site contains the only known remains of a herd of Columbian mammoths. Twenty-four mammoths are fossilized here, including juveniles. Scientists are not 100% sure what catastrophic event caused the deaths of the mammoths buried here, but it was likely a flash flood. The mammoths here died approximately 67,000 years ago. At that time, what is now central Texas was a landscape of temperate grasslands and savannahs surrounded by river floodplains. 

We visited the site on our trip to see the April 2024 solar eclipse in Texas. We went the day before the eclipse...the place was packed! There were SO many people. It was kind of like Disneyland. We waited in line for about an hour to visit the site. 😛 It was kind of crazy, but we were all excited to see the eclipse, and we had nothing else scheduled to do that day, so it was also kind of fun. But I don't think the staff were prepared for the number of visitors that day. 😂 

the line to purchase tickets for the dig site went around the block...

lots of mammoth-themed merchandise at the visitor center

The fossils were discovered by two teenagers in 1978. They were looking for arrowheads on a farm along the Bosque River when they spotted what they thought was the bone of a cow. Once they pulled the bone from the ground, they discovered it was over 3-ft long...much too big to belong to a cow. They took the bones to nearby Baylor University, where it was identified as the remains of a columbian mammoth. The university began to excavate the site and found the remains of more mammoths, camels, tortoises, and other species. The dig site opened to the public in 2009 and it became a part of the NPS in 2015.

The excavation is still ongoing, and many of the mammoth fossils are "in situ" - meaning they are preserved in their original place and in the context in which they were found.

overlooking the dig site

Tara standing next to a mammoth bone

tools used by paleontologists

After listening to the ranger presentation and seeing the dig site, we took a short nature walk. 

Even though it was a bit of a zoo on the day we visited, we had a pleasant time. Very cool to see these fossils. If in the Waco area, it's worth a quick stop for an hour or two. 

Then we pigged out on mammoth-sized helpings of Mexican food.

Everything's bigger in Texas...even the waffles. 😀

For more info on Waco Mammoth National Monument: https://www.nps.gov/waco/index.htm

Petroglyph National Monument

Visited: April 2024

Nearby city: Albuquerque, NM

Just a few miles away from downtown Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, is a volcanic escarpment. Among these boulders and cliff walls, you can see over 24,000 petroglyphs etched by the Ancestral Pueblans and also early Spanish settlers.

This national monument, established in 1990, protects over 7,000 acres and is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque. The monument has four separate and distinct units: 1) Piedras Marcadas Canyon; 2) Boca Negra Canyon; 3) Rinconada Canyon; and 4) Volcanoes. 

We only had time to visit one unit and make a quick stop at the visitor's center. If you only have time to visit one unit, I would recommend going to the Boca Negra Canyon. It has the shortest hike and contains the most petroglyphs. There are petroglyphs in the canyon that are nearly 3,000 years old. 

Petroglyphs are rock carvings (as opposed to rock paintings which are called pictographs) 

Petroglyphs are made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammerstone. As the surface is chipped, the lighter rock underneath is exposed, creating the petroglyphs. The petroglyphs held cultural and spiritual significance to the Ancestral Pueblans.

there are petroglyphs all over the boulders along the trail in the Boca Negra area. 

the butte in Boca Negra overlooks a residential neighborhood in Albuquerque

This petroglyph depicts Kokopelli, a fertility deity. Kokopelli was also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.

 Petroglyph National Monument is worth a visit if in the Albuquerque area. 

More info: https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm