08 Aug Getting Outdoors and Feeling the Heat

Hey everyone! So these past two weeks have been eventful and exciting (good thing I remember them for the most part). As usual, I’ve been working on my exhibit, but since my time here is coming to a close we have been making more of an effort to go outdoors and see all the historical and archaeological sites in Del Rio. Last Friday one of my coworkers took me to go see the rest of the park. We went to the Pecos River Box Canyon and enjoyed the serenity of the lake and saw sheep and goats on the way, but the most interesting/creepy thing we saw were the skeletons of catfish heads on the top of poles…

I forgot the reason why this is done, but whatever it is, it doesn’t make it any less creepy. I also got to explore the town over the weekend which was pretty cool! I got to try some restaurants, enjoy nature, see some popular places in Del Rio – I was exhausted by the end of the day. Speaking of creepy, I went to the Whitehead Memorial Museum and let me just say that place is scarred in my mind. The museum was more like an outdoors museum with various small buildings representing the history of Del Rio, such as a chapel, a parlor, and a barn. The creepy part though, was that there was a huge mannequin behind almost every door that was meant to give context to the room. I understand the intention, but why does it have to be behind a door? With soft music playing in the background? And with me as the only visitor? The coolest thing that has happened so far though was that I went to go see Panther Cave this past Wednesday!! My supervisor and I went with people from SHUMLA, including 4 of their interns and the one and only Carolyn Boyd (who I feel is an archaeological celebrity of Lower Pecos Rock Art). It was incredible to say the least. To have the opportunity to see phenomenal rock art like this, preserved for thousands of years, is truly a privilege. To hear Boyd talk about it as well is a treat within itself. I wanted to stay there all day, hugging the walls and rocks and rolling around in the dirt – it was an archaeological Disneyland! I’m still starstruck from the trip and in awe of everything I saw. This was certainly a memorable trip and experience I would not have been able to have without this internship.   I hope you all are seeing and experiencing wonderful things like I am! -Loreto