Billings Gap Rim Trail Hike and Petroglyphs.

We started today with the plan to take another "Off the beaten path" hike and then to see the Petroglyphs and ruins in the park.

The hike is called the Billings Gap overlook trail and is 2.3 miles along the mesa rim.

The views along the hike were spectacular.

Next, we hiked the Blue Mesa Trail a 1 mile loop down into the canyon and back to the top.

The next stop was Rio Puerco a Pueblo indian settlement dated to around 1250 to 1380  AD.  About 200 people lived in the settlement.  Most of the ruins are buried but there are some walls that can be seen.  Also they left a lot of Petroglyphs on rocks in the area.

Last stop was Newspaper rock.  No kidding, this was a place that a lot messages were passed by making Petroglyphs that other travelers could "read".