Wandering into Sonora, Mexico - at Rancho Puerto Blanco in Caborca. Rick Colman and Don Liponi - SDRAA members - Rock Art San Diego to Mexican Rock Art

A few weeks ago just as the weather was warming up in Southern California, Rick Colman and I headed south through Lukesville, Arizona into the Sonora region of Mexico.  Just the two of us into an area that is classified as a world class Petroglyph site.  On the Rancho Puerto Blanco about 10 km west of the city of Caborca, we were gratefully established in the ranch house with a bed, bathroom and full kitchen.  The owner,  José Méndez Reyna, and his son, Jose Jr. were both very helpful and bilingual.   We were the only two visitors there at 25$ per night each and it was well worth it.  The whole time we were there, we saw only one other group of photographers. The rancho is great photographic experience where you have all the time in the world to set up your shots and appreciate the rock art. We came prepared with a map that showed the main rock art areas of which there are about six.  If you have a GPS of these six sites, it is really all you need.  You can get by without GPS, but it may take you a while to figure out where the main concentrations of petroglyphs are.  The owner, Jose, can help you, but it is better if he shows you.  There is at least one area that is on a neighboring ranch that is well worth seeing for a 15$ charge.  It is possible to get groceries in town and other supplies as well, but you will have more time to search if you come prepared.  Camera wise - a wide angle lens is essential, although bring something longer, say up to 200 mm for those rare shots.  Mostly, I used a 10-24 mm Nikon with a polarizing filter.  Flash will help although a gold light disc is even better.  There is endless climbing of rocky terrain so try not to get too overloaded.  Each site can take 3-4 hours to see fully or mostly fully so you can stash drinks and food in the car.  All the sites are drive up to the site and then start climbing and scrambling, boulder by boulder, petro by petro. 

The one English citation that I could locate is the following and highly recommended reading before going and while you are there:

Dominique Ballereau.  A Complete Survey of Petroglyphs from Cerros La Proveedora and Calera, Sonora.  Rock Art Papers [5]: 95-112, Hedges, Ken, ed.  San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, CA.

This journal is available at the Central San Diego Public Library in hardcopy, although copies may be available online or through World Cat at your own library.

While this article does not point out enough location information to be useful in that regard, it does help the reader understand the context of the Caborcan rock art and some distinguishing characteristics.  Ballereau and her associates spent about 30 days in the field to complete the survey at the two main Carborcan sites and estimated that there were approximately 5000 petroglyphs.

In the slide show that follows you can get an idea of the type of petroglyphs that are commonly found at the two main areas, Cerro La Proveedora and Cerro Calera.

If you plan a visit, here is the ranch link, and Bruce usually handles it for Jose.  They are both very helpful and we felt perfectly safe.  We exited at Nogales to the east and it was smooth all the way.  Each route was about 2 hours.

http://ranchopuertoblanco.com/

Hasta la Vista,
Don Liponi

As promised - here is the slide show - [Part 1] from Rancho Puerto Blanco. Click on photo image to enlarge or slow down slideshow: