Page 103 - Walks In The Black Range, Vol. 4

16. China Draw Contributed by Devon Fletcher
This small rock art site is in Luna County, north of Deming, close to the larger and more well-known sites at Pony Hills and Frying Pan Canyon. The China Draw Site is on a section of state trust land, a stone’s throw away from the Hidden Valley Ranch RV resort, which is at the terminus of well- maintained county road (see left arrow on map below). I am sure it gets visited by lots of people, yet on the day I visited with friends, we were the only folks there, wandering among the sandstone outcrops and boulders, and even climbing on top of a few to see what we could discover. Lower down just up from the bank of the draw is a dark gray rock covered with an assortment of elaborate petroglyphs. Further up the hillside are three orange and tan outcrops that are about 15 feet high. They are surrounded by
numerous grinding mortars and have petroglyphs on every side and on top. Many of the glyphs are similar in style to those found at Pony Hills and Frying Pan, but as always there are few that seem unique to the site. We explored the many outcrops, boulders and few cliffs, but it seemed that most of the art was concentrated in these two spots. I had begun to walk up to the higher cliffs, when I heard "the buzz" and quickly scoped out the thin neck and triangular head of a blacktail rattler in little hollow among the rocks. I turned back, so there could be a few more petroglyphs up high although I doubt it. I have been very close to this site on two different hikes over the years, and I've known of its existence for many years, but for some reason had never took the time to look at it. Given its ease or access, and perhaps even without, it certainly exceeded all of our expectations.
See also: McGee Canyon (right arrow on map below).