Petroglyphs

Hello Dear Readers,

So, becoming known in town for an interested in the strange and unusual has continued to be a mixed blessing.  On one hand, people are far more willing to talk to me about things now, on the other hand, people know who I am and want to talk to me all the time.  Recently I was contacted by way of email. It was Tim, the teenager from Historical Society. Fortunately, he and his friends have not yet tried to play the elevator game.  They invited me to a secret place somewhere in woods outside of town to show me something he thinks I will find interesting. (Susan, remember when we were kids and we used to go into the woods and eat mushrooms, until the incident with Henry Burrows?  May he live forever in the sun.) Apparently, they have rocks they think I should see. Well, rock does beat scissors. Again I fear being taken out into the middle of nowhere and hunted for sport. But if that is the price that I must pay for mystery, then so be it!

So Tim picked me up in his mom’s minivan and drove us into the woods.  The road continued to get narrower and narrower until it was no long paved, just dirt.  At one point we drove past a rusted chain with a ‘Do Not Enter’ sign lying next to the road.  Also in the van were his friends Alice, Tom, and Mike. They were all telling me how much they love the blog.  I will admit to you dear reader that I was uncomfortable to find myself sitting alone in a van with a group of teenagers praising me.

After we drove long enough that I had no idea where we were other than ‘into the woods’ we came to clearing in the trees.  There were several other cars haphazardly parked at the edge of the clearing. It was exactly what you’d expect from a bunch of teenagers hanging out a secret get together in the woods.  The area was strewn was trash and cigarette butts. Trees with initials and obscenities carved into them. The smell of illicit substance permeated the air. Ah, to be young and under the influence of hallucinogens.

What was unexpected was lay at the center of the clear.  There was a pile of boulders, the tallest one being several times the height of the others.  I looked around the forest and saw no other rocks anywhere in the forest. Gemma had been right.  It looked as though they had been dropped there by some absent-minded giant. Which was actually possible in Kevin’s Crossing.

The handful of teenagers that were already there were hanging out the boulders.  There was a large amount of graffiti anywhere that could be reached. Which left the highest areas of the stones untouched.  More graffiti! My hosts seemed somewhat confused by excitement. Apparently, they have not been reading this blog as thoroughly as they claim!  Shame on them! Unfortunately, there was nothing of interest. I guess the Vandal, may he live forever in the sun, never made it this far outside of town.  After realizing this was not what I was brought out to see, my hosts lead me to the far side of the rock pile.

Several questionably groomed teens eyed me as we walked past.  We came to a boulder that was sheltered a rocky outcropping. This area was completely free of graffiti or trash as if we're a place of reverence.  Tim turned his cellphone for light and held it up to the rock face. I leaned forward and could see carving. They were old and difficult to see. If it weren’t for the outcropping protecting it from the weather it probably would have disappeared long ago.  Tim explained that they were supposedly carved by the natives that lived in this area hundreds of years ago.

I had him tilt his phone so that I could get a better idea of what the carving was depicting.  At first, all I could make was an oval with several lines coming off the bottom and forming a tangle.  Then I realized the oval has two dots on it. Eyes! The oval with lines at the bottom was an octopus with eyes and tentacles!  Which is curious because Kevin’s Crossing is nowhere near the ocean. Arboreal octopus perhaps? But the more I looked the less likely this seemed.  There was a straight line over the top of it, lines representing water we're usually wavy. Below it was a chevron that pointed down. It seemed to Sunday that octopus creature was below something.  I want below the water, was it below the land? Below ground?

As I looked at the tangle of tentacles I got that feeling of looking at something familiar again.  I realized the tangle of tentacles was a knot! I suddenly got that feeling you get when you stand up to fast and your blood pressure drops.

I ran my fingers over the grooves etched into the stone.  My fingers went numb and I could taste wet stone in the back of my mouth.

Threads from stories and encounters began to weave themselves together in my mind.  If the natives talked about the tribes below and created this carving of an underground octopus with knows tentacles, then they would have told Enoch Newton about them.  He became obsessed with the tribes below and made designed the family crest. I've heard both, that there are tunnels under the town and that town had a high water table.  So maybe there are times filled with water under the town. I had envisioned the tribes below as some kind of mole people, but now I'm starting to think they may be something very different.

All of this hits me like a sledgehammer made of Pop Rocks.  I stumbled back away from the rock, nearly tripping on some roots. Tim was alarmed by the reaction but I assured him everything was fine.  I thanked Tim for showing me the carvings but him that I couldn’t talk about an ongoing investigation. I told him that I needed to get back to my apartment to further contemplate what he’d shown me.  He seemed sad that I wanted to go already, but I was hesitant to involve a minor without parental consent in my adventures

On the way back into town, riding in his mom’s minivan Tim asked me if I had heard about the lost road of Teackle St.  I had only heard of it mentioned in passing an expression. I never realized that it was a real street. How exciting! His mood seemed to improve when we had something new to share with me.  But that will have to wait till next time. Cliffhanger!

I’ll keep you updated.