It is a long and lonely walk into the wilderness of the Mojave Desert to get to this isolated petroglyph site. Most of the petroglyphs here are of abstract design, but a few are different and quite interesting. One, in particular, appears to be a crying face or mask. You have to look carefully to find it.
The site was called “Freight Wagon” because when it was discovered in the late 1970s, “there was a ‘wagon full’ of artifacts” lying around the site. It was a remarkable and surprising find. Pottery, tools, metates, and points were everywhere, as if people who lived there just got up, walked away, and never returned.
Once the site became known, almost everything was looted. Today, you would be lucky if you found a single piece of pottery left behind. It is a sad reminder of why sites need to be protected. I won’t be providing directions to this site. Please leave only footprints and take only photographs.
