The New Mexico Challenge - Roosevelt County Traditional Cache

Roosevelt County

This cache is part of the New Mexico Challenge. One cache is hidden in each of New Mexico's 33 counties.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it is to find and log all 33 caches with a photo of yourself at the cache site.

Roosevelt County was formed in 1903 and named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. This section of New Mexico was settled initially by cattlemen, followed by merchants that came to serve the ranchers in the area. Portales, the county seat of Roosevelt County, began as a cattle shipping point for the railroad.

However, thousands of years before the ranchers appeared in Roosevelt County - approximately 12,000 years ago, this area was settled and is in fact the oldest known culture in the New World. The Blackwater Draw Archaeological site is world famous and was discovered serendipitously in 1929 by James Ridgeley Whiteman at the ripe "old" age of 14! An avid collector of arrowheads, James was out investigating the area with some of his buddies when he found what appeared to be an arrowhead point protruding from the earth. After carefully removing it, he found another, and another … and another!! He wanted to know how old his discoveries were, so he sent them to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. The rest is history (literally)!! The Smithsonian sent a team of investigators to the site three years later and the area has been actively investigated since that time.

The Blackwater Draw Museum is one of the only museums dedicated to one archeological site. It is open to the public Tuesday thru Saturday, 10-5 and Sunday, 12-5. It is located at 42987 Highway 70 in Portales, (Summer hours include Monday, 10-5). Call 505-562-2202 for more information. The Blackwater Draw Site, located at 508 Highway 467, is also open to the public.

For more information on Blackwater Draw, check out the following web pages:

http://www.enmu.edu/academics/excellence/museums/blackwater-draw/site/index.shtml http://www.enmu.edu/academics/excellence/museums/blackwater-draw/site/hours-fees.shtml

Major economic forces in Roosevelt County are provided by Eastern New Mexico University and Sunland Peanuts - both located in Portales.

Finally, Roosevelt County is known to many geocachers because of the great events hosted by Doug Lynch during the annual Heritage Days. .

Now, about the hide: the cache is located within approximately 50 feet of parking. It is a small cache - with room for small trading items only. Please reattach the cache in its hiding place carefully; There is a pencil and a log.. Remember to take a photo at the site to submit with your log entry. I hope you enjoy your travels thru Roosevelt County and good luck on future discoveries in the New Mexico Challenge!

Placed with permission.

It's always a good day to go geocaching!