Anza Borrego Desert State Park :: Forum

In the 1945 July Desert Refuge article written by Marshal South he describes an old Indian rock shelter they discover on one of their many exploration trips out into the desert area. In the Marshal South Book, the oldest son Rider South also recalls his father referring to it as "The Fortress" since it appeared to have many smaller shelters built up all around the main shelter providing what appeared to be a protected fortress.

On a recent hiking/exploration trip out into the open desert over the centuries old sun baked volcanic rocks I stumbled across this very shelter. I was not aware at the time what I had found but later a person with more knowledge about the area and the Marshal South history pointed it out to me. I later went back and read the article by Marshal South published almost 66 years ago and was amazed to see the resemblance of the rock shelter and how a few of the plants sketched by Marshal South were still growing in the same spot I had photographed.

Here is the sketch Marshal South drew in the 1945 article


Here is the photograph I took in July 2011


http://www.sefcik.com/2011/09/house-forgotten-abdsp.html

Daren
edited by dsefcik on 9/28/2011

Wow that is awesome Daren,
You nailed it. Even your camera angle is the same as the angle Marshall South used to paint it.