Twelve miles north of a sleepy Northeastern New Mexican town, the invisible ghosts of majestic beasts roam the outskirts of a manmade lake. 100 million years ago, claw-toed and sloe-eye monsters jockeyed for position here, fought for tender greens, for succulent flesh. The guttural cry of flying reptiles - wingspans as large as 40 feet across - echoed against an ancient seabed.Driving through the burg of Clayton, you may think you travel through an area worn and heavy, an area still smarting from the ravages of the dust bowl, from the decades later when newly-paved Interstates stole drivers, asked them to forget the quirk and charm of small-town America. But the land holds deep secrets, holds the memory of lush tropics where dinosaurs once lived, and at Clayton Lake State Park, holds over 500 viewable Early Cretaceous footprints.
"I lived here my whole life and never did go see them tracks," muttered Clayton resident Joseph Warner. He stood with his back to Shrine of the Testaments, an art gallery featuring biblical history, primarily the oil paintings of the late Jan Maters, a Dutch-born, classically-trained artist. "I do believe humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time five thousand years ago. I believe in the bible."
Most scientists tell another story, however, one of a shallow oceanic strait that connected the Gulf of Mexico with the Arctic Ocean. Called the Dakota Group, the rocks formed along the Western shore of this seaway are rich in the most ghostly remnants of the dinosaurs - their tracks. These footsteps are made even more eerie by the fact that no dinosaur bones have been found in this part of the Dakota Group. The shallow imprints carry the only evidence that dinosaurs lived at all in this region.
The most common tracks at Clayton Lake, and indeed throughout the "Dinosaur Freeway", are broad, three-toed tracks. The largest of these tracks is about thirty centimeters in length, from the tip of the middle toe to the rear. Similar tracks have been found in Brazil and in England. The tracks were made by ornithopod dinosaurs, large herbivores. Ornithopod means "bird-feet," and as one stares at their fossilized footprints, one can't help but laugh at the thought of huge thick-skinned beasts running on what might have looked like chicken legs.
In the rolling grasslands of the extreme Northeastern corner of New Mexico, near the carve of wheel rut into hill that marks the Santa Fe Trail, an earthen dam was constructed in the 1950s across Seneca Creek that resulted in the formation of Clayton Lake. The excavation of the spillway, and a flood in 1982 that swept away a thick layer of silt from the spillway, uncovered an unexpected bonanza of dinosaur tracks. Researchers from every corner of the globe raced to the tiny town of Clayton to study the fantastic find.
Today, the tracksite, with over five hundred dinosaur footprints, is one of the world's best-preserved and most extensive. A sheltered gazebo and boardwalk were built along the trackway, with comprehensive information about the kinds of dinosaurs who lived here so long ago. At least eight different varieties of dinosaurs left their marks on this ancient mudflat, evidence any visitor to the State Park can see.
The best time to see the tracks are in the two hours before sunset when the sun casts low shadows against the white-rocked spillway, giving them added dimension and contrast. The park is often silent, empty, its simple wooden boardwalk belying the significance of its famous footprints. As one walks around the tracksite, one sees a cornucopia of definitive tracks, unambiguous monuments of the incredible creatures that once owned the land.
"I can't believe no one is here," mused young mother and Raton resident, Theresa Lovato as her first-grade son ran ahead on the boardwalk, eager to see the dinosaur tracks. "It took us a few hours to get here, but this is worth it. I can't believe no one else is here," she echoed. "This is one of New Mexico's finest gems. I remember seeing the tracks a few years back in High School. We took a fieldtrip out here and our teacher pointed out a place where you could see not only the footprints but a track made by a dinosaur tail."
Lovato's son stopped cold as he spied his first set of prints, a series of five deep three-toed depressions facing the lake. He squatted low to the wood walkway and leaned his buzz-cut head over the tracksite in order to get a better look.
"Look! Look! Dino tracks!" He yelled, but kept his eyes on the rock-hard mud.
Clayton Lake contains examples of parallel trackways, areas where the dinosaurs may have ventured north together. At Mosquero Creek, an arroyo-surrounded site south of Clayton Lake, at least 55 trackways of small ornithopods have been found, all parallel and all trending towards the north. The "Dinosaur Freeway" may have been just that - a migration route spanning north and south over hundreds of miles of forgotten shore. Visitors share in the ancient energy, imagine the ghostly cold-blooded creatures as they let the sun set over the spillway.
"Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs. I don't know what God had in mind when he created those dinosaurs," laughed Joseph Warner. He flicked the ashes from his cigarette into the street. "I think if they were alive today, we'd keep them in a zoo. They wouldn't have their freedom. Maybe it's better they died off a long time ago."
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Comments: 14
Phyllis - you are so right. Can you imagine visiting the T-Rex at your local zoo?!
the research I have done on Judeo-Christian mythology tells me that the old testament was written by an elite class that was smarting from persecution, and the new testament the same, just later on.
wonderful article B.
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I particularly liked your inclusion of Joseph Warner's comments. You were very kind not to ridicule him for his obstinate ignorance. Unfortunately, his views are shared by many people.
Hiya Birdie I have been wanting to sapeak to you, you were one of my first friends at Gather, I remember your presentation of the young artists you gave the go-ahead to paint your garage, I skimmed past this article to write this now I'll read it up and ping you, sure hope you'll look in soon!
Your friend and admirer Glenn.