“Moon Rise over Alamosa Point” Photo by Caitlin Holmes Ward
Alamosa Point
By Steve T. Trigg
Alamosa Point is a 700 foot mesa at the mouth of Dog Canyon. Steve L. Trigg, the first, selected Dog Canyon, where it just opens up to the bottom lands, as the site for his headquarters in 1918. There is a natural spring there that had a single room rock building from one of the original line camps along the Pablo Montoya Grant line, the Bell Ranch as it is still known today. By 1924, Steve had expanded the house to five bedrooms, making it large and comfortable enough to accommodate his family’s move from Amarillo.
Alamosa point affords a grand panoramic vista of the horizon in all directions. It has been a special and spiritual place throughout all its human presence as evidenced by a prolific abundance of petroglyphs on “Indian Rock” at its foot, dated to ten thousand years. Recently, several of Eric’s ranch work week crew; Colton, Ryan, Jacob, and Coby while rock climbing, found more petroglyphs at the summit which we had previously been unaware.
Alamosa point has always commanded a special presence and has made its impact on all of us. Perhaps it was too during my grandfather’s era, as there has always been a rickety cross at the summit made of cedar limbs, erected likely by ranch cowboys, I have never known. It has been there for all my time and repaired by one of us now and then. But it was John and Linda Decker who instinctively knew its spirituality when they spread the ashes of their son, Trigg there. Since that time, most of the clan has come to rest there.
I remember the best sailplane ride I gave off the creek strip just a mile south, pulled off by a car tow. It was with Trigg in the front seat and we soared to fourteen thousand feet for nearly two hours, making a circle almost to Tucumcari to the south and around to the north along the north end of the ranch. Arriving back at the strip I did a high speed, “red line”, low pass at twenty feet, something I had seen at the World Soaring Championships in Marfa, Texas. It is so cool.
It has just now occurred to me that Alamosa Point was the exact center of that circle. Since that time, the ashes of all the Trigg clan and a few close friends have come to rest. Its summit is the primary climbing site of all the clan when they visit the ranch. My son, Whittle Talbot has taken all his friends there and I plan to go only one last time … in a coffee can.
Whittle gazing south along the creek pasture and the old landing strip and hangar. Photo by Eric Trigg