« February 2011 | Main | April 2011 »
Re-discovery of long forgotten petroglyphs along the Reef Bay Trail has given rise to speculation the island was inhabited as far back as 1 AD.
The 'new' old rock carvings were found by volunteers on a Friends of the Park trek with Ken Wild, the Park's archeologist. He distributed copies of photographs taken years ago, and told them that if the Taino carvings were found, their style would suggest Native Americans were on the island as much as 500 years earlier than had been assumed.
Sue Borger, one of the volunteers, spotted was looking for the rocks she saw in the photograph. "I could hardly believe it, but those rocks were right in front of me," she later wrote. Her husband, Darrell, pulled away plant growth on the rocks and shouted, "Here it is. We've got it."
In an e-mail to the National Parks Traveler, Wild said, 'Evidence that the petroglyphs were carved by the Taino Indians has been strongly supported through the designs found on pottery at the Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay archaeology excavation along with correlating radiocarbon dates. It also has significant implications regarding Reef Bay and the history of St. John."
No fewer than five new eateries have opened their doors on the island in the past four weeks.
Now, that's a lot of new businesses developing, reason enough for the St. John Sun Times to bend its rules on reviews.
No time to give the place time to find their groove while the ST's foodies sample the fruits of three visits. So, the Sun Times broke its rules to 'serve' is readers.
Here are a few notes from the article.
One thing different about this year's 8 Tuff Miles was the road surface. There were lines down the center, just like real roads on the mainland.
Public Works Department people added them during December and January. The yellow double runs from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay.
Locals as well as tourists will appreciate the line, of course, because it gives some sense of place as they negotiate sharp turns on Centerline, of course wanting to avoid the oncoming gravel truck, cement mixer, taxicab, or VITRAN bus.
Meanwhile, the highway project along the South Shore Road is just about wrapped up. If memory serves, there are even painted lines along the edges in some place, another terrific safety step.
The newly rebuilt nine miles of roads on the North Shore have brought a not unexpected problem - higher speeds. So, Park Supt. Mark Hardgrove said speed bumps have been installed.
He told the Virgin Islands Daily News, half a dozen additional bumps will also be put in place at spots where people cross the road.