This area was part of the Pinon Canyon military reservation until the early '90's. It was turned over to the Forest Service, and by the time I was there (Fall '93), it had become a part of Comanche National Grassland. It's a relatively wide canyon, formed by the Purgatoire River. I guess locals couldn't pronounce the French, so that's how it came to be called "Picketwire".
There's quite a bit of petroglyphs along the canyon rims - and on the pieces of the rimrock that have broken off and fallen down to the canyon floor.
The area is also known to prehistory enthusiasts, who make a five-mile hike to see some dinosaur footprints etched in the petrified mud along the riverbank.
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