Echoes of the Southwest

Petroglyphs have been found on rocks and boulders all over the southwest. A petroglyph is an ancient drawing carved by primordial man. They are pictogram and logogram images done by wearing down or chafing impressions in solid rock. Some say they are astronomical markers, maps, or some type of symbolic communication telling stories of life many centuries ago. This ancient rock art is one way to study how the pre-Columbian civilizations may have once lived and where they mysteriously disappeared to. These rock carvings can be found all over Arizona as well as other places.  I have seen some of the writings and pictures and am fascinated by what the symbols possibly mean.  I am sure they tell fascinating stories of how life was like for the ancient Native American people and the unusual things they encountered.  Here are just some of the Arizona sites: Painted Rock Petroglyph Site Painted Rock Petroglyph Site is one of the many sites found in Arizona an...

The etchings found on many boulders throughout the southwest are known as Petroglyphs.  These ancient drawings are carved by primordial man and tell stories of life many centuries ago.  Perhaps the engravings on the rocks are some form of communication or maps for the ancient people to follow.  Studying the symbolic pictures might give us a better understanding of how the pre-Columbian civilizations may have once lived and how they mysteriously disappeared.  I will share some of the photos I took of these etchings. South Mountain Park, AZ The Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, AZ

Petroglyphs can be found all over the southwest with many sites located in Arizona. One of the sites is found 18 miles west by northwest of Gila Bend on the Painted Rock Mountains. The Painted Rock Petroglyph Site has over 800 images which are engraved in basalt boulders. Many of the imprints can be found on the eastern side of the mountain’s rim. Along with the petroglyphs and dotted throughout the landscape are traces of ancient Hohokam ruins. To get to the site from Phoenix, you head west on I-10, and then turn south on Hwy 85 towards Gila Bend. You go beyond the town to I-8 West to the exit for Painted Rock Road which is approximately 14 miles from downtown Gila Bend.

Just south of Phoenix, AZ sits South Mountain.  This park is about 1600 acres and has several different trails where petroglyphs can be found.  These etchings were carved by the ancient Hohokam people who used to live on this land many centuries ago.  The Pima Indians believe that each drawing has some type of mystical importance. Sharon and I took the Holbert Trail which is rougher and more challenging than other trails.  We just can't do anything easy, can we?  It actually wasn't as bad as we thought and was worth the hike.  We saw lots of interesting petroglyphs on the boulders at the top of the mountains.  The scenery was breathtaking and the weather was perfect.  All and all, we had a nice trek on South Mountain.

In northeastern Arizona and in the heart of Navajo and Apache country lies the Petrified Forest National Park.  This over 146 square miles of desert/forest land is partially in the Painted Desert and got its names from the large deposits of petrified wood which covers the area.  In 1906, the site was declared a national monument and in 1962 a national park.  Inside the park you will find over 400 different types of plant life along with 200 various species of birds and other animals.  Half the park is designated wilderness.  The Petrified Forest has many fossils of trees which existed around 225 million years ago.  The colorful sediment from the fossil logs are what give the Painted Desert its name.  the earliest human inhabitants lived in the are over 8,000 years ago.  About 6,000 years later, they were growing corn, building pit houses, and above-ground homes called pueblos.  The climates changes made it hard for the people to cont...

When you take a hike up South Mountain in Phoenix, you come across several different things.  Here is some of the things we came across on our trek: petroglyphs more petroglyphs dried up creeks more dried up creeks "Sleepy Hollow" trees more creepy trees or Bigfoot nests moss on rocks in Arizona more mossy rocks (rare sight for AZ) pottery shards snake holes (thank goodness it was hibernating)