Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Another Weekend In The Ruins

The pre-history of Arizona just keeps giving...



Sunday we visited V Bar V Heritage Site in the Coconino National Forest an hour or so to the northeast of Prescott. The wall upon which over a thousand petroglyphs are carved is also an archeo-astronomical calendar.




The two rocks at the top cast shadows that allowed the Sinagua to track the seasons.




The fertility corner.




Clan signs and clues to their cosmology.




The Figure 8 may symbolize a solar eclipse.




A variety of tree, shrubs, and foliage cling to the water's edge in the desert riparian habitat.

Then we drove another hour to the Palatki Heritage Site to view its dwellings and rock art.




The cliff dwellings feature 700 year old lintels made of sycamore.




A mix of Archaic, Sinaugua, Yavapai, and Apache rock art dating from the beginning of the common era through the arrival of Spaniards on horseback. There are even some faint parallel lines in the rock walls thought to have been inscribed there by Paleo-Indians! Evidence of Clovis technology has been found in the neighborhood.




Palatki is the southernmost site to feature Red Ghost images.




A Sinagua creation myth was sooted over by the fires in which the Yavapai roasted yucca hearts.




Some of the red rock sandstone that makes Sedona, Arizona, so famous.


Monday, January 30, 2017

More Grist For The Mill

You may have heard I have a reading disorder...


I have an irresistible weakness for books on sale at National Park, National Monument, and Heritage Site visitor centers.

We visited V Bar V and Palatki Heritage Sites in the Coconino National Forest today.  Their bookshelves are well-stocked.  I came away with:



Time for some reading...

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Give This One A Listen

Ideas is always good, sometimes it's great...


CBC Radio's Ideas with Paul Kennedy is one of the most sensible long form radio programs produced in North America.  It's long been one of my favorite podcasts.

American Fascism: It Can't Happen Here? first aired in October 2016. Its encore presentation was posted January 18, 2017.  I listened to it both times.  The second time was scarier.  Give this episode a listen for some important perspectives on something we Americans assume can't possibly happen here...but already has, several times.


Friday, January 20, 2017

There Is A House In New Orleans

Where you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...


If the Zombie Apocalypse ever (okay, when it) happens this oasis will undoubtedly become the last outpost of humanity.



Until then, it's best you don't run out of gas on your drive across the Mojave, somewhere between Needles and Barstow.



This old Route 66 haunt must have been a welcome sight in the 1960s.



Nominally located in Essex, California, Najah's Desert Oasis has a Facebook page but its webpage domain has expired.



All pet's must remain on a leash at all times? Why, so they don't snarl at terminators posing as bikers? So they the don't run off in the desert, yelp suddenly, and then are never seen again?  So they don't get bit by giant radioactive cockroaches?  Or is there something serious we aren't being told above this oasis?



This place has a seriously creepy, low budget, Roger Corman vibe, except it's in color.  Of course, the colors aren't quite right now, are they?

Rajah's added immensely to my slack-jawed, gobsmacked wonder at passing through the Mojave when it's cool, wet, and green.  Normally this desert smells like burnt flint, sticky asphalt, and ageless dust.  Uncanny valley, baby!

What a long strange trip it's been...

Yes, there are a couple references to some rock and roll tunes in this post:


The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals (1964)


Truckin' by the Grateful Dead (1970)


Hotel California by The Eagles (1976)

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Been Busy Climbing

To the ruins on Black Mesa...


Saturday 7 January 2016 we followed the directions at Arizona Ruins and in Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen - by Dave Wilson, parked alongside Hwy 17 at mile marker  246, then hiked 0.8 miles east and 660 feet up, to the remains of a 12th century Hohokam dwelling with cliffs on three sides.  





Some of the walls there are still 12 feet high.  




There are still peep holes with which residents could easily monitor those approaching from below.  



Not many potshards, though we found a few.  Okay, we found two...




The hike calls for some work.  I would not recommend it during the summer months as the heat will bake you and the rattlesnakes might covet your handholds.



If you're willing to do the work, it's a treasure hiding in plain sight as you drive from Phoenix to the high desert...

Been Even Busier

Off the beaten path...


We made a day trip to Pueblo la Plata in Agua Fria National Monument Friday 30 December 2016. The ground is all but paved with potshards! Most were red ware and some gray, but there were a very few beautiful pieces of (decorative/ceremonial?) black on white ware. 



There were obsidian and quartz lithic fragments as well. 


There are other unadvertised sites to visit within the monument. We'll be going back!

Been Busy Two

Plenty of pre-history in my neighborhood...


We visited Tuzigoot National Monument near Clarkdale, Arizona, Thursday afternoon 29 December 2016.

Been Busy

Visiting local archeological sites...


We visited Montezuma Well near Camp Verde, Arizona, Thursday morning 29 December 2016.



Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Mike Olbinski Has Done It Again!

Watch this short film and marvel at our world...



In an emotionally evocative black and white this time.

Dim the lights, crank the volume, and watch it now!