Petroglyphs and Rocks

On Day 2 of our great adventure in Phoenix we decided to “hike”. My son had checked about with friends for a “good” hike for us. Now his friends didn’t know me, and they know my son is not really a dedicated mountain hiker, so they were looking for “gentle” hikes. He’d also told them I liked rocks and desert and mountains and scenery. One of my absolute best vacations was the one where we went to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and saw the hoodoos, Zion National Park in Utah with the gorgeous rock colors and formations, and the Grand Canyon, which has rocks too. *grin* They had suggested Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, which has some of the best petroglyphs in the Phoenix area. We decided to go there. Of course, being us, and NOT being my sister, who is incredibly organized and plots and plans HER itinerary, we spent a lot of time driving back and forth over the same roads. First we went from the hotel to breakfast, then to my son’s house to get more clothes for him, then back UP to Deer Valley and then DOWN again to the next stop and then ACROSS for the stop after that and then finally home to The Boulders. Had we actually decided what we wanted to do while we were eating breakfast, we’d have spent a lot less time in the car. But at least the car is air conditioned. 🙂
.

.

Deer Valley is run by Arizona State University. There is a very small museum and then a quarter-mile walk to the petroglyphs. As I said, my son and I don’t always think ahead or analyze what we are going to do. We had a little map that showed maybe 10-15 stops to see petroglyphs. We were at #7 before we realized that we were halfway through, and hadn’t noticed any of the other stops. Somehow we thought the path we were on was merely the path LEADING to the walk, and not the walk itself. The distance of “quarter mile” had not registered. We backed up and paid more attention. It is true that there are fantastic petroglyphs there – very well preserved and very interesting. I also appreciated the signs (and the warning from the desk attendant) about rattlesnakes. It’s good work and interesting but as far as our hike expectations, a bit on the bland side. We made an effort to spend 40 minutes there. Once I was home I did some more research and see that there is an entire preserve with ‘real’ trails but that’s not where we went. 🙂

Although we did appreciate the petroglyphs at Deer Valley Preserve, we were in the mood for a bit more of a hike. We had a lot of water, hats, sun screen and energy. So despite the fact that it was getting on to high noon, we headed to South Mountain. We stopped in at the information area/gift shop to get a map and more water. The women there were extremely concerned for our well-being. I guess we appeared less than experienced or something. Maybe they are that concerned for everyone. We’d already discussed with my son’s housemate how much water and how far we should hike (before it turned into a more adventurous trail). The women repeated the warnings that were posted on signs out on the walkway: turn back when half your water is gone. I believe we had over 4 liters of water with us (which is heavy until you start drinking it). We reassured them that we only planned to go as far as the water tower (not that we knew what that MEANT exactly) and that we had water and we would turn back if we hit the water half-point before we hit the water tower. We drove down to the start of the trail and parked the car. We tried to guess which way the sun was moving and if the tree by the car would actually end up giving shade, but that too is not one of our strengths. 🙂
.

South Mountain was MUCH more the hike we expected. It was NOT strenuous but it was certainly not flat. There was enough loose gravel and steep inclines to have me rely on my son’s arm at certain points. I don’t really trust my knees and foot anymore so while I do want to ‘hike’, I know better than to do anything extreme.

South Mountain is gorgeous. The South Mountain Preserve is part of the Phoenix Parks System and is the second largest municipal park in the world (so says Wikipedia). It is black rocks and scrub and petroglyphs and dry wadis. We spent days trying to remember what “wadis” are called out west. We both use that term because that is the term used in Israel, the last place we had encountered wadis. We knew that wasn’t the correct terminology. Somewhere along our way I remembered the word “arroyo” but that still didn’t feel correct. We checked with my son’s landlord (and expert hiker/explorer) and he used the term “wash”. Once he said “wash” all the old cowboy movies came into focus in my memory. 🙂

I took a zillion photos. I love looking at the rocks. I love looking at the scrub. I love looking at the cactus and desert plants. When I got home I treated myself to a electronic photo storage device that will hold my zillion photos and move through them as a slide show, so I can keep seeing the beauty of the desert even when I’m here in my mid-Atlantic green. 🙂

(The top 3 photos are from Deer Valley; the rest are from South Mountain.)