PETROGLYPHS AND BUTTERFIELD

In 2009 we hiked to Fort Bowie, near Chiriacahua National Monument and caught a glimpse of the Butterfield Trail. I knew it was a stagecoach line to deliver the mail out west. We hadn't even read the BLM information on the Painted Rock Petroglyphs when we say hello to a stranger who just happens to be an expert on the Butterfield Trail and this whole area in general. He just published a book,  The Butterfield Trail And Overland Mail Company In Arizona. Jerry Ahnert's  book was identified by the government as the definitive historical work on the subject.

The Butterfield Trail ran from Missouri to the Pacific, 3,000 miles, a transcontinental highway, that passes near the petroglyphs. In fact, Butterfield was a New Yorker with stage lines in the East. He hired two guys, named Wells and Fargo. They all drove stages at one time, according to Jerry.

Petroglyphs have ancient origins and these are typical of two Indian Tribes, the Hohokam and Patayan who peopled this area as long ago as 4,000 years. Various indicators date them  as late as the 1600s. If I were to interpret this drawing, it appears to me to be a pregnant woman with a round fat middle. The experts call the fat drawings like this one lizard men?

An upside down figure of a man or animal is said to be dead.

A glyph from 1912 giving directions, it appears. The Old Immigrant Trail, The Morman Trail and other major expeditions traveled the same or similar routes through the West and passed near this obvious outcropping in a terrain that is distinctively flat.

A donkey or horse with a rider dates the drawing after the Spanish brought horses to North America.

A fish above a river.

Lizards, snakes, scorpions, are common themes.

To me, this resembles a child sitting down, the way children do. The experts I'm sure disagree.

The spirals are typical of Hohokam drawings.

Impossible to tell if the drawing is  a dog or a coyote. It had significance to the artist.

To me the main figure here resembles an elephant?  Could it be an older glyph of a  mammoth?

The figure near the bottom is possibly a bearded goat?
It was fun. I took way to many pictures. More tomorrow. But, the following picture is of a sign placed by the Mormon boy scouts approximately 50 years ago. They ventured forth to mark the Morman Trail. On that spot you can stand and envision Kit Carson, Big Foot Wallace and Pomp, Sacajawea's son who grew up to be a scout.



I'll publish an album of the "ancient graffiti"  within a few days. I have some culling to do.

I'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE, MAN...

I received a message from Jerry  at http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com 
about the song I’ve Been Everywhere.


He sent me to a web page where there are parodies and take-offs on that song by  different artists.  I listened to a slew of them.  They were pretty cool.  Click on the links to hear some I got a kick out of.
The first is I’ve Been Everywhere , Texas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaTJxS_mu8c&feature=related

This link is:  I’ve Been Everywhere, Austrailia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAh7ogwAYQ&feature=related

Now we have a Johnny Cash parody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAh7ogwAYQ&feature=related
The next one is:  I’ve Been Everywhere, Minnesota. I think. It has some clever, corny stuff like I ate corn dogs at the fair, man, …in my underwear, man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BynH5WYdX2A&feature=related
After I  identified five to put into this blog , swish, the sneaky electronic Genie has tossed one of them into cyberspace, so I’m hoping that the four I have left  are identified correctly.
When I mentioned the song two days ago,  I was talking about my partner, Jim. And,  just to give you an idea of why it fits,  he has crossed the United States 6 times in his Motor Home. He has been in every state of the union. Plus, he took his rig 17,000 miles across Mexico, through every country in Central America and to the Panama Canal and beyond, (until the road stopped.)  Then, of course, he returned those same, many miles back to the States. He’s traveled all over Canada as well.  (South America is still on the agenda.)

Yesterday was a pick up and move, empty tanks, fill up with water, get gas and propane, find the recycle place,  shop for groceries…that  kind of day. We bought two sets of sheets and replaced the butter-soft thin ones we had. I spotted a Burlington Coat Outlet and got a white jacket to replace my warn one.  We’ve been everywhere, man- in Yuma!

The frig is full and we are parked in a weedy little town at a VFW with a huge membership. The bartender told us they serve around 400 hamburgers on Mondays. Tuesday was women’s dart competition and men’s pool tournament. They are open and busy seven days a week. We had a drink and left early because they allow members to smoke in the bar. Nobody was smoking at the time, but we both came out with our hair and clothing stinking  like old cigarette smoke.
The move put us closer to our destination, the Petroglyphs.

AN UNPLEASANT WRINKLE

As usual, up before the sun. From the casino parking lot, we catch the gold. A day well planned we head for Algodones, Mexico to finish my dental work. Denny Salinas has a new office from our previous visit for major work, in December/Jan. 2008/09.

Dentists here (not all)   have shabby offices, as I understand it. And as many have studied and gotten their credentials in the U.S.  Salinas guarantees his work, and did just that. An hour and one half the first visit, 3 ex-rays, a diagnosis and solution- no charge. Then over two hours today, and I was on my way with a cost of 200 dollars for two special made mouth guards, some cosmetic work and a prescription. RVers we have talked to claim the dentists here are very honest and Jim and I found that to be true.

We stopped for lunch at Birrieria, basically the same menu as a couple days ago, in a different place.  Live musicians wander in with their tip cups,  the kitchen out front. Same economical price as well.

You see everything being made in front of the shop. Notice the ceiling to floor string of garlic on the right.

This bashful lady kind of ducked when I took the picture. But, she made flour tortillas so fast it made my head swim.  I saw her forming  perfect size dough balls by hand and  using a press to flatten them.  The end product counts. Ah,  fresh and delicious.

On the way home, the march of the insects appeared on the sidewalk, made of wrought iron and stones.

Clever  soldier ants with a couple of "dead soldiers", an American euphemism for an empty drink bottle or can.

Attractive chickens...

...and all the desert creatures like scorpions, turtles, lizards, snakes and road runners. It's a pleasure to check out the street wares even though we have no room in the motor home to bring stuff home.

Back in Yuma, on the way to get the vehicles washed and waxed, I got a ticket for running a stop sign. It isn't in my nature to plow through a stop sign in mid-day in full view of a policewoman. I've had four tickets in my life and I know it sounds ingenuous to blame my mishap on the intersection. The intersection was also an approach to a bridge and had two sets of double stop lines. It confused me. I started to stop, perceived the double lines an extra ten feet in front of me as the proper stop, and pulled forward. Realized my mistake instantly and stepped on the brakes-too late.  Oh, well. Payback for those U turns I made when I shouldn't have. I'm asking for a trial in absentia. I'll keep you posted.

GRITTY THINGS LIKE VALVES

We were hoping for another gorgeous sunrise, but the clouds wouldn’t cooperate. We packed up to leave the park by 11:00 and repaired to a nearby concrete slab that was once a gas station. The buildings have been torn down. The purpose was to change the black water and grey water valves. Jim had noticed a small leak and wanted to fix it where it was convenient to do so. But, the valves wouldn’t budge. We decided this was a job for a professional

Everyday I sketch something and worked on this statue in the park. It was too far away to be a credible drawing, so I’ll sketch from this picture during repair time.
A return to Mexico at 9:00 for my dentist appointment.  Then rush to another location for a wash and wax of  the motor home and Bronco. We should be ready to hit the road for Organ Pipe National Monument and Painted Rock Petroglyphs. Stay tuned.
Speaking of tunes, yesterday, we heard the song “I’ve Been Everywhere.”  That is Jim’s song. When we meet someone new, they ask, “Where ya from?” Jim always smiles at that question. He has a Murphys mailing address, his cell phone is from Connecticut, his license and registration from Washington State.  He can sing, “I’ve been everywhere, man, I’ve been everywhere…”

BUSY SATURDAY

If the sky is slightly clouded, a desert sunrise can be truly spectacular. None of these photos were doctored, except to crop some of the bottom out. From a straight shot, I moved my lens to the left of the Shell station sign visible in the lower left corner.

I was rewarded by this beautiful pink and lavender sky.

When I closed in on the sign, the colors shouted.

Continually mesmerizing, flooding the campground in a purple glow. We sit back down to our computers and are drawn back to the scene spreading before us.

Within a matter of minutes, the colors move and change.

How can we not be grateful for nature’s show?

Then with a last burst of color, it begins to fade away.
We spent a busy “housekeeping” day. Jim cleaned out old files, fixed an appointment to have the motor home and Bronco washed and waxed.   I worked on learning how to get old music CD’s into my Ipod, and failed to figure it out. The music was fun, even so.  We danced around the motor home like teenagers.
Later in the day, I finished a bike ride  just in time. No sooner was the bike locked back on the Bronco when a desert windstorm came up, billowing sand about for a about four hours.

Luckily we are parked nose to the wind instead of broadside.

The  boon-dockers on the other side of the fence seemed to be getting the worst of it. We have more plants and gravel in the park. Their terrain is sandy. The desert is an unpredictable place. Not the worst storm we’ve ever been in nor the worst sand. We drove through a horrific sandstorm caused by ATV’s on our way to Lake Havasu  in 2010. And also a windstorm that blew 18 wheelers over like toys in Mojave.

LUNCH IN ALGODONES, MEXICO

This is a sign you can understand in any language and not one we see much. Algodones, Mexico, about five miles West of Yuma  is reputed to have the highest density of dentists, pharmacies, doctors and opticians in a four block area,  than any similar four block area  in the world.

Hawkers reach out and offer to guide you to a dentist, doctor, etc.  every step of the way. Not that you need guidance, every other sign is for one or the other.  For most of them you don't need an appointment. We arrived at 9:00 a.m. to be first in the door to Denny Salinas' office, except, he was no longer at the same address as our last visit in 2009.  A young woman named Bettina walked us several blocks away to his fancy new digs. We learned you now need an appointment. But, as a former  customer,  he took a look at a problem I was having with an implant he did and fitted me in for ex-rays and a diagnosis.

We walked around town to look around. People, many recognizable "snowbirds", were sitting in a busy square sunning themselves and  listening to a very good musician play several types of flute. Hauntingly beautiful sounds I recognized from Peruvian culture.

His partner was selling  his very popular CD's. I could have stayed an listened for an hour.

The spray can artists were also working the square. They can do amazing things with spray paint and a piece of paper, rubbing the paint on then quickly drying it with a hair dryer. Jim cautioned this guy waving  a cigarette near the painters  but he laughed and defied the notion that a cigarette around all of those chemicals was in danger of exploding or starting a fire.  Popular pieces are the television dishes snowbirds have on their RV's. In fact, Algodones depends so much on Canadian and American tourists they have a closed-street block party in December welcoming snowbirds  back to Algodones.

In our motor home we don't have room to buy "stuff" but I like to look, anyway. People buy cheap drugs and liquor here as well. I got a bottle of vodka.

We like an open restaurant, hole-in-the wall type, that starts you off with three  kinds of salsa  a red, a green, both hot and home-made. Then avocado salsa,  sour cream, limes,  and chips.  A plate with tomatoes, onion, cilantro and shredded cabbage.  They cook their meats on a charcoal grill in front of their place. I tell you that because I haven't a clue what the name of the place is if you go.

The food is always good and cheap, $5 for a whole chicken with rice and beans. Jim took a small portion. I ordered four tacos forgetting that they fill them really full of meat. Our two meals with Tecates cost us $13.00. The Tecate is good with a squeeze of lime in it. I never have this much fun when I go to my dentist in Murphys, doncha know!

Jim likes to go early so we get back across the border before the crowds line up. We didn't make it. I didn't mind at all talking to other folks in line. It was about a twenty-minute wait before we went through the friendly immigration inspection.

Something new since our last visit, for $5 you can be driven over in the yellow cart  and skip the line. The drug sniffing dog sniffs the cart and all the cars, too.

CHANGING GEARS AGAIN.

Arriving in Yuma yesterday was exciting because it’s  the start of a new adventure. We spent a lazy kind of morning, reading and staying warm. The desert gets cold at night and nips in the early morning. The time change was only an hour but I’m disoriented in my second kitchen and it takes a day to change gears.
In the afternoon, it was shorts and T-shirt weather. Jim moved the bikes down, put air in the tires, oiled the chains and painted out the name of my “new” bike. It belonged to my son-in-law and I couldn’t wait to ride it. I did six laps of the park and remembered I shouldn’t over-do things, as is my habit. Decided to cut it short and ride a bit farther each day.
It was like an old friend. I also reminded myself it was in Yuma where  my bike was stolen in 2011.  We affixed a brand new kryptonite lock and cable on it as well.
After dinner we set out for a  walk just in time to see the sun setting behind a  bush.

As we walked the park,  the colors deepen and become more luscious.

We turned a corner. The power poles could not diminish the beauty though I wished they were not there.

I’m back to using a Cannon which I think has truer colors than the Sonys we purchased. So part of this picture scene is a curiosity to see the difference between Jim’s colors and mine. But, HE is the better photographer and takes more time with his shots.

Even with the sun setting, turning East, Pilot Knob was distinctive in the Eastern sky.

We chuckled at the campers boondocking on BLM land just across the fence from the park.  They are parking free while inside the fence it costs $40 a night. Normally we would be boondocking but we got a special deal- free! The fence seems confining in the wide open spaces of the desert.

Near the pool was a lone palm tree saying goodnight to the sun and…

…reflected in the pool.

A candy striped sky just as the sun dipped below the horizon.