In my haste to get the last post out on Camp Verde and Montezuma I forgot to show a great little National Park we found there. It was called the V-Bar-V Ranch NP and it’s the site of some best historical petroglyphs in the country. It was once the location of a large community of Indians now known as the Hopi Tribe. After taking a narrow roadway through some ranches we came to the V-Bar-V ranch where the first thing you see is a chimney from the old homestead. The office/gift store is next to this but to get to the petroglyph site you take a walk down a dirt track for some 800 metres.
Smart Art
The petroglyphs here cover a small rock wall but are amazingly clear. While they might look like the primitive scratchings of a backward people they certainly are not. The art depicts life as it was at the time. One pair of wiggly lines on closer inspection is actually a very accurate map of the nearby Wet Beaver Creek through the Verde Valley. But more astonishing to come is the ‘seasonal calendar’. Into the gap between two naturally occurring rocks the Navajo forced a sandstone boulder into the cavity with just enough projecting out to cast a shadow onto the rock face. They then carved (over time) several spiral patterns into the rock which when the sun reaches its’ zenith and the shadow touches the spiral it is precisely either of the two solstices (depending on which spiral used). Click on this paragraph title to see a video.
Believe it or Not
Below that sandstone boulder another slither of rock also projects. Amazingly the Navajo chipped away at the edge of this slither so that at a particular time of year the shadow that it casts displays in perfect scale a profile of the nearby sacred San Francisco Peaks. So you’d think that a tribe of natives with that level of skill and knowledge would last for ever but sadly for some unknown reason the Sinagua Indians here just walked out and deserted the place after several hundred years. No one knows why they left but as time passed all the descendants of this tribe dissolved into the local Hopi Tribe. Now after 800 or more years the lichen and weather is threatening the existence of these hugely important pieces of art and science.
Life After Montezuma
We celebrated Armistice Day (Memorial Day in the USA) and having seen what we wanted to see we packed up and hit the road again. This was to be our last road leg before heading back to Australia for Xmas with the family. These final photos were taken by Shane out of the car as we zoomed down the valley of the Colorado River towards Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. We were almost there.
In Sam’s Town
We booked into Sam’s Town KOA RV Park once we hit Vegas. Not a bad park just a bit too squeezy. However what made it worth the expense was that it was part of the casino which had its’ perks. They ran a free shuttle bus into the main city part of Las Vegas and inside the casino they had built a replica town with a central park and a waterfall that produced a wonderful water show several times a day. There were animatronic animals on the falls and the park was lovely especially when we returned after a few days to see the Xmas décor through the trees. Here’s a shortened video of the waterfall show.
Cheers for now
Garry & Shane
Have a good time for Xmas folks, have certainly enjoyed the stories and pictures………..
And to you too my brother. Still a couple to come before I catch up. (working on them now.) In Brisvegas atm, Sunny coast tomorrow for Xmas then TVL by Dec30.
Take care over the festive season and love to you and Chris from Shane & I.