There are few days left in our stay in Parker, AZ. Now is the time to make the most of what remains. On a new route on our bicycles we were fortunate to meet Muffler Mike, and as you would expect he is a very quiet guy.... Paahrump! Speaking of Pahrump, Nevada, that is where we are headed upon the ceremonious pulling of our wheel chocks at short month's end. It will be a one day trip and we will drive from RV Park to RV Park. We will stay half the time in Pahrump, just one month there before we return to the great cold north.
Below we captured a shot of the P - Parker mountain outside of town. We took this picture on Shae Rd, which is a recreation area at the edge of town. On Shea Rd you can find UTV trails and races, dry camping opportunities, miles of hiking and... we discovered intaglios or geoglyphs too.
The first stop is to an intaglio that Gari found when looking for hiking trails on Google Maps satellite view. The Arizona desert walking stick below points the way to the intaglio that is in the form of a snake.... not the road sign, rather we roughly estimate up by that cactus in the distance.
We paused in front of a Teddy-bear Cactus and captured a landscape shot with an interesting explorer beauty in frame. As often is the case in the desert, the light can be overwhelming, and in this case the bright light washed out the mountain range that was definitely behind Gari. In all fairness to the photographer's skills, the range was waaaaaay off in the distance.
Aaaaaand there is the Snake Intaglio! The head is in the foreground.
Steve stands in to add perspective and get a closer look.
The obligatory Saguaro shot (Suh-War-Oh say the locals).
The next item on this days agenda was to walk the wash and find a way up the bluff at frame left of Gari below.
As we were strolling along, we looked up and noticed this hole in the wall. What is it? A natural cave? An old mine entrance? How far does it go? Steve had to know.
So up he goes....
Hopefully he is not foolish enough to enter....
Oh no! He's going in... Steve!!!
OK, he's only getting pictures. It doesn't look like it goes very far in...
Definitely man made, carved right out of solid rock.
Mission accomplished! Just then.....
Gari notices three magnificent Big Horn Sheep specimens just above the cave! Wow! So close!
Of course Steve has to investigate! So up he slowly and carefully goes. In the shot below you can see two sets of horns and one white butt at left. They Big Horns watched Steve intently as he slowly approached. This was also shot looking directly into the sun. The sheep had the position advantage this day.
There they are in a tight little group. We watched and Steve approached them for what seemed like more than 5 minutes.
We made it to the top of the bluff in a few more minutes and the sheep were nowhere to be seen! They simply disappeared as suddenly as they appeared.
Panorama from bluff top looking North to East over the wash below.
Looking farther to the South; Romeo parked by the road below.
Close to the edge, looking down.
Gari surveys the land. The distant mountains showed up there.
Saguaro Selfie.
A better Saguaro and Explorer!
Kokopelli shadows.
Looking West over the bluff... the Big Horns went that-a-way. Do you see them? Neither did we.
A bike ride to the Colorado River below. Gari stands before the iconic Parker rail bridge spanning the river and the prominent Castle Rock Hoodoo at frame left.
A small concrete bridge leads on to an island that is used for recreation by the reservation.
Graffiti adorns the bridge walls.
Looking over to the California side of the Colorado River.
And the Colorado quietly and peacefully moves South and out of this post. See ya in Pahrump, NV next time.
Thanks for sharing Steve!!
ReplyDeleteThanks from me also.
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