Ruins of Palatki

 So, as proof as to how COLD the Sedona area got last night, this is the water feature that drains from the pool....in the LATE morning of February 2. When I awoke earlier, I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store and it was 17 degrees!

 So our reservations to visit Palatki were at noon, you have to make a reservation because there simply isn't much parking at all, we arrived early but found it to be quite empty....must be too cold for most except us northerners!

 Just above the tree line is one of the two dwellings at this site that housed the Sinagua people. Smithsonian archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes first laid his eyes on this settlement in 1895 while travelling with the Hopi tribe researching their ancestral homes. Evidence suggests the Sinagua arrived around 1100 A.D. and resided here about 200 years.
Desert varnish (or rock varnish) is easily seen in the above photo. It's the dark black and dark orange vertical "stripes". Often thought to be from some sort of chemical change or weathering, it is now understood that it is actually a small (about 1 mm thick) coating of minerals deposited on the surface of the rock, perhaps by rainwater runoff. A bacteria, living on the rock surface, excretes an enzyme that concentrates certain minerals, like iron oxide and manganese oxide, that are in this runoff. I guess I think of it sort of like a glue trap...the iron (red) or manganese (black) deposits "stick" to the rock surface and over a century or so, become concentrated enough to become noticeably visible.

Anyway, getting away from geology, a short trail let us to the "main residence". Until a few years ago, visitors were allowed inside, but because its becoming so fragile, we had to admire it from a few hundred feet.

 Taking the left path, led us through some nice landscapes and vegetation to another site which was the location of another dwelling, gathering spot and sacred area.

This area is known as the Grotto. It was a large areasurrounded on 3 sides, a fabulous view of the area on the open side, with great acoustics. This area was loaded with pictograps (colored drawings) and petroglyphs (selective removal of the rock surface by etching, grinding, pecking, etc.). We were told that this grotto dates from about 10,000 B.C and was used to the late 1800's. The rock art confirms the presence of many cultures from the Pileo's (ancestors of the Aztec's), to the Apache's and Sinagua peoples.

We were quite fortunate to have Bob from the National Forest Service as our interpretive ranger. He is of Cheyenne heritage and was quite knowledgeable of what the rock art actually was depicting. This one has several designs including a pregnant elk, an Apache ladder (in black to the top right of the elk looking like a modern ladder) and a Sinagua ladder (in red just to the right of the black ladder but smaller). I learned that rock art isn't necessarily like a piece of artwork created by one person over a short period of time. These 3 drawings were completed by different cultures separated by a few centuries!

 Here we have some more animals, possibly hunted and killed showing their spirits leaving their body and returning to their "Creator"? Bob told us so many stories I couldn't possibly remember them all, but it was something to that effect. Apparently the native tribes are generally very secretive as to what the rock art was symbolizing, I find that to be very sad!

So here we have mountains (triangles) and snow melt  or waterfalls flowing to the valley below.

Some very, very old scratchings were also seen. 

 Here we see some animals and below people.

 This one, Bob was sure was an of an adolescent girl being available for marriage. When a young girls hair was braided on each side extending outwards from her head (think Princess Lea but out further) it was a sign to young braves that she was of age and available for marriage.

 This smaller space was a sacred spot where they would hold special ceremonies. There is a natural part of the rock formation in the wall that resembles an eagle's head! It is to the left of Bob's walking stick a foot or so off the ground. A close up is below.

 The eagle's open beak should be quite visible to you as it was to the inhabitants of Palatki.

 I mentioned that there was another smaller dwelling, this one they allowed entry as they have reinforced some of the walls for preservation.

 The entire "sacred room" sans Bob.

A view of the area from the grotto.

 More rock art, this one symbolizes a turtle.

More animals, and , according to Bob, Kokopelli.

This rock art, in the grotto area, dates from about 5000 B.C. and was created by the Pileo Indians (ancestors of the Aztecs) symbolized snakes.

After a very interesting tour we headed back to town to explore upscale Tlaquepaque, but not before spotting a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker in the parking lot!

Honanki Heritage Site

 Deep in the Coconino National Forest, outside of Sedona, lies the Honanki Heritage Site. From what I read, it's only recently been open to the public by the National Forest Service. We stopped there for about an hour with Pink Jeep Tours to explore the rock art/pictographs and cliff dwelling. My FIRST cliff dwelling! It was fair to say I was excited!

 It was perhaps a 1/2 mile ish hike from the parking lot to the dwelling, fairly easy trek I felt. Archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes stumbled upon this gem in the late 1800's during his time in the Verde Valley. The inhabitants of the area were the Sinagua people ("without water") and are considered to be the ancestors of the Hopi. Evidence suggests they arrived in the general area in the early 1100's A.D. and abruptly left in the early to mid 1300's. Perhaps water had become even more scarce? Trust me, I did not see any water source anywhere in the vicinity,except in places I imagined would be prone to flash floods!

Right at the top tree line, now you HAVE to look CLOSE, you can barely make out a lighter shade of rock...its actually small bricks. That's the outside wall of the dwelling. Now, the hallow area above it may have well contained other layers of "apartments" at the time...but the ledge above serves quite nicely as protection against rain and the like.

Like I said, the guide on this tour wasn't too much into botany, but this tree was REALLY cool! It reminded me of an alligator...and sort of felt pretty odd too!

 Looking up the cliff.....the sky was perfect, but temperatures only hovered in the 40's and the wind was ferocious, but the trees and the rock, kept us pretty cozy and protected from the elements.

Archaeologists feel that, in it's heyday, there were perhaps as many as 60-70 rooms and housed a few hundred people.

 Here's me getting close to one of the few walls still standing. It was amazing to think that nearly 9 CENTURIES later, that even SOME of the walls stood! It serves as a testament to their skills and craftsmanship, that's for sure!

 Some interesting rock art, mainly animals and unusual shapes, unfortunately there was no NPS ranger or NF personnel to answer questions about what these symbols might possibly represent. Ike the cave in Aruba, hand prints were also popular here!

Ellie and I in front of the ruins of Honanki.

 Perhaps either a clan symbol, (it was a bit higher off the ground), or perhaps (because of the notches) a calender of sorts.

 Most likely, a medicine man....

 Yep, I think it's got "curb appeal"!

 Despite my fingers being quite chilled due to the wind, every once in a while I just HAD to pick up the camera and take a photo of the breathtaking scenery! And the driver (see comments in the following post) seemed to think that it was of utmost importance to make sure I had juuuusssttt the right lighting and view. Sometimes he would stop when HE felt I should take a photo of something spectacular, it was just easier to lift my camera and aim rather than to pass......I thought I might lose my fingers to frostbite though (did NOT have "proper" "winter" attire with me.....I didn't think that it would get THIS cold for THIS long!).

 Do you see a camel?  Like the one on Camel cigarettes? It was fun to look at the rocks and let your imagination work in the way that it's fun to examine clouds!

And finally, Chimney Rock meant that we were nearly back to the warmth of the condo!

Diamondback Gulch with Pink Jeep Tours

 Tuesday afternoon we had booked a off road adventure with Pink Jeep Tours to Diamondback Gulch. When we booked it on Sunday, we had NO CLUE that the temperature would start to drastically drop after lunch. So...the open air jeep was a tad chilly at not quite 40 degrees and windy! So....I bundled up into my fleece, hate and mittens (thank goodness I had even brought them!), Ellie in the warmest clothes she could find, and multiple layers later, we were off on a 4 & 1/2 hour trek!

 Went past some cattle grazing....

And passed some nice rock formations everywhere....but this tour was NOT about rock formations....

It was about crossing dry creek beds,

 I don't think I would want to be anywhere near here in a flash flood!

Some interesting vegetation...unfortunately our guide wasn't too "up" on plant knowledge...

 Ellie was in the front seat saying who knows what to the guide (I figured I was dressed warmer so I would let her sit in the front so at least most of the wind was blocked). All of a sudden, the guide would see me take an interest in something and immediately STOP and make sure I had captured with my camera whatever memory I wanted to share with other people. Somehow, the conversation led to the "bizarre and remote"(to most folks that is) places

 I have been. It seems somehow that

I think she stretched the truth that I

was some sort of important travel

journalist for God knows who! I

 mean a lot of folks, like yourselves,

might (hopefully) find my site

 interesting and maybe someday

when I grow up (i.e. retire) perhaps

this can be more than a hobby.

Nevertheless, I did not find out

about these conversations until

later that evening. Whatever the case,

I was happy that I had some extra time

to enjoy the scenery and wasn't rushed!

 So, the going was slow as the terrain, was QUITE rough! Over rocks, into "ditches", then....down Diamondback Gulch. Now a gulch, is a narrow, "v" shaped ravine (normally formed by erosion), that follows that path of quickly flowing water during heavy rainfall/flash floods. At this moment, it was, thankfully, just a dry creek bed. Going down.....

 Yep...we had to cross all that....these jeeps I'm sure get beat up pretty bad over the course of the year! So bad, that they have their own shop!

 Looking back up from where we came from. I was quite please that he took this rather slow...just just for photography sake...but for the sake of every vertebrae in my back!

Looking back from the other side of the gulch.

Some ruins of the Sinagua Indians near Palatki that we would visit later!