Wednesday morning: Petroglyphs

On Wednesday morning we took a short drive to the Deer Valley Rock Art Center that has a lot of petroglyphs. These are not drawings or carvings. The dark layer on volcanic rocks has been chipped off, leaving a design in a lighter color. The older ones have been darkening over the ages with the regrowth of the dark layer. (The dark layer consists of dust, clay and lichen/bacteria "varnish" that accumulates over the years.)



In this picture you have to hunt to see the petroglyphs. I left it large so you could find additional examples. People are not allowed to climb on the rocks, but there are quail, squirrels, crows, hawks, another type of rodent, etc. It was very relaxing to walk the 1/4 mile trail.



They also had all the plants identified, so that was very helpful. This is a brittle bush, and this is what makes the desert golden when it rains. It is a very beautiful bush.



This is a Palo Verde (green stick) tree. The leaves are like needles (to keep from loosing too much water. This tree is lovely and lacy; we stopped at a mall that had these all throughout the parking area. It made the shopping even more pleasant.



This tree is mesquite. It has a compound leaf.



We also saw creosote and desert mallow, and a lovely little flower that looked like little beads on a stalk. The desert has been golden, but mom and dad say the color is already fading.

The weather has been cool for this time of year, and it even rained a little on Wednesday. Today is lovely though, and DH got in a game of golf.