Crane Petroglyphs, Montezuma Castle and the Mohave Twins

Hiked March 15 and 16, 2025. Photos are generally in reverse order of the post.

Headed out of the Las Vegas area on the afternoon of March 15. First stop was the Mohave Twins, a geoglyph in the town of Fort Mohave, AZ. Nearly zero hiking involved. From Laughlin, NV, it's approximately 30 minutes / 15 miles south on AZ-95. The linked story above provides another link for driving directions. It'll also show up on google maps.

The Twins are represented as related to the local indigenous peoples, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, and may be close to 3000 years old. Because of the lack of an organic construction material, I expect accurately dating something like this would be difficult, to say the least. They're simiar to (but smaller than) the Blythe Intaglios, further to the south.

The Twins were just a little bonus, not too long of a detour off of I-40, but a chance to see something kind of different, and to let us "bag" something on that first, short driving segment. It's not a big enough deal to be a destination on its own, but it's definitely worth a short detour from other things.

BTW, the town and fort in Arizona are spelled with an "h," while the Indian Tribe now spells their name with a "j." I have seen the geoglyph referred to by both spellings. I went with the "h" spelling, here.

After the visit, we headed back up toward I-40 and stayed overnight in Kingman, AZ. Rather scenic drive to get to I-40, btw. Much more colorful than actually along I-40.

The next day, we headed east, through Williams, to Flagstaff, and I-17. From there, we then took I-17 south, to AZ-179, Exit 298.

That's the same exit you'd take for Sedona, but to get to the Crane Petroglyphs, you turn left (east) at the bottom of the ramp, and head into the Coconino National Forest. Incidentally, while the offramps from I-17 have a stop sign, traffic on AZ-179 does not have a stop sign. People who don't pay attention to signage may try to hit you as you cross under I-17.

We headed east from I-17 for a few miles, following the signs to the Crane Petroglyphs. Because they close at 3pm, we wanted to make sure to hit this, first.

Parking at the trailhead requires the AZ Desert equivalent of an Adventure Pass, which they call a Red Rock Pass, which you can buy at a vending machine in the lot. Five dollars a day, I think. Or, if you already have a federal public lands pass ("America the Beautiful," or similar), you can park there for free, if you hang your pass on your rearview mirror. Because I had the America the Beautiful pass, I didnt need to buy the day pass, so I didn't pay attention to what the price was.

From the parking area, it's about 1/4 of a mile down to your right to the visitor center, where you sign in. Flush toilet there, if you need it. Vault toilet, closer to the petroglyphs, as well.

There are some remains of the V-V (V Bar V) ranch that used to be here. Tall chimney, several fences and gates, and evidences of water diversions to capture runoff. I assume the diversions were from the ranch era, and not older.

In the 1994, the Coconino National Forest acquired the land. The area was then rechristened as the Crane Petroglyphs Heritage Site. The namesake cranes are visible in the photo above this text, and a closer photo two shots, previous.

The name was adopted as an alternative to the "V-V Ranch Petroglyphs," because the Sinagua didn't want their written heritage to be referred to by the name of the ranchers that came long after they were created. Nonetheless, the V-V ranch did mostly prevent the petroglyphs from being defaced. There was only one relatively modern, Latin-lettered carving into those rocks.

It's an impressive collection of petroglyphs, about a 1/2 mile from the visitor center.

I have to admit I haven't studied the many petroglyphs I have seen in recent years to be able to figure out the connections and differences spread out across so much of the western United States, but I really should learn more. Of course, a lot of what is "known" is speculation. Even the oral histories from contemporary indiginous peoples may not always be the same as what the original artist may have intended, but it is often all we have to go on.

Volunteer interpreters were in the visitor center, and at the petroglyph panels.

These petroglyphs are attributed to the Sinagua (without water) group of indigenous people, who still live in the area, and claim a direct attachment to the petroglyphs.

The trail is flat, so relatively accessible. I saw several strollers being pushed along the trail. I did not see any dogs, and I'm not sure if dogs are allowed on this trail or not. A yellowish fruit was really common along the walk.

We walked back to the car, then drove back to I-17, and headed south about nine miles, to Exit 289, then followed the signs to Montezuma Castle National Monument. Fair-sized parking area, outside the visitor center. Pay or show your pass in the visitor center/bookstore. Then, there's a short, 1/2 mile or so loop, to view the "castle," the Beaver River, then back to the car. This walk is entirely paved. You can not approach the ruins, but must view them from below. Impressive sight, and apparently mostly original masonry. The time period would have been roughly contemporaneous with Mesa Verde or Canyon de Chelley's cliff dwellings.

Santa Clara - Virgin River Confluence, Saint George, UT

Hiked September 23, 2024. I bought my Toyota Camry back in July, 2024. It comes with two years or 25,000 miles of free scheduled maintenance. So, as I was planning my Utah trip to support the Southwest Astronomy Festival, I calculated I would be rapidly approaching my 5,000 mile point for my first scheduled service. And, because of the way the service contract works, I figured it ends at 25,000 miles, no matter how many times you've serviced it. So I wanted to get my service appointmens in prior to each 5,000 miles, so my final service would be just before 25,000 miles. Obviously, given my driving habits, this isn't going to take two years. (As I write this, I'm now at about 16,500 miles. Fairly good chance I'll need my 20,000 mile service by early June, before 11 months have elapsed).

So, after figuring I'd break 5,000 miles before getting back to California, I arranged my first service for the tail end of my trip, on the return trip. Checked out of my motel room in La Verkin on Monday morning, drove down to Saint George's local Toyota Dealer (Stephen Wade), and got my car serviced. While waiting for that, I walked along the paved and unpaved, but hard-surfaced trails that run around and along the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers, which meet near where the rivers pass under I-15.

Obviously, this was a hike of convenience, and not necessarily to see anything, although I had been told there were petroglyphs near the confluence of these rivers. Did not find any, so I'm not sure if that was correct. Had I known, I might have instead headed on a more southerly route, to the big rock in Bloomington, Utah, which is covered in petroglypths (and more recent markings, unfortunately). At 3.1 miles each way by foot, that would have been probably longer than I wanted, but, in theory, 2 1/2 hours or less, roundtrip, which is about how long my car was going to take. Been to that rock before, but not blogged, I think.

As it is, I walked downstream, to Crosby Family Confluence Park. Zigged-zagged around there, looking for where petroglyphs might be. Then headed, first downstream and up, to get an overview of the Virgin River, then back across the Virgin and upstream a bit up the Santa Clara River.

Only got a little that way before my phone rang to tell me my car was ready. Made my way back to the dealer, then continued my drive south, to Las Vegas, and, eventually, back to California.

Lots of joggers and bikers on these trails. It's a perfectly lovely way to wait for your car to be serviced, but not likely the sort of thing you'd otherwise plan to walk or run. In addition to folks visiting the Auto Mall, there are several hotels, as well as the convention center, which have easy walking access to this trail system, which links numerous parks along the two rivers. That makes this a good option for visitors looking for a morning or evening jog or walk.

As for myself, the trail system served its purpose of keeping me occupied and not just having a zero physical activity day on a mostly driving day. No significant wildlife sighted, but I did see a hot air balloon and an ultralight flying (propeller-driven) handglider. That was sufficiently amusing. About two hours of walking, probably about five miles, total walking.

I still miss my Prius. It was more practical for hauling me and my telescope stuff to various events. But the Camry has a much better suspension (also newer, so some might be that). The suspension will get a good workout in a few months, when my wife and I plan to visit Chaco Culture Historic Park.

Santa Clara River Reserve, near St George, Utah

Hiked September 21, 2024. This was a short hike, after a day of solar outreach as part of the Southwest Astronomy Festival. The NPS and the local St. George astronomy group (and I!) set up solar telescopes at the Red Hills Desert Garden, a demonstration garden for low-water and native plants acceptable for local landscaping. That was down in St. George, proper, adjacent to Pioneer Park (which I've hiked in the past -- In fact, I've hiked it at least twice, but I only see one post in my history; never blogged the other one, I guess), and not far from the Days Inn on Saint George Blvd, where I've stayed, in the past. (In fact, on my unblogged visit to Pioneer Park, I walked over there from the Days Inn).

The Santa Clara River Reserve (BLM) is actually near Ivins, Utah, but that's a pretty small place. From Saint George, get on Old Highway 91. If you stay on Old Highway 91 long enough, it's actually a bypass for the Virgin River Narrows, so if I-15 is closed (or, during the serious construction delays of past years), it's a viable shortcut for passenger vehicles, and only marginally longer in travel time. But I digress.

Heading north on Old Highway 91, past Pioneer Parkway, it's about two miles until you reach S. Anasazi Road. It'll be a dirt road on your left, and not necessarily signed for "Anasazi Valley Trailhead." There's a large dirt lot, less than 1000 feet in, on your right. Less than 1000 feet later, there's another parking area, on your left. Passenger vehicles can park in either lot. If you're an RV or towing a trailer, definitely try the first one. That one has room for you to turnaround. No significant difference in your hiking distance, either way.

The BLM website for the Santa Clara River Reserve is here. A copy of the paper map/brochure for the area is currently here.

From either trailhead, you're basically going to want to head uphill, towards the southwest. The trail weaves its way up the hill, as should you (no cutting of switchbacks!). At the first crest, there's the remains of an Ancestral Puebloan "farmstead." By remains, we mean just a few stones that would outline the base. Not a lot to see there, but a nice lesson in what archeologists can figure out.

Continue on up, past the "farmstead," but keeping the cliff on your right, and you'll start encountering both modern signs telling you to respect and protect the evidence of prehistoric residents of the area, and the evidence, itself. Walk carefully around the area to find additional petroglyphs, but don't walk on the actually marked rocks; you'll speed erosion and loss of these ancient artifacts.

From the petroglyphs, you overlook the Santa Clara River, and, at the time I was there, some nice, green cottonwood trees. The trees would preseumably be nicely colored in another month or two.

I continued somewhat past the signed petroglyphs I saw, to see if there were more, further along the ridge. I didn't see any, which doesn't necessarily mean there weren't any. But I didn't find them. Turned around when I felt I had passed the main concentration.

All told, about three miles roundtrip. I can't say for sure, because I botched my Alltrails recording.

Since it's not a national park or national monument, dogs would presumably be allowed on this trail. At least, I did not see any indication that they were not permitted. There are some sharp volcanic rocks, but it isn't too hard for you or your hypothetical dog to avoid those rocks. Obviously, if you do bring a dog, bring a bag and clean up after them!

Fish Slough Petroglyphs, Near Bishop, CA, August 5, 2024

As noted in the previous post, this was a "hike" I took last August, during my mostly-annual trip to the Owens Valley. The BLM description and driving directions are here. I could have sworn I drove further along on US 6 before turning, to minimize my dirt driving. But I don't see on the satellite view where I would have turned.

In any event, there was some dirt driving, but nothing my Camry couldn't handle. It's less than ten miles north of Bishop, and the dirt was pretty well graded, so it's easy to get to, even with more dirt driving.

The petroglyphs are on a volcanic outcropping. Several parking areas are nearby, along with (as I recall) some interpretive signs.

No shade in the area, so if you go in the summer, you'll want to go early or late, and bring something to drink, even though you won't be walking long.

I walked around the entire outcropping, and hit some of the cliff tops and pockets, just looking for petroglyphs. Most were pretty obvious, and I don't recall finding any hidden treasures. The petroglyphs were not as intricate as some I have seen.

If you see circular indentations in the face of the volcanic rock, they're not historic. Apparently, geologists drilled them to get samples to calculate the age of the rocks. Yes, seriously.

Undoubtedly under three miles to walk around the rocks, so this would not have made my original cut for a "hike," but it was something interesting I saw on a trip to the Owens Valley, and something I could share with my non-hiking wife.

Not a lot of plant or animal life visible in the immediate area. I saw a few lizards, and a few crows hung out on the rocks, until I got too close.

I think, technically, since it isn't a developed area, nor a national park or national monument, you can bring your dogs, though I'd likely want to keep them close, in the event that rattlesnakes are in the area. Didn't see any, but I'd be surprised if they weren't around. Volcanic rocks could be tough on their feet, too.

All in all, it was a nice little drive. Not big or dramatic enough to be a trip destination, but if you're already in Bishop and have an hour or so to kill, definitely worth your consideration.

Tyee Lakes Trail, Inyo National Forest, CA, Hiked August 4, 2024

Over the past few years, I've had the pleasure of making near-annual trips into the Owens Valley, with dark sky observing with friends at the Cedar Flats group campground, in the White Mountains of Inyo National Forest, on the east side of the Owens Valley. During these forays, I often head down from my observing location after I'm done to sleep down in Bishop. Then, the next day, I'll try to get a hike or two fit in (usually on the west side of the Owens Valley), before heading back up to Cedar Flats after dark. This hike was during that last trip, the same one where I posted some astrophotos, last summer.

I can't guarantee, because of the passage of time, but it's likely these photos are in reverse order on that hike, from the end to the beginning. I can tell you that the start of this hike is along the small road off of CA-164, heading towards South Lake. Fairly large parking area, and the trail starts near the northern end of that lot, crossing Bishop Creek via a bridge. The last shot in this post is from that bridge.

Steep climb in parts, and a few small seeps cross the trail. A creek also occasionally runs along the trail. But, at least in August, there were no significant water crossings. Some nice flowers along the water, though.

I had never hiked this trail, and didn't study it too carefully ahead of time, because I like being surprised by what I see. And, indeed, the first lake did sort of sneak up on me.

Tyee Lakes is a string of beautiful alpine lakes, all beautiful. Lots of fish visible in the lakes, though I can't tell you how easy or hard they would be to catch.

Total distance on the Alltrails entry for Tyee Lakes trail is about 6 1/4 mile, with about 2,000 feet of vertical gain. My own recording (discussed later) shows a slightly longer distance.

In addition to the lakes and mountains, you're also rewarded with views across and down Bishop Canyon, down into the Owens Valley.

Last year was relatively dry, so by August there was little snow in the area. It could be wetter and more mosquitoed earlier in the season. But I didn't notice many bugs on this hike, albeit I wear long sleeves and a floppy hat around my ears.

Looking at my Alltrails recording, it shows I walked 3.56 miles and gained 1,991 feet, spending 2:24:19 moving. Apparently, that was just the uphill portion, so figure a bit over 7 miles roundtrip, and maybe 3.5 - 4 hours to walk, roundtrip, plus any rest time.

It also shows I made it to the fourth lake. After this, there's a pretty steep climb, that would take you up to the trail that heads out of Sabrina Basin, past George Lake. I hiked that one the previous year.

On that hike, after climbing out of George Lake's basin, I made it to the past that would head down towards Tyee Lakes. But it's a pretty long, shallow descent from there before you reach the steep descent into Tyee Lakes, so I turned around at the pass. There's probably a 2/3 of a mile or so gap between the end of these two hikes I have taken.

The only other trip I managed on this August 2024 trip was a visit to Fish Slough Petroglyphs, which may be my next post.

Bowl of Fire, Lake Mead NRA, NV, February 16, 2025

It's been about three years since my last venture into the Bowl of Fire. That's the area of Lake Mead NRA that's roughly north of Lakeshore Road and south of the mountains to the north, east of Anniversary Canyon, and west of Northshore Summit. There are trails heading in and around the area, but most of the wandering within the Bowl of Fire is somewhat random; you walk which ever direction you want to go.

While doing this, it would be a good idea to have a compass and map, or sufficient information on your phone to know how to get back to your car. I myself have loaded the premium version of Alltrails, which lets you "live" record you hiking, and shows real-time where you are and where you've been on your hike, that day. It also shows some "trails," although some of those "trails" are just random paths that some previous user has recorded, so it may not be an actual trail. But, by using your phone's gps, it does place your location pretty accurately, so you'll know which way to got to get back you your car.

You should also take some care to try to walk on sand or rocky areas, if at all possible, to minimize your impact on cryptobiotic soil and what little plant cover there is in the area. Cryptobiotic soil is the "living" crust of dirt in desert areas. It reduces wind erosiion and builds soil that more developed plants need to grow. It's often got a darker, bumpy appearance, which is a sign of microscopic life, lichen, algae, fungus, and bacterial life. Without that, the curst turns to sand and blows all over the place.

Admittedly, you're going to break some crust if you're walking across desert where no trails exist. So, again, try to stay on the sand or rocks as much as possible. And, if you can't, try to stay where the soil has already been disturbed, either by previous hikers or wildlife.

If you search my blog, you'll find about four other hikes around the Bowl of Fire, no two exactly the same. The Bowl of Fire can be accessed from the southwest, via the the wash/jeep trail where you would access Anniversary Narrows, then heading northeast up the wash to the Bowl of Fire, rather than north, towards Anniversary Narrows. It can also be accessed from the southeast, via the Northshore Summit parking area, or from the south, via the wide area of road between those two locations. From any of these access points, you can travel in various directions to alter your adventure.

On the day I hiked, it was about four days after a significant rain. So, in addition the many colorful, layered sandstone structures to admire, there were also places where running water had stacked rippled sand, where you could easily see how the layered sandstone around you might have been formed. This area is relatively lightly visited, so in some of those areas, even after three or four days, there still hadn't been too many footprints to break up that wet, rippled sand.

There was also significant pools of water in the "tanks," meaning sandstone-enclosed narrows near the northeastern end of my hike. I walked around several of those to get to my final viewpoint, before electing to backtrack towards my car. I gave some thought to continuing around, but, despite having only walked about 3 3/4 miles, I was feeling a little tired.

Yes, unfortunately, my reduced hiking and reduced stairclimbing due to a work location change have definitely affected my endurance.

I totaled just about six miles on this hike. It's a hilly and occasionally sandy path, so it's not a bad distance, but relatively short to have felt so tired. Still, not a bad day, and not a bad return to the Bowl of Fire after such a long absence.