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.
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