Solo Desert Trip

After returning from Hawaii, I took off to see Ben in Colorado. It was springtime in Crested Butte so the weather was rainy, dreary and somewhat cold. He had some work to do and I was itching for the desert so I took off for a two-week solo trip down south.

Inside those large rocks is some rock art from the previous inhabitants, the Pueblo people. This is actually a screen-grab of a video I took, and I want to mention it because on the right side of the image is a rectangle with a vertical line shooting down the middle. That is identical to the Chinese character zhong 中 which means 'middle' or 'center.' You may recognize it from the name the Chinese use for their country, Zhongguo 中国.

I found this to be bizarre. What was the Pueblo's meaning of this? How coincidental is the duplication? If anyone has knowledge of ancient Pueblo culture or rock art, please email me. Most likely though, this figure is a universal figure with a diverse range of meanings.

After a few days days wandering around looking for rock art, I took off further south.

Quick stop by the Grand Canyon.

And I finally arrived. This is a considerable distance south of Phoenix, where I looked for side roads off my map where I saw only vacant land. This is what I was after.

As I mentioned in a previous trip, the desert can be harsh, but dusk and dawn are simply stunning. I spent three days deep out in the desert, staying as long as my water reserves would comfortably allow.

I spent my time simply wandering around naked. There was no sound of cars or people. It was liberating. My thoughts bent. Thinking changes.

After my desert wanderings I shot up north to Petrified Forest National Park. I really dug it. I liken it to the Great Sand Dunes NP because it was stunning and there weren't many people there.

This is a cross-section of a tree that has been fossilized. This occurs when a plant is buried by sediment then groundwater (which is rich in dissolved solid materials) flows through the plant, replacing the plant material with other inorganic material.

This area was littered with petrified wood. Awesome.

The north end of Petrified Forest NP.

Again, paying for camping is silly. I found this spot about half-hour off the main road en route to Canyon De Chelly National Monument.

Very cool hiking all around in Canyon De Chelly.

Ruins and rock art.

Cave dwellings.

These caves are accessible by a hike/horseback trip into the valley with the company of a local guide. I was itching to get back to Crested Butte and get Ben so I settled for a zoom-in. Still pretty bizarre.

Driving back to Colorado. I was pleasantly surprised at how this came out. This was taken off the road while heading through Navajo Country. Shiprock is in the center and a taste of Colorado is seen in the background. One of the best drives of the trip.