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| Hiking | 2.30 Miles |
50 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.30 Miles | | | |
| 50 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | And to finish off our day after Devil's Garden, we went to do the Painted Rim Trail. As we were pulling in we saw around two dozen corvettes. At the entrance there was a Cliffrose that yelled, "smell me" so we obliged and were pleasantly surprised at the wonderful fragrance. I had no idea it smelled that great or I would have stopped much more on the trail in the past. We took a little tour of the Inn which is really quaint and has some superb views. It would be a fun place to hang out. We were too late for ice cream though  .
And then we started our hike of the Painted Desert Rim Trail. We were walking on the Bidahochi top layer which was deposited by volcanoes between 16 and 5 million years ago. This layer protects the softer and much older Chinle Formation from 210 million years ago. And like the Grand Canyon, there is a missing layer (Unconformity) between the two. We enjoyed reading the interpretive signs so that we could better understand what we were seeing, and in this case, not seeing.
The red of the Chinle layer is most prominent as you look out, mostly to the north. It looks like it would be fun to hike around and explore down there. We came upon a corner of Cliffrose TREES. They were full of luscious blooms and it smelled great. We went to the end where there is another parking area and Tawa Point. The point is named for Tawa, the Hopi Sun Spirit. According to Hopi beliefs Tawa is the Creator, and it was he who formed the First World out of Tokpella, or Endless Space, as well as its original inhabitants.
Next up: Pintado Point's Newspaper Rock was a must. The view of the Newspaper Rock is really only visible through the looking glasses. I even had trouble zooming into where the rocks were to document the glyphs. However, they were impressive. From the NPS: With so many "writers" over so many years, it is impossible to "read" the rockface. There is no linear story.I also liked the interpretive signs that showed us our views which were pretty good, but there was a little haze.
Pintado is the Spanish word for “painted,” which is fitting at this scenic viewpoint.
One more stop, Puerco Pueblo, as long as we're in the area, we parked near the interpretive sign about the New Pangea. I recently watched the series about the making of the continents so I find that signs and area like this, reinforce what I think I learned. Puerco Pueblo was a 100 room plus room place very close to the Puerco River that at it's height was home to 200 people.
Before going over to check it out, there is a building filled with wonderful interpretive signs that I wanted to get pictures of. I'm getting better at understanding this history and geology better and I find these signs help me more with some of what I think I know. And then there are the petroglyphs with one notable, the solar marker. For about two weeks around June 21, an interaction of light and shadow passes across the rings of this small, circular design as the sun rises. To top it all off, the clouds were putting on a magnificent show.
Once again, Kelly was the absolute perfect tour guide and I thank her profusely. And she wasn't done yet; Day 3 would be just as amAZing.
Video [ youtube video ] I haven't reviewed it yet. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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