After seeing all those sights in and around Quartzsite, Arizona, I had one more destination, which was across the Colorado River in California. It was a place I had visited in 1998 on an archaeological tour, but according to some online research, there were some parts of the site that I did not get to see at that time. This means that, according to the math, if you were born during my first visit, you are now eligible to run for congresscritter. The Blythe Intaglios are located about 12 miles north of Blythe, California, just off U.S. 95, and like the Bouse Fisherman of my earlier post, are geoglyphs created by Native Americans centuries ago.
(In Quartzsite, I ate lunch and then gassed up my rental car for $4.05 per gallon. After I left Interstate 10 in California, I saw gas stations charging $6.09 for regular. Thanks a lot, Gavin and Joe.)
The intaglios themselves are arranged in three different locations within the site. The first group includes three of them within two enclosures. In one enclosure is a human figure, whose "head" points roughly northward. Unfortunately, a line possibly added by paleface vandals crosses its "legs".
Here's part of the figure from another angle, with some of the Big Maria Mountains in the background.
In the other enclosure is this figure of a four-legged animal....
....and this figure which includes a spiral and thus might be of a snake. Since this picture looks eastward, the trees in the background are along the Colorado River, and the mountains are in Arizona.
I saw the three figures shown above for the first time in 1998. They are accessible by a short hike from a small parking area along the site's main (dirt) road. About 1,800 feet farther down the road is second parking area, from which a second human figure may be reached by a short hike. This intaglio is the only figure at this second location, its "head" pointing roughly southward.
From this angle, one "arm" of the figure contacts some circular arcs within the enclosure.
Reaching the third group of intaglios was more difficult because there was no trail leading to them from the road. There wasn't even a designated parking area, but I was still able to find a place to park and from there set out on foot. I had to find my way down into a ravine and then up the other side. When I got to the top, I was right next to a third human figure, this one larger than the other two. Like the second figure above, its "head" pointed roughly southward.
Near this human figure is another intaglio of a four-legged animal, which is somewhat larger than the first one shown above. Considering the larger sizes of these last two figures, I wonder if whoever made them wanted to outdo whoever made the other human and animal figures.
From this angle, you can see the enclosure for the human figure behind and through part of the enclosure for the animal figure.
After taking the last shot, I went back down into the ravine and up the other side to my parked car. The hike wasn't all that long, but going up and down the sides of ravines when its 100 degrees outside can take its toll. Before leaving the place, I had to take one last picture. If you're driving on U.S. 95 north of Blythe, across the road from this monument is the dirt road that takes you to the intaglios.
For more about the Blythe Intaglios, go to Ancient Art Archives, Eagle Creek, The Archaeologist, Heritage Daily and The Gentle Art of Wandering.
No comments:
Post a Comment