Postcard from Saguaro National Park, Arizona

1. Postcard from Saguaros, 2. "Stop, Rest, Worship", 3. Painted Rock Petroglyphs in AZ, 4. Painted Rock Petroglyphs in AZ

Mosaic made with FD's Flickr Toys.

Postcard from Saguaros (in tiny, almost indecipherable handwriting):
We picked up this postcard at a dusty little roadside stand in Quartzsville--it looked like those funky, colorful little souvenir/trinket shops that you see scattered along the Yucatan, and it sold everything from car-parts to tiny animals carved from stone. Feeling sheepishly tourist-ish, I bought some cards and a $2.00 fedora-like sun hat that makes me look like an extra from an Indiana Jones movie. A lot of the venders seemed like they could have used some sun hats as well--most of them were leathery and rough-looking, visibly eroding just like their standstone surroundings. Yipes.
This morning we drove along I-90 through a hundred miles of Saguaro-speckled desert, a sight that was endlessly intriguing in contrast to Oregon's more predictable green landscape (although I don't think I'd want to live here after Oregon and Montana--far too harsh and hot and prickley overall). In the middle of nowhere, along the roadside before Yuma, we drove past a little white handpanted sign with formal, gothic-style text, reading "Stop, Rest, Worship." Just beyond it, in the middle of a rocky, barren field, there nestled a tiny white church (probably car-sized) with a dramatic gable stabbing skyward. It was so out of place in the landscape that I had to stop and take a picture (which is here, top right, but ont very clear). Unfortunately, just as I was snapping the photo (in full Indiana Jones regalia, no less), the church's god-fearing residents drove past (in a large white suburban, of course) to pick up their mail. I smiled and waved apologetically but received only stern looks.
Oh well.


More detail:
The bottom two photos in the mosaic are of Arizona's Painted Rock monument, located approximately 90 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. These petroglyphs, near an area that was formerly a river-bed, were carved several centuries ago by native Americans, and some were further modified as pioneers passed through the area in the mid-1800s. If you view the stones from the northeast, you can read pioneers' graffiti (such as "Ed was here, 1855"). Much more interesting are the natives' depictions of animals, cycles and spirals, and humans; you can see some in these photos.
Andy and I camped in this desert on BLM land. We had barbequed bratwursts and corn for dinner and sat out under the moon and stars... the temperature never dipped below 65 degrees.
Glorious.

More, from Tucson, later.