Blast from the Past, Part 2

Our second blast from the past was in the form of an ancient archaeological site called Painted Rock Petroglyph Site located north west of Gila Bend, Arizona.  The area was populated by the Hohokam people from AD 350 to AD 1400.  There are over 40 sites in the area containing a dozen or so petroglyphs each, however this site has over 800 drawings in a relatively small concentrated area.

The rock outcropping is roughly a 400' oval about 20 feet tall.  The heaviest concentration of rock art is on the east side (the left side of the picture above).

The site is managed by the BLM and this big guy.

In addition to the Hohokam people, the area also hosted some famous visitors including Juan Bautista de Anza on his way to San Francisco in the 1700's, the Mormon Battalion on their 2,000 mile trek to San Diego during the Mexican American war in the 1800's, the Butterfield Overland Mail route in the 1800's and General George Patton had his WWII tank training headquarters nearby in the 1900's.

The site is very interesting, the camping cheap ($4 per night with my senior discount), and the sunset was spectacular.

Today's 3 Fun Facts:

     1.  It is thought that the Hohokam people were the first to settle along the Gila & Salt Rivers of Arizona.
     2.  The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
     3.  I never get tired of the beautiful desert sunsets.