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Published: December 6th 2008
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The Sun
Chihuly welcoming visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden Last minute travel can be awesome - I found a last minute cheap flight to Phoenix, and decided to go see the Grand Canyon. Flying in on the early flight Monday morning gave me the whole day to enjoy Arizona. I was planning on driving straight towards Sedona, but was sidetracked by a brochure I saw showing a Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. I've always wanted to see a Chihuly installmant in an outdoor setting, but this was the first chance I've had. Dale Chihuly is known for his impressive glass sculptures and his work is almost always instantly recognizable. The Desert Botanical Gardens was pretty cool by itself, with more types of cacti then I ever knew existed. The Chihuly glass was beyond cool - there were so many great ones, I couldn't choose just one favorite. The glass sculptures were located throughout the gardens, along with different cacti and other desert plants. His work just draws ou in -
After the Garden , I drove north towards Sedona. My next stop was the Native American ruins called Montezuma's Castle. It's one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. It had more than
20 rooms in a five story dwelling nestled high in a limestone cliff, over 70 feet from the ground. It once housed about 50 people. It's one of the first National Monuments ever, President Theodore Roosevelt declared it in 1906, to celebrate the passage of the Antiquities Act. The Sinagua people lived in the dwelling for over 400 years around 1400 AD. It is right next to Beaver Creek, which gave the inhabitants a great water source.
After the dwelling, I drove a little further north, to the V-Bar-V Ranch, where there are some awesome petroglyphs. Actually, I learned that it's the largest known petroglyph site in the area, as well as the best preserved. The rock art is from the Sinagua people, done back around AD1150 - 1400. There are over 1000 petroglyphs, and are made by grinding, pecking or scratching away at the rock surface. There were so many different objects projected: stick shaped humans, turtles, antelope, dogs, snakes, fish, the sun and the moon. The guide at the ranch said that no one really knows what they mean, although tons of people have theorized: they are astronomical markers, they show a story of the Sigagua's life,
Flowering Cactus
One of the many varieties at the Garden only certain people in the tribes were allowed to view and make the rock art. No matter what they mean, they definitely had a deep cultural and religious significance to the native people, and I'm glad I got a chance to view them.
Next, I drove on to Sedona, and got to see some of the famous red rocks, and got a little shopping in. Then, I drove on to Flagstaff, where I spent the night.
The next morning, I woke up early (again), hoping to get to the Grand Canyon before sunrise. Well, that didn't happen, but I still go there super early. Standing on the rim, looking over the Grand Canyon for the first time looking at the vastness, the depth and just how amazing it was, I thought this quote was appropriate:
“To stand upon the edge of this stupendous gorge, as it receives its earliest greeting from the God of day, is to enjoy in a moment compensation for long years of ordinary uneventful life.”
The last place I visited on my whirlwind visit was Wupatki Pueblo, which about 800 years ago, used to be the largest pueblo around, and is still pretty
well preserved. I visited Wupatki the last time I was in Arizona, but remembered being awed by it, so decided to stop by again. It definitely didn't disappoint. In addition to looking so good, the park service has a great guide book that they give every visitor, and is probably one of the best I've ever read - it's thorough without being boring in the least! Here's what the Park Service says about Wupatki: "Less than 800 years ago, Wupatki Pueblo was the largest pueblo around. It flourished for a time as a meeting place of different cultures. Yet this was one of the warmest and driest places on the Colorado Plateau, offering little obvious food, water, or comfort. How and why did people live here? The builders of Wupatki and nearby pueblos have moved on, but their legacy remains."
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Claudine
non-member comment
Wow
Oh my God, those picture Heather! I wish I could have seen that live. The scenery looks a bit different from where I am ;) Magnifique.