Seeking the Shaman

We're back from a hike into the Toroweap area.  We were seeking the ancient Shaman's Gallery, perhaps the oldest rock art in the Grand Canyon. 

Here's the view to the east as we start our descent from Tuckup Canyon Trailhead. 

On the way down, we see the remains of a million year old lava flow. The lava (which hardened into the black rock seen on the right) flowed 2 miles and formed the mile wide triangular fan that appears in the center of the photo. 

This old fence gap frames the trail.

Right below, we see limestone boulders loaded with fossils. Some are crinoid stems.  As we descend1800 feet, to about 4000 feet above sea level, temperatures warm, and signs of spring appear. 

The cliff rose sprouts leaves.

An Indian paintbrush brightens the path.

We find phlox,

this tiny purple flower (milkvetch?),

and another dark purple bloom on Thamnosma montana, a species of flowering plant in the citrus family known by the common names turpentine broom and Mojave desert-rue.  This desert bush has such diminutive leaves that it conducts photosynthesis in the succulent green stems.  It has a pleasant lemony scent. According to one study done in the Mojave desert, individual plants can live up to 1000 years.  Do you see a honey bee, hard at work on the trumpet-shaped flowers? 

Several miles and a couple of hours later, we enter this wide, gravelly wash.  This is a great place for rock art, with all of the Supai sandstone ledges and panels.  But we don't see a single human-made mark.  Are we in the wrong place?  Only time and a lot of searching will tell us for sure...

Cliffy Discoveries

Last summer, we saw a golden eaglet perching on a nest in The Cedars, near our house. Will the parents be back this year? We're on the lookout. 

While exploring for petroglyphs, Steve found another pair of eagle nests about a mile from the one that sheltered the eaglet of last summer.  The higher nest looks ready for occupancy.

Oddly enough, we've seen petroglyphs near each set of eagle nests.  Can you see the carrot marking the one high on a cliff?  Don't ask me how a Native American got up there.  I have no idea.  Daisy is at the bottom of the cliff, possibly wondering how she might climb up.

Petroglyph, zoomed in.

Since the nests are in ideal locations, maybe the eagles have raised young there since the time the petroglyphs were carved, and perhaps the petroglyphs were marking the spots as special or sacred.  It's interesting to speculate. 

The above petroglyphs were not near a nest.  Man chasing deer, with extra large human footprint?  That's my best guess.  What do you think? The figure above and to the left looks a little like a jackrabbit to me.

Some of the cliffs in the area look golden.  Minerals (copper, iron, sulphur, or a combination) must be responsible. 

Fungi draws its own colorful art on the rocks.