A trail approximately .25 mile (.4 km) long, at the Deer Valley
Rock Art Center, leads along the base of outcrops of on the edge of the Hedgpeth Hills,
northwest of Phoenix, Arizona.
I first visited this place on a beautiful, warm, autumn day, and it seemed
that I had it all to myself. The sweet, dry smell of the desert surrounded me with
comfort. I was walking along this trail, looking up at the cascade of dark rocks
from above, when I was startled by an abrupt, booming voice from the chaparral around.
"Hello, sir! May I be of help to you?"
Totally surprised, I quickly turned around, and saw a man wearing a ranger's
uniform coming towards me from out of the bushes. He was Native American, or Indian
(which is the designation he later told me he preferred), stocky, strong-looking, with
graying hair and chiseled features, and somehow he just "beamed".
He introduced himself, and I could see he was "official" by the
badge on his uniform. In a very amiable manner, he immediately started dispensing
information about the Rock Art Center, its history, and of course, the petroglyphs.
But I was still trying to figure out why I had not seen him at first, how I had missed
noticing him as I walked along that trail. After all, the chaparral there is not
that thick or tall. And it seemed that he just "didn't fit" -- as if he
had just materialized on the spot. I even had the thought that he was just posing as
a ranger! Next View >>
