![]() |
Outdoors Information |
|
|
Arrowhead Hunting and Rock Collecting
We weren't planning to go rock and arrowhead hunting in Arizona. My wife and I just liked that hotspring in the desert. It was agood place to escape the Michigan winter for a while. Then we met Felix, an old Mayan Indian living in an old RV. After sharing meals and campfires for a week, he took us into the desert to show us ancient metates (grain-grinding stones) and arrowheads. We also found hundreds of beautiful rocks of every type, including Apache Tears, Fire Agate, and various quartzes. Irina, a nineteen-year-old "rainbow kid," who had been living in her van for months, rode with Felix in his old pickup. We took our van. We spent two hours at the first stop. The recent rain had made the rocks and artifacts stand out, washing them clean. We were mostly just rock collecting. Irina and my wife Ana found odd pieces that may have been arrowheads. We found old pottery pieces too, and Felix came back with half of a pot painted with an intricate design. It was probably hundreds of years old. Felix had been in the desert for years, and kept seeing things we missed. Pony Express Ruins At our second stop, Felix showed us ruins of an old Pony Express station. Unmarked and forgotten, the grass-and-mud-block walls were still partially standing. I realized we still hadn't seen a single other car. There are some isolated areas in Arizona, and this is one of them. We started arrowhead hunting around the ruins, because Felix insisted the building would have been fired upon by arrows. Up the hill behind the ruins, Felix showed us rocks with six-inch wide holes a foot deep or more, and perfectly round. They were filled with water - their purpose, according to Felix. We like water with fewer bugs, but he and Irina drank the water collected in them. It was a peaceful spot, overlooking the valley below. Arrowhead Hunting Success Over the hill, we had some luck searching for rocks and arrowheads, but not like Felix. We saw hundreds of pieces of pottery, but all very plain looking. He found pottery that had beautiful designs on it, and metates. He found a tiny clear quartz arrowhead, perfectly made, that had probably been used to hunt small birds two hundred years earlier. Each of us wandered a bit. Ana and I made it back to the van first, and when Irina and Felix returned, we cooked beans with instant rice on our camp stove. After the meal, we said goodbyes, and traded addresses. They went back to the hotsprings, while we headed the other way with bags of rocks, an antelope antler, and two broken arrowheads. Notes: For interesting rocks, go out after a rain and you can see Fire-agate and Apache Teardrops laying on the sand. For the best rock collecting, visit the designated rockhound areas in southeastern Arizona. As for arrowhead hunting, and ancient pottery, enjoy yourself, but it may be illegal to keep any artifacts now. The BLM office in Safford can give you directions and more information. Steve Gillman hit the road at sixteen, and traveled the United States and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40, he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. Read more stories, tips and travel information at: http://www.EverythingAboutTravel.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Outdoors - Google News |
RELATED ARTICLES
The Best Safari Company for Your Safari Trip - Heres How To Choose Which is the best African safari company for my safari trip?This is a question that comes up very frequently and it's not surprising.There are so many safari operators in the market all promising the earth that it is very difficult to choose between them, especially when you know nothing about them. The Best Backpacking Food Maybe your favorite backpacking food is a freeze-dried turkey dinner. There really is no "best" backpacking food. No Artificial Ingredients Indeed Back from our family's vacation to Costa Rica, I am left feeling extremely grateful for not only the well-received rest and relaxation with family; I enjoyed exhilarating experiences previously unimaginable.Costa Rica's ad in this Sunday's New York Times includes the tagline "No Artificial Ingredients. Find a Camping Gear Outlet Near You When you search online for a camping gear outlet you will find camping gear at great discounts like tents, sleeping materials like sleeping bags, navigation and survival items, camping furniture and lanterns, tools, knives and optics, personal care equipment, backpacks, camping cookware, and other camping stuff.If the camp gear outlet you find is an established one, you will find some of the best sales and discounts on clearance items as well as discontinued ones. The Price of Gas Really Doesnt Matter! "The good news is that there is no reason to cower in the corner of your RV trying to avoid the gasoline bogeyman," asserts Carol White, author of Live Your Road Trip Dream - Travel for a year for the cost of staying home. "While none of us are thrilled about the new reality of gas prices, this is not a reason to cancel your travel plans, particularly if you are planning that dream trip of a lifetime. Camping For Fun Camping for fun is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and relax. But before going camping you will need to purchase camping equipment one of the better places to get the gear you need is at camping world. The Royal Barge Procession - Splendor on the Chao Phraya River The Royal Barge Procession in Bangkok, conducted on very rare occasions, is a spectacular royal armada on the Chao Phraya River. This procession is normally conducted on the following occasions: When the King ascends the throne. Wal-Mart Camping And Other Free Places "Do you know about Wal-Mart camping?" We didn't know, but the old man at the campground in Florida insisted WalMart not only allowed RVs and vans to park overnight, but encouraged it. "Free camping," he told us, and we didn't wait long to take advantage of this new knowledge. Improving Your Aim If your aim is not good, or is not quite what you want it to be, there are several ways you can work to improve it. Most people can hit the target almost every time when they are not rushed in any way. Cochin - Cocktails of Cultures Eulogised as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Cochin, Kerala's commercial capital is an anachronism. The dashing metropolitan city prides itself on a historical heritage stretching back to ancient times and embracing within its far reaching hold, cultures as diverse as Hindu, Chinese, Arab, Jewish, Syrian Christian, Portuguese, Dutch and English. Your Virgin Bushwalk Isn't it time you stepped out of the concrete jungle and into a wilder world, the world of the African bushveld?This may be a major step for most metro dwellers, as the city life offers a certain sense of security, a place to dwell, free from insects and the dangers spawned from mother nature's indifference to man.What happens when the Landrover finally stops and your feet meet with the Savannah floor? Do your preconceptions of an African Safari drop away? Find out what Sabi Sabi's ultimate bush experience is all about!Ambient Sounds of the Bushveld Come AliveOn foot the intricacies of the African bushveld become apparent, the soft textures of yellowed grasslands, the smell of the earth and the ambient sounds of the bushveld come alive. Camping Stove Performance: Ease of Use & What to Avoid Important information about camping stoves.. Hiking Safely on the Hills SAFE WALKING TREKKING OUTDOORSIf you are contemplating a long distance walk, or indeed a day walk, on the any of the high level routes in the UK, such as The Pennine Way, for the first time, between October and May, please be aware that you are embarking on a test of your endurance and stamina, especially when carrying a backpack.Each stage in a long distance walk involves a period of several hours spent outdoors, often in isolated and remote locations and sometimes at altitudes above 400 metres, in possibl;y rain or snow. Why Should You Use Hiking Poles? Why should you use hiking poles is perhaps the first question that may strike in your mind especially when you are a beginner. To get the right answer for this question you need to consider two things i. Spanish Courses in Spain Spain: sun, sea, sand and Spanish.. Costa Rica White Water Rafting Trip Costa Rica's mountainous topography and copious rainfall are both responsible for one of the best white water rafting river choices in the world. Experienced rafting outfitters regularly run about half a dozen of rambunctious rivers, and those river trips not only provide plenty of excitement, but also allow enjoying gorgeous scenery. Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel with an RV New experiences make me nervous, and I assume that holds true for most of us. Towing our fifth wheel through a major tunnel for the first time was such an experience. Hiking Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is the most popular park in the state. It has fantastic areas to explore. Viewpoints on Whale Watching in Hermanus! If you're looking to spot a whale, the first few things you'll hear people say is:"Hermanus has the best land-based whale watching in the world" and "You're sure to see hundreds of whales breaching from the waters off the rocky cliffs to the West" or "You'll definitely see them lob tailing from the vantage point of the golden beaches to the East".And this indeed is a fact. How To Buy a Used RV - Part 2 The key to getting a good bargin, instead of a lemon, when buying your used RV is knowing what to look for. Here is a useful checklist to help with your search. |
| home | site map | Ocean Photography |
| © 2006 |