We've learned that for each 1000' feet in elevation change there's about a 5.4°F change in temperature. That means with no other factors involved, other than elevation, our new campsite is going to be at least 8°F warmer.
There's a 2.5-mile stretch where the oncoming traffic lanes are on the right instead of the left.
The roadway criss-crosses underneath each other twice thanks to the odd terrain.
Arizona 87 eventually deposited us on the desert floor and into the sprawling outskirts of Phoenix. While we were in such a big town we took advantage of the cheaper gasoline ($2.79 instead of $3.33) and found propane for sale at a reasonable $3.69 per gallon.
There was also a $240+ visit to a Fry's Grocery store, a subsidiary of the much larger Kroger Company. Seeing as how Fry's is a Kroger owned supermarket, they also carry the Kroger exclusive Thrashed Apple flavor of Mountain Dew, my new favorite, unseating my previous favorite flavor, Code Red.
Now that we've filled our fridge, freezer and pantry, it's time to fill our bellies too. It's been a while since we've seen a Chipolte's Restaurant, and decided that would make for a refreshing change for where to eat lunch today.
Now that all of our chores are done it's time to slide down south to Interstate-8 and then head west to the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site and Campground. This will be our westerly most stop for the entire 2024 season, meaning it's time to head east and then north towards those Great Lakes visits I promised you.
Once we turned off of Interstate-8 we still had 11½-miles of road to travel across the desert to reach the campsite.
We kept seeing the same sign, over and over again, on the side of the road. Each one making me wonder a little more if they were talking about the roadway, or subtly calling me names!
It wasn't long before we were turning into the campground. It's administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior, unlike the U.S. Forest Service which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The BLM campgrounds generally do not offer many amenities, most only have picinc tables, ground grills, vault toilets and trash collection. Because of this they are generally very inexpensive, this campground is only $8 a night (only $4 with our 50% discount, thanks to the Lifetime Senior Pass).
Pictograph is the term used to describe ancient artwork that is "painted" onto the rocks, whereas petroglyphs are artwork that has been scratched "into" the rocks. None of the artwork here is painted onto the rocks, all of the artwork here has been scratched into the rocks making them petroglyphs.
Although it would be correct to say, "the rocks here are painted with petroglyphs".
Confused yet? So am I, so let's just get to the photos.
PAINTED ROCK PETROGLYPH SITE
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From the parking lot it looks like just another pile of rocks with a fence around it.
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Even as you get closer on the north side of the loop trail nothing changes.
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Once you reach the southwest corner everything changes.
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Now the petroglyphs come into view.
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They're everywhere, on nearly every single rock.
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They are up high at the top of the pile...
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...and down low on the ground.
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