I did a little hike in the Eagletail Wilderness west of Phoenix on a cold winter morning. The Sonoran Desert of Arizona is full of tall saguaro cacti, and this is a fantastically scenic country.
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2021/06/IMG_8544.jpg)
After crossing the open desert, I entered a canyon cut into some low-lying volcanic hills. The petroglyphs started immediately, and there were far more of them than I expected. This is an impressive site. As I hiked down the canyon, the walls of both sides were covered in petroglyphs. In one rock shelter, I spotted some pictographs that faded beyond recognition by exposure to the elements. The false color of DStretch imagery brought the symbols out.
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8667_lab.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8670_lds.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8714.jpg)
False color DStretch images of the pictographs and petroglyphs
I expected to see a spring or some source of water here, but I didn’t. If you venture out into this desolate wilderness, be sure to bring some water with you.
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8586.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8626.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8707.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8715.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8559.jpg)
![](https://www.starbuck.org/content/images/2023/04/IMG_8565.jpg)
Petroglyphs and historic writing
My photos are from 2013.