One of the finest and best-preserved examples of petroglyphs can be found at the V bar V National Heritage Site in Rimrock, AZ. Access to the site was by a narrow, rough unpaved road (ultimately navigated in our little Honda Fit - four-wheeled drive not required). There was no signage to pull people from the interstate, so it didn't draw a large crowd. The chimney was all that remained of the ranch house. The owners found the wall of petroglyphs and made an effort to preserve it by fencing around it to protect it from grazing cattle. Because it was on private and isolated land, very few people knew about its existence.
The property was first homesteaded by the Taylor family at the turn of the 20th century. At the time, the closest town was Jerome, AZ accessed by dirt roads (32 miles away). To protect the ancient rock art panels, the ranch was acquired by the U.S. Forest Service through a land exchange in 1994.
An extremely easy quarter-mile hike joins the visitor center near the ranch house with the petroglyph wall.
A total of 1,032 petroglyphs have been identified above ground so far (more are likely hidden below the ground level which was three feet lower 800 years ago). Most of these images were pecked, ground or scratched into the "desert varnish" on the walls over 800 years ago, between AD 1150 and 1400. By observing the day to day movement of shadows across the rock images, the Sinagua people knew when to plant and harvest crops or when to begin ceremonies.
If we had arrived an hour earlier (1:00 to 1:30pm is the best time in May), the shadow from the protruding rock would have drawn a line down the face of the rock reaching the ground.
A nifty mock-up of the rock face with movable lines was helpful in imagining the changes of the shaft of shadow throughout the year.
While our docent, Doug, had only been on the job a few days, his enthusiasm and knowledge helped bring life to the wall.
The Sinaguans (a name archaeologists have given them) are thought to be the ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and Yavapai. Members of these tribes have helped to decipher the symbols.
These folks were headed down the trail as we were leaving. I think his shirt said "Primordial Sound Meditation" in addition to "Shamanic Healing" and the whole group of 8 were carrying drums. It might have been interesting!
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