Desert Messenger

S�������� 1, 2010  STONE STORIES FROM PAGE 6 At Dripping Springs, on a 100 degree day, water was flowing out of the rock and accumulating in a small pool. The area was well shaded and full of trees and shrubs. The temperature around the spring was at least 20 degrees cooler than the desert just 50 yards away. In Grapevine Canyon, there is a stream with a waterfall, a small cave, and stands of wild grapes where the glyphs are located. To best understand these sites when visiting them, find a place to sit for awhile and contemplate the environment. Imagine yourself traveling across this hot, dry, windy, and dusty desert landscape, looking for a place that has what you need to survive…food, water, shelter. Now look carefully at this place. Look around, away from this site, out into the desert and notice the difference. Think about the importance of this place to your survival. There is water here, the sustainer of all life. There is shelter here, in the trees and the rocks. There is food here, because the animals and plants need this water to survive also. During the heat of the day the tall trees provide shade, at night they offer warmth by giving fuel for a fire. This is a sacred place, a place of survival, a refuge from the harsh and life-threatening desert conditions. Now look at the glyphs. Use your imagination. What do they say to you? What would they say to another like you, also searching for the same things. Think about traveling a long distance on a highway . You are tired and hungry, it’s getting late, and the fuel gauge is close to empty. You look for a place to find food for your body, gas for your car, and a comfortable and safe place to sleep. There is still a long stretch of road ahead of you. Suddenly, a sign comes into view. “Food, fuel, lodging, next exit”, it says, and you breathe a sigh of relief. Look at the petroglyphs again. Now what do they say to you? Be still and contemplate quietly. Imagine yourself here in the desert 1000 years ago. ���.D�����M��������.��� No Pilot Travel Center just off the Interstate, no restaurants or grocery stores. No RV in which to weather the storms. But people thrived here for centuries. The ancient ones who lived off the land called this desert their home long before modern technology made life in the desert leisurely. They passed on their knowledge of how to survive in their desert home by drawing signs, glyphs, on the rocks, saying “Food, fuel, shelter, here”. “This is a good place to live in the desert”. As we live here in the desert, comfortable and secure with our modern conveniences, it is easy to forget that life here was not always so carefree. These ancient sites that we visit and photograph are so much more than simple pictures drawn by primitive people. They are tales from the rocks, stories of ancient generations and their way of life here in the desert. They are stories of hope and survival, success and failure, death and life, love and war, prayers and thanksgiving. Hidden in them are dreams, goals, fears, and desires, reaching through time waiting to speak to future generations. Let the desert, the mountains, and the stories in the rocks speak. They have much to say if we would just sit quietly for awhile, open up our imagination, look and listen. 91.7 FM Scholars’ Radio Check it out! Quartzsite Student Run Radio Station! Food Handlers classes - plan ahead La Paz County Department an- nounced their summer schedule for food handler classes. All classes will be held at the Quartzsite Senior Center, located at 40 Moon Mt. Rd. • Wed. Sept. 22 ~ 10 am and 2 pm • Wed. Oct. 13 ~ 10 am and 2 pm • Wed. Nov. 17 ~ 1o am and 2 pm Beginning in December, classes will be held on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 am and 10:30am. thru January. There will be no classes on Dec. 24. For more information, contact La Paz County Health Department in Parker, 928-669-1100. P��� 7 vites you to Town Hall for “Coffee with Cops” on Wed. Sept. 1st from 8am-9am. ...and donuts, too! Wed. Sept. 1 - 8 am Quartzsite Police Department in- Coffee with Cops Gilbert and Quartzsite Police offi- cers on the first Wednesday of each month! Here’s your chance to bring your questions and concerns to the Quartzsite Police Department. For more information call the station at 928-927-4644. DRASTIC PRICE REDUCTION! 18 acres! Unbelievable! Huge like-new building! TWO parcels in Bouse. One 18-acre parcel with 100x142 metal insulated building, 4 roll-up doors, thick concrete floor, 3-phase electric, well, septic. Currently zoned HI. $389,000. Adjoining 51 acres available for only $229,000. Level, no flooding issues. Fronts Hwy. 72, zoned C2 & HI, paved access road. Possible rezone could allow for RV Park or subdivision. Use as indoor recreation area or RV storage. Possibilities are endless! Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity! www. BettyHunterRealty.com BETTY HUNTER, INC. REALTOR Call 928-669-9268 Serving Bouse, Parker & Quartzsite MAIN STREET We look forward to seeing our old friends and meeting new ones! Open Daily 6-3 (Closed Wed.) LAUNDROMAT 205 E. Main St. across from Roadrunner 928-308-0011 Join Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff

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