Desert Messenger

September 17, 2014 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 MOUNTAIN QUAIL C AFE Open 7am - 7pm 7 DAYS/ WEEK 928-927-8890 Open Year Round! 490 N. Moon Mt. Ave., Quartzsite (corner of Moon Mt. & Quail Trail) B-10, Main St. Moon Mountain X Quail Trail N Hwy. 95, N. Central • DAILY SPECIALS • Thurs. SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS • Friday FISH Special • Sat. PRIME RIB Enjoy our Famous Bread Pudding ! Home Style Cooking! ROCKS FROM PAGE 14 We knew we could get you to read this ad! For effective advertising contact Desert Messenger today! Call Rain at 928-916-4235 or visit www.DesertMessenger.com Volunteers wanted to clean up recreation areas NOW OPEN! OPEN DAILY 6am - 8pm 7 Days/Week Year-Round Western American Food Mexican Food Coming Soon! Seats 153 • Banquet Room • Large Groups Room Service Available in our 10-Room Motel 904 W. Main St., Quartzsite and shelters. Waterfalls suddenly appeared where there once were fl at slow moving streams, and concave basins in the impermeable basalt collected water into shallow pools teeming with life. It is at one of these pools where 1000 year old stories are carved into the rocks - stories of how rocks can change your life. Stories about how specifi c exploding rocks changed the lives of one group of people quietly living in the arid plateaus of Northern Arizona, before it ever was Arizona. These are the petroglyphs of Keyhole Sink, a beautiful box canyon formed by a lava fl ow of the San Francisco Volcanic Field. Here, amidst the tall pines, two fl ows come together forming a keyhole shaped box canyon. In the spring, snowmelt cascades over the cliffs into a "sink" at the bottom. Aspens and shrubs line the base of the cliffs, and a lush meadow of grasses and wildfl owers blankets the canyon fl oor. A cave provides shelter, and a perfect vantage point for observing wildlife as they came to drink and browse. Even during a dry summer, there is wa- ter here. The sink is surrounded on three sides by tall cliffs, and the narrow open end is shel- tered by trees. It is the perfect hunting grounds and rest stop, and it is here, about 30 miles from Sunset Crater, where new pit house villages sprung up after the eruptions. Surrounding the site, for a radius of about fi fteen miles are the remnants of pit house foundations. And inside the canyon, the petroglyphs, dating from 700 and 1100 AD, tell the story of how the canyon was used for hunting and rituals. One prominent glyph depicts animals being herd- ed into the canyon, with the only escape route cut off. Looking around at the water, the lush meadow full of berries and other wild foods, and the cave for shelter, it is apparent how these ba- salt cliffs made life in this forest so much easier. These stories, carved into the stone, beautifully explain just some of the ways that rocks did, in- deed, change the lives of the ancient people of Northern Arizona. As you head to Quartzsite, if you are near Flag- staff, stop at the ancient sites of Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments, and then head to Keyhole Sink. We are open in Kingman at the Historic Route 66 Swapmeet until Oc- tober. We will be open in Quartzsite at A37 in Rice Ranch at the beginning of November. We carry a very nice selection of Native American artifacts, as well as rocks, minerals, and fossils, plus everything you need for rockhounding, prospecting, lapidary, and more, at RocksIn- MyHead. You can visit us online at www.Rock- sInMyHead.com or order by email or over the phone at 605-376-8754. Yuma, Ariz. – To celebrate National Public Lands Day (NPLD), the Bureau of Land Man- agement (BLM) will host a volunteer event to clean up recreation sites in the Yuma vicinity. Please join us for the NPLD Clean Up event on Saturday, September 20, 2014, from 6 to 10 a.m. The staging area for the event will be at Mittry Lake Recreation Area, which is ap- proximately 8 miles northeast of Yuma. All volunteers will meet at the staging area to register and receive a safety briefi ng. Upon completion of the briefi ng, you will be assigned an area to clean such as Mittry Lake or other surrounding sites that are popular for fi shing and other outdoor activities. Everyone interested in keeping public lands beautiful is encouraged to attend. We will have free hot dogs, chips, and cookies for the participants at the end of the event. Don't for- get to bring your gloves, hats, and sunscreen. Directions to Mittry Lake Recreation Area: Turn north off Highway 95 at 7 E. Follow 7E until it turns into a dirt road. Continue on the dirt road approximately 2 miles to Mittry Lake Boat Ramp. If you have any questions, please contact Ron Morfi n at 928-317-3226. La Paz County Health Department Food Handler Cards Food Handler cards are required for every person who handles or prepares food, and/or handles the eating utensils and food preparation equipment, including dishwashing. The cost is $15.00 per year and the card must be posted in- side the food unit. Cards must be obtained prior to opening. For more information contact the Health Department at 928-669-1100. Food Handler Classes

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