Intaglios Near Jack Ass Flats

[RoadTrippers A & R]

My 7 year old and I were driving our golf cart on a cool little trail we call "Laughing Skull trail" near Blythe Calif.

Laughlin Skull because it reminded my 7 year old of the trail in the Disney Pecos Bill Cartoon where the Cowboys are hot and drunk and the desert skulls all start laughing at them.

We were heading to a little desert bar and grill my 7 year old calls the DIAAHREE-OH.
It's real name is the Del Rio, but some friends got sick on the food, hence the new name from the kids.

The trail goes through an area call JackAss flats, and the Jackass flats Country club.
The Jackass Flats country club, is a 9 hole desert golf course carved in the desert by retired "snowbird" campers during their stays at this area during the winter.
A fun free simple golf course in the absolute middle of nowhere.

Then, we came upon a small BLM Kiosk with historical info about the general area, and we stopped and read it.

It mentioned over 1000 years ago, the residents of the area carved Intaglios mostly seen from the air, some still visible today.

We seached around and found a few, then checked with google maps when we got back to the RV and this is what we found.
Pretty cool:


The ancient Colorado River residents carved huge pictures in the desert floor called Intaglios still visible today:


This human figure has a dog with it.
Estimated to be 1000 years old.

A Quadraped:

From Google satellite pix:


The Fisherman

[RedCorral]

Thanks for bringing these to everyone's attention. While they are pretty remote, about 15 miles north of Blythe on a rough side road, they are worth the trip. There is a very nice campground along the river just north of Blythe if you want to camp nearby, and several motels in town.

The pity is that idiots have driven across them so fences had to be put up.

These are about the only ones that are formally preserved and accessible, but there are petroglyph and pictograph sites all over the west.

Native American culture and history is fascinating, and pretty accessible. You just never know when you are going to stumble on a petroglyph site as you wander the west.

We highly recommend visiting the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and spending some time talking to the artists who sell their wares from the sidewalk in front. These are highly skilled craftspeople who must be approved to sell there. We met the grandson of the famous potter, Maria Martinez, and his wife (Marvin and Frances Martinez). Once he realized we were really interested, he spent a long time explaining the process of gathering the clay, making the paint and brushes, and firing the pieces using dried horse dung and cedar wood. No materials from Wal-Mart for these people. The pieces we bought from them are so beautifully made that his grandmother would have been very proud.

We had a similar experience with Marilyn Ray, an Acoma maker of storytellers, but that is a verrry long story.

Craig

[PNW Judy]

Thanks for sharing. Those types of things always make me wonder about the old "chariots of the Gods" theory. OK, I don't need a tin-foil hat but it's pretty bizarre stuff. I'm glad to see the protective fencing around some of them but it's too bad it's needed. But how would you notice them from the ground?

Anyway....thanks. I'll have to remember this if I'm ever going through Blythe.

Oh....I love how your son's mind works. LOL

[Mark Sedenquist]

Thanks for sharing. Those types of things always make me wonder about the old "chariots of the Gods" theory.

I have visited most of the Mound Projects along the Mississippi and those folks built images that they themselves could never see (since they lacked a spare spaceship) but I such images can be created by using the principles of perspective and geometry -- (you take an image 1" high and create one 500 feet tall and so forth). I don't think it really needs a theory linked to the rambling stories told by Eric von Däniken -- although his book is a good one for passing time.

I'm glad to see the protective fencing around some of them but it's too bad it's needed.

Yes and no, I get a little tired of the government's efforts to protect us from ourselves sometimes. Many of my favorite jeep trails in the White Mountains are now off-limits and I got accosted by a ranger the other day for little reason (I am far more careful of fauna and flora than he appeared to be).

Anyway....thanks. I'll have to remember this if I'm ever going through Blythe.

I have stopped twice and they are much easier to see from the air, but still cool.

Mark

[RoadTrippers A & R]

Laffing Skull trail, the Kiosk just visible above the Carts front roof.
Note milk in beer holder.
The sheriffs stopped us and gave Maynard a badge.

[W. Larrison]

Was looking through some old pictures tonight.. I stopped by the Intaligos north of Blythe back in November, just before heading back to LA area.

Somewhat farther west, north of Palm Springs area, another interesting place to stop is 1000 Palms Oasis. I originally went there as a teenager, when there was nothing there except the oasis and a couple of shacks, but now there're houses within about 5 miles and a bit more civilization around. But its still amazing to find a pool of water in the middle of the dessert.

(And this time I didn't get my car stuck in the soft sand and have to spend 2 hours digging out the wheels and laying down the floor mats from my car to give me a path out of the soft sand.... that was decades ago....)

[RoadTrippers A & R]

Neat pix.
Amazing to have an oasis out there.

[lhuff]

I love how you can actually still see what the artists were trying the render. I've been to Poverty Point in Epps, LA where there are several mounds said to be in the shapes of animals, birds, etc. Unfortunately, it is run by the State of Louisiana and not well maintained. When we went there we were told that they had just mowed the trails so we should be fine. Um, no - the trails ended in the dead middle of nowhere and my intrepid roadtrip partner and I wound up face to face with a bunch of cows in a farmers field. They also hadn't mowed the mounds so it was difficult to see the shapes. Hopefully the NPS will completely take over the site one day and make it presentable.

Laura