To finish the month of petroglyph and ruins we decide to visit a close but yet so far ruin, the Perry Canyon Indian Ruin. It is close on the map but you have to drive into the wilderness crossing the Agua Fria on the Bloody Basin Road, even the name of the road is intimidating really.
Passing the Agua Fria is easy, as it is dry and we explore a bit the wash to find caches and a beautiful Canyon Wren that is watching us carefully.
And then we exit on the other side and after finding the right road we make our way to the ruins, marked by a federal post with a few basic rules on what to do if visiting.
In this section the walls are not that visible even though we can trace them with a bit of difficulty. But we are not here for the walls and rooms necessarily we are here for the petroglyph panels.
Still we stop whenever we see pottery shards exhibited with the highlight being an arrowhead, the first one we have seen in the “wild”.
As the petroglyphs are near the cliff side we make our way towards the cliffs, as usual the village was built to have as much natural protection as possible with walls blocking access in the other directions.
The majority of panels are below the cliffs rim and we are happy when we find the access to them. And soon we find our first panels, they are quite impressive and on par with some of the best we have seen.
Some can be quite unusual like the intricate lattice work on one of the panels. But mostly they represent antelopes and deer, lots of them.
And deer we have come here to see. Specifically the famous red deer petroglyphs that we find with relative easy. It is quite a contrast to see the red painted deer petroglyphs versus the usual white on black petroglyphs. We wonder why those were special, or maybe they just decided to have fun with a couple of them? Or maybe the paint has washed away from the others?
We continue exploring finding panel after panel of petroglyphs. Deer and antelopes are the most commonly depicted animals but otherwise they can be quite weird or abstract.
Some petroglyphs even seem to represent UFOs and aliens, at least at first glimpse. We always enjoy the weirder ones as we can discuss for quite a while what they may represent.
Back on top it is time to explore the heart of the village. Here the rooms are clearer and easier the identify.
The views are magnificent even now and we assume it was the same hundreds of years ago. Here at the edge are some of the best preserved walls and we sit having a late lunch before heading back.
The drive back is uneventful with some great views of the desert and mountains during the Golden Hour before we reach the interstate and head home after a special visit to a very interesting site.
