Today was a day that we actually had to be up and out at a
set time. In keeping with our last two trips, we went horseback riding. We had
to be out at 8:00, as the ranch was a 45 minute drive away. The M Diamond Ranch is a 100-year-old family owned cattle ranch in
the Coconino National Forest just outside Sedona. It is one of the
oldest continuously operating working cattle ranches in the Verde Valley. We
took the 2 hour ride and there was one other person in the group, along with
the guide. We saw 3 javelinas along the way. We enjoyed the peace and quiet and
desert scenery.
After
the ride, we stopped at the V-Bar-V Heritage Site. It is the
largest know petroglyph site in the Verde Valley and one of the best preserved.
It consists of 1032 petroglyphs. The images are
a mix of humanoid figures, stylized animals and geometric designs. The vast majority of images were created by the
Sinagua from about 900 AD until about 1350 AD. The
people who created these petroglyphs once lived in villages scattered from
Wupatki, northeast of Flagstaff, south to the Verde River.
They flourished for
centuries, until they abandoned their villages shortly after 1400. Some Sinagua
drifted north and may have become ancestors of the modern Hopi people. It was once part of V bar
V ranch, which gave it its name and it was bought by Coconino National Forest
in 1994. Ranchers did their best to preserve the site from destruction, which
is the main reason why the drawings are so well preserved.
After we
were done here, we got a phone call from the insurance company informing us
that my car was deemed unrepairable and they were totaling it. It really put a
damper on the rest of the day, as I loved that car and wasn’t particularly
looking forward to car shopping, especially since I had no idea what I would
want since I was perfectly happy with the one I had. It was only 4 years old.
We drove
back to Sedona and had a late lunch. I didn’t eat much since it was so late. We
spent what was left of the afternoon getting an idea about some cars and then
we walked into town and had Mexican food for dinner. We finished off the
evening by watching the movie we had downloaded yesterday.
2025-02-15