It was a mountain bike ride find! We ventured further than Campbell Mesa mountain biking area to a connector, then the Arizona Trail, and onto the Tom Moody Trail to check out some petroglyphs at Picture Canyon. An interesting ride of single track and some trail segments necessitating me to walk my bicycle; overall a fun ride! We had not realized at the start there were petroglyphs to check out, so to be in a new area and cycle to the spot was wonderful.
The “waterbird” petroglyphs area on the Tom Moody Trail is only one part of Picture Canyon. The human-like figures with a tail are petroglyphs which Zuni people believe their people came into this world from a watery underworld. The waterbird is either a crane or great blue heron which is a clan symbol for Hopi and Zuni peoples. The celestial images of the sun and moon may indicate the Yavapai people were here as they were known as the People of the Sun. The zig-zag design may be waterways or lightning.
A nice day for a bicycle ride and when friends visited we hiked the entire Tom Moody Trail, had lunch and could enjoy ourselves easily outdoors socially distanced.
