Travel Tuesday: Valley of Names

Hill after hill of names. We are parked on the other side of these mountains.

 

Even though we have boondocked off Ogilby Rd near Yuma for several years, we have never been to the Valley of Names before. I had heard it mentioned a few years ago and it sounded mildly interesting. In these desert places where vegetation is sparse, leaving rock names or pictures is not uncommon. After all, there are rocks aplenty! It's interesting to see what someone took the time and effort to come up with to decorate the desert.

A few old timers in the group decided we needed to all go see this place to pass on the location of one of those 'don't miss' local sights. I had looked it up before on Google Maps and zoomed mostly to figure out how to get there, but you can actually see the names from the satellite view. (32.874635, -114.683814) That, however, in no way prepared me for actually seeing it in person, on the group with my own two eyes! The sheer size of it astounds! And in the words of one of our group "How in the world do you describe a place like this?" Well, I took that as a personal challenge and went to work taking pictures from all kinds of angles. A picture is worth a thousand words and I knew I needed help! These are a select few from my collection. They really don't do it justice, so I must also try to describe it. As we were approaching the area, we could see a small airplane circling over the area, then we saw it land as we passed it. I think it would be a wonderful way to see this!

Our group parked at the top of the picture. The square at the bottom is about 3 ft x 5 ft in scale.

 

Even though it's just on the other side of the mountain from us, we went the long way to meet up in Winterhaven, CA, with others currently staying in Yuma, AZ. Then we drove north, winding our way past green fields of kale and lettuce, date farms with their huge date palms and irrigation ditches. It was a beautiful drive, but once the pavement ended, it became the familiar arid rock and dirt area, with a dirt road that deteriorated after a few miles into something that made us thankful for our 4-wheel drive truck with a high center. We didn't actually need that 4-wheel drive, but knowing it was available was comforting. 

Our first glimpse of the names made from arranged rocks wasn't that impressive, until we looked up and past them to the rolling hills of names that went on and on and on! Name after name. I tried to guess at how many acres were covered with names! The sheer scale and size of this was astonishing! One name spelled out of rocks is not uncommon out here. But hundreds upon hundreds? I was beginning to wonder if the lead car was going to ever stop so I could get out and wander around looking and taking pictures. Finally, easily a half mile past the first name we stopped. The names kept going. I eagerly hopped out and began trying to capture this surprising place with photos. Many with two names and a plus sign. Some with hearts, others with rectangular outlines. A few rock collections painted blue, some black. Some people had brought in bricks to spell out their names, sure to be visible from a satellite. Some had dates. They ranged in sized from 2ft x 3ft to 5 ft x 12 ft. Having filled our eyes with this wonder, we then went on to see Senator Wash/Imperial Dam (where we have stayed before) and then Mittry Lake (that we hadn't seen before). What a fun day trip.