Petroglyphs, agaves, and cacti at Agua Fria National Monument
Agua Fria National Monument is located about 40 miles north of downtown Phoenix. Established in 2000 under President Clinton, it encompasses 72,000 acres of semi-desert grassland and protects what is considered to be one of the most important system of prehistoric sites in the Southwest, spanning about 2000 years of human history. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Agua Fria is completely undeveloped and offers no visitor services. Agua Fria can be accessed from Interstate 17 via three dirt roads, all of which are unmaintained after a few miles. Even in a high-clearance 4WD vehicle, navigating the roads can be challenging. Expect a rough ride that will shake loose anything that isn’t bolted or tied down. I recently had the privilege of going to Agua Fria with Ron Parker, author of the book Chasing Centuries: The Search for Ancient Agave Cultivars Across the Desert Southwest (Sunbelt Publications, January 2019). In the early days of Ron’s explorations, he simply wanted to...