So enjoy looking at it, but leave it where you find it. Though there may be no monetary value, once these fragments of our Southwestern cultural heritage are gone, they cannot be replaced. If you were excited at finding a pottery fragment or a piece of an arrowhead, recognize that future visitors would experience the same thrill, if the shard is there to be found. Besides, once these things leave their natural setting, they become so much clutter in a shoebox forgotten in a closet somewhere. Of course, for the scavenger who can't be reasoned with, taking these sorts of things is illegal and carries a stiff fine.
Water is scarce in the area.
Today, if you don't want to end up as an archaeological discovery yourself, pack in your water and lots of it. Sycamore Canyon is dry except near its union with the Verde River and at Geronimo Spring at the head of the canyon. The back of the cabin is, in fact, sandstone and the fireplace winds up through the rock. The well-maintained shack is on the National Registry of Historic Places, says McKie. With so many side canyons and cool stuff, you could spend a month poking around.