IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Sunday, November 27, 2011

After spending the last two days exploring Utah, I decided to stay close to home on Sunday. I have wanted to revisit the petroglyph panels in Big Dominguez Canyon, so I headed over to Bridgeport in the morning and started hiking. I had a later start than usual and was surprised to find that no one else was parked at the trailhead when I arrived.

Shortly after leaving the trailhead and following the railroad tracks, I reached the bridge over the Gunnison River.

Bridgeport by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I took a few photos of the shadows created by the bridge as I crossed.

Bridge by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Bridge Shadows by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday, December 3, 2011

After a great long Thanksgiving Weekend I headed back to Moab with my friend Jackson so that we could hike and search for some new rock art panels. I had high hopes of finding many new panels and was not disappointed!

Shortly after starting our hike we came across this excellent panel. There are a few very interesting figures found here.

Mill Creek Man Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I really wonder what that seven-legged figure in the middle could possibly be?

Anthropomorphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This anthropomorph has very large hands and an even larger headdress.

Mill Creek Man by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Tusher Canyon
Saturday, November 26, 2011

After spending most of the day in the San Rafael Swell there was still a little daylight left, so I headed over to Tusher Canyon in the Book Cliffs to locate a few more rock art sites. Since I was running out of light I had to rush through it, but I did manage to find every site that I was looking for. I didn’t have time to do some thorough exploring of the canyon, so I will have to return again when I have more time to see what else I can find.

First stop was at an unusual pictograph site. At first glance these look like that might be Barrier Canyon Style, but I’m not so sure about that? They are certainly different from anything I have seen before.

Tusher Pictographs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a closer look at the interesting pictographs.

Corner Spirits by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The next site contained a number of small petroglyph panels. This one has three newer sheep carved over some older anthropomorphs and an elk figure.

Sheep Over Anthropomorphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday, November 26, 2011

After spending Black Friday in Nine Mile Canyon I spent Saturday searching for and visiting some new rock art sites in the San Rafael Swell. After a quick breakfast in Green River I made my way over to visit the Prickly Pear Flat pictograph panel.

The Prickly Pear Flat panel contains a number of very interesting Barrier Canyon Style figures. Unfortunately, the rock surface they were painted on has not held up too well over the years.

Prickly Pear Flat Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s another portion of the large panel that might be depicting rain.

Rain by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a cool-looking flute player. There’s some of those flying circles at the top, too.

Flute Player by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Black Friday | Friday, November 25, 2011

I wanted to get back to Nine Mile Canyon one more time before the year was over, so I figured that Black Friday would be the perfect time. Instead of getting up early to try and score a deal at a big box store, I was up early and on my way to Wellington and then into Nine Mile Canyon. As I drove into the canyon I found that part of the road was under construction. Luckily no one was working today, so I did not encounter and delays this time.

I was unable to visit the Owl Panel the last time I was in the canyon, so that was my first destination this time. It’s an amazing panel that’s in great shape.

Nine Mile Owl Petroglyphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Bear Paw & Owl by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Besides the very large and unique owl, there are also two smaller ones.

Three Owls by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr