IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Saturday, July 30, 2011

On Saturday I met up with my friend Kevin so that we could do some hiking in the San Rafael Swell and hopefully find a few rock art panels. We did find the panels we were looking for, so here’s a few photos…

Barnes Panel Details

Our first stop was at the Barnes Panel, which is a very faded Barrier Canyon Style pictograph panel. I enhanced this photo greatly so you can see the details.

Faint Barnes Rainbow

This is pretty close to what the panel looks like with the naked eye.

Barnes Rainbow

Same scene as above, except enhanced so you can see all the interesting details. Pretty amazing details in this one!

High Alcove Anthropomorph

Our next stop was a visit to the High Alcove Panel. This is a cool panel set high up on the canyon wall under an arched overhang. This is the main figure found here.

In the Shadow

After parting ways with Kevin, I headed back into the canyon in search of the Ekker Panel. While searching, I managed to find this unique figure overlooking the canyon below. There was also another small panel of pictographs and petroglyphs nearby.

Sheep Shaman

Finally I found the Ekker Panel, which is an impressive site. This anthropomorph has a bunch of small sheep walking up it’s side.

Big & Small

A very large figure next to a few smaller ones.

Big Eyes

The small figure on the left has some pretty big eyes!

The Ekker Giant

The largest figure at the site, and the highest, too. I’m not sure how tall it is, but if I had to guess, my guess would be around 8 feet.

Three Sheep

Another figure at the Ekker Site with three medium sized sheep.

Ekker Petroglyph

One of the larger petroglyphs I found nearby.

Ekker Spirits

Three fading anthropomorphs.

Faded Man & Dog

After finishing up my hike, I headed back over to Temple Wash to search for a second pictograph panel in the area. I have searched for this one before, but never found it…..until today!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

I spent Saturday in the Swell visiting some new and old rock art sites…it was pretty hot out and the bugs were out in force during my first hike……but it was still a great day! I’ll let the photos do the speaking…

Rainbow & Dotted Anthropomorph

Large Shield

Broken-Hearted Man

Arm in Arm

Cowboy’s Secret

Observing

Secret Site

Also known as the Observer Panel.

Funky Rainbow

One of the most colorful rainbows that I have come across.

Funks Cave Figures

Lined up next to the rainbow above.

Fading Shields

Red & Yellow Paint

Some of the more interesting pictographs I have seen.

Quail Panel

Called the Quail Panel because the figures resemble quail. Certainly the most Fremont ‘shield’ figures I have seen in one place. These figures are pretty small, at around 6 inches in height.

Alcove Panel

Of course I made a stop at the Buckhorn Wash Panel on the way home.

Black Dragon Creature

Before grabbing dinner at Ray’s in Green River, I also stopped at the Black Dragon Panel. The road was a bit rougher than the last time I was here….probably because of the recent flash floods in the area. One other thing I noticed while visiting the panel is just how well the alcove collects heat from the sun. The temperature outside was close to 100, and while I climbed up into the alcove it must have been at least 10-20 degrees warmer. I could feel the heat radiating off of the sandstone. It was pretty uncomfortable, so I didn’t stick around long. I’m sure it would feel much nicer in the colder winter months 😉

Saturday & Sunday, July 16-17, 2011

This past weekend Amanda and I headed down to the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument to visit some ruins and rock art that I have wanted to get to for a while. The weather was pretty nice all weekend, in the upper 80’s during the hottest part of the day, and there were enough clouds in the sky to block the sunlight occasionally to help keep things feeling a little cooler.

Hundred Handprints

Our first stop was at the Hundred Handprints panel near the Escalante River. Unlike the last cave I visited that claimed to have 100 handprints, this one delivered!

Hunter Panel

An interesting petroglyph panel overlooking the Escalante River.

Escalante Hunter

A closer look at the above panel.

Confluence Site

A severely damaged petroglyph site.

Escalante Vandalism

Closer look at the damage.

Confluence Sheep

A lone sheep that luckily was not damaged.

Our next stop was visiting a few small alcoves that contained a whole bunch of small pictographs known as the Weavers Caves because of the many needle-like paintings found within.

Weavers Designs 1

Very fine and detailed pictographs unlike anything I have seen in the area before.

Weavers Designs 2

Weavers Sheep

One of the few figures that wasn’t abstract. It kind of looks like it may have been a bighorn sheep.

Faint Creature

The only anthropomorphic-like figure I found in the Weavers Caves.

Continue reading

Here we have my photo of the month for June. There were a couple of good ones this month, but in the end I just had to go with the photo that I worked the hardest for this year.

Solstice Snake

I’d been anticipating the Solstice this year so that I could visit the Solstice Snake (aka Solar Snake or Hyper Viper) and watch the arrowhead appear on the snakes head. For about 2 minutes on the solstice a dagger of light shaped like an arrowhead appears on the head of this very large and well executed petroglyph of a snake. It was an amazing experience!

Here here are the runners up…

Pueblo Bonito T

Turkey Over Chaco

Saturday, June 25, 2011

On Saturday I was hoping to spend around half the day with Amanda exploring the area around Rangely, Colorado. We were planning on revisiting a few rock art sites and maybe a couple of new ones, too. Unfortunately, we ended up cutting the trip a bit short because the bugs and gnats were just unbearable. Once we got out of the Jeep we would maybe have a few minutes until they found us and swarmed around us. We were wearing bug spray, but it didn’t help at all. After our first stop at the Carrot Men Panel, Amanda decided to stay in the Jeep for the rest of our stops. If I kept moving, the bugs weren’t too bad, but the second I stopped to take a photo, that was all over! After being chased by swarms of bugs at each stop we made, I decided to call it a day early and come back another time. I did get a few photos, though….

Carrot Men Panel

Our first stop was a revisit to the Carrot Men Panel.

Carrot Men Spirits

A closer look at the Carrot Men.

Three Horses

Three incised horses at the Crooks Brand Site believed to be Ute.

Horse & Lichen

Another horse nearby above some lichen.

Fremont Ridge Panel

The Fremont Ridge petroglyphs with anthropomorphic figures that are similar to the pictographs at the Carrot Men Panel.

Carrot Men Petroglyphs

A closer look at the petroglyphs. Up near the top you can see a small figure with a hump-back or burden basket.

A Thousand Year Old Record, Gone in A Day!

It’s been over a year since I last visited The Shield site, and I see they have put up a new sign since I was here last. I have quoted the sign below:

It belongs to you.”

Shield Site Damage

The vandalized Shield Site.

Climbing Hands

A pair of white hands reach for the sky within the Canyon Pintado National Historic District.

The Guardian

This figure is displayed prominently near the entrance to Canyon Pintado. It’s believed to be from a transitional period between Barrier Canyon Style and Fremont.