IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Here are even more photos from our trip to the McConkie Ranch in Dry Fork on Saturday. Be sure to check out Set 1 and Set 2 for more.

Hula Hoop Man

I had visited this petroglyph panel earlier in the day when it was overcast and had taken a few photos, however once the clouds started to clear and the sun was shining again I revisited it to take a few more photos. I’m glad I did since I got a nice orange glow reflecting off of the rock, plus a nice blue sky with some white clouds in the background.

Family Portrait

A wall filled with petroglyphs and pictoglyphs along the Main Trail.

Looking Up at the Gears

Looking up at some small petroglyphs that Jackson thinks looks like gears along the Three Kings Trail.

Fading Partners

Two life-sized anthropomorphs next to each other. The one on the left is barely visible anymore.

Fremont Shield

Looking up at a large shield petroglyph on a beautiful day in Dry Fork.

Bird Man

This life-sized anthropomorph appears to have feathers on it’s arms like a bird.

From the Lichen

This faint anthropomorph seems to be emerging from the colorful lichen growing on the rock below it.

The Couple

A closer look at the figured I have called ‘The Couple’ located along the Three Kings Trail.

Weeping Man

Another of the many life-sized anthromorphic figures along the Main Trail. This one has the ‘weeping eyes’ and seems to be holding an object, perhaps a knife or other kind of weapon?

Don’t worry, there’s still more photos to go, so stay tuned…..

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Here are some more photos from our trip to the McConkie Ranch in Dry Fork on Saturday. Be sure to check out my first set of photos, too.

Above & Below

A close up of some shield-like petroglyphs along the Three Kings Trail. If you look on the sandstone below, you can find many more petroglyphs pecked into the darker stone.

Couple Through the Boulders

A couple of petroglyphs I’ve called ‘The Couple’ coming into view through the boulders.

In Between

This anthropomorph along the Three Kings Trail is pecked into a dark colored sandstone which seems to be squeezed between a lighter sandstone and lichen covered stone.

Trophy Head

A very stylized and lifesized petroglyph of an anthropomorph holding a trophy head with weeping eyes along the Main Trail.

Big-Foot

Certainly one of the larger and most unique pictoglyphs along the Main Trail The very large feet really stick out the most, but so do the red and white horns sticking out from his head. Not to mention the trophy head to his right. Very interesting figure.

High Petroglyphs

An interesting petroglyph panel located high in a cliff above the Three Kings Trail.

Broken Head Hunter

One of the many life-sized anthropomorphs along the Main Trail holding what appears to be a trophy head with weeping eyes. Based on the cracks through this panel, it may be lost when the stone finally gives way. The head could be lost a second time…

Elaborate

Two elaborately decorated petroglyphs along the Main Trail.

Still plenty more photos to go, so stay tuned for more!

Here we are in the middle of March and I just realized that I forgot to choose a photo for my 2011-Twelve Photo Project in February! Better late than never, I guess. I think I will have to set a reminder on my calendar at the end of each month. I have so many good choices of photos taken in February, and it was very tough to choose just one, but here you have it.

WhiteOut

I chose this photo of my Jeep in a snowstorm because as we were driving back from Short Canyon in the snow, I realized how white everything around us was and thought that my dark Jeep would contrast with the snow very well. I managed to find a spot to stop where everything around was completely white except for my Jeep and snapped this photo. It turned out exactly how I had envisioned it! Surprisingly, this photo was taken with my Canon S90…it’s not too bad for a little point & shoot.

Here we have the runners up…

Sevier Shaman Figure

Line of Sheep Panel

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Finally! I have wanted to get up to Dry Fork and check out the petroglyphs and pictographs on the McConkie Ranch for a while, so on Saturday Amanda and I headed up there for the day. These rock art panels are located on private property north of Vernal, but the McConkie Ranch has created two trails to view the rock art and allows the public to access them. I’d like to thank the McConkie Ranch for allowing the public to access the rock art located on their property!

Here’s a few photos I took in no particular order. Enjoy!

Circles & Shields

Looking up at a couple of the many petroglyph panels along the Three Kings Trail. Most of the morning was completely overcast, but luckily as we were headed back to the trailhead the clouds started to clear and blue skies were visible.

Red Spiral

A simple red spiral pictoglyph (petroglyph & pictograph) along the Main Trail.

Y-Man

One of the many large anthropomorphic figures alone the Three Kings Trail. I named this photo after the figure to the right that looks like the letter Y.

The Clock

This petroglyph & pictograph kind of reminds me of a clock. Actually, the long hand pointing towards the three o’clock position looks like an atlatl hitting the bullseye.

The Twins

The Twins are the last set of petroglyphs along the Main Trail.

Three Kings

The famous Three Kings Panel, also known as the Sun Carrier is pretty amazing. Unfortunately, it’s located pretty high and the trail does not get too close to it. Luckily I had my 100-400mm lens with me!

I’ve got plenty more photos to go through, and will be posting them as I have the time, so stay tuned for more!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

On Sunday I met my friend Marty who was going to take me to the Solstice Snake petroglyph. I have been searching for this particular petroglyph for a while and was hoping to find it before this year’s solstice. Marty had visited this particular petroglyph about 14 years ago and wanted to return. He had a general idea of where it was located, but not an exact location. Luckily his general location was close enough for us to eventually find it, even after going the wrong way and having to scramble around on many scree slopes…..adding an extra 2-3 miles to our hike for a total of 9.75 miles round trip. Even with the extra hiking, it was a great adventure and we had fun searching the area.

I, as usual, took a number of photos of the large snake petroglyph, so here are a few of them 🙂

The Big Snake

It’s a big petroglyph. I’ve been told it’s over 17 feet long. Here’s a photo with me (taken by Marty) for some scale.

The Serpent & I

…and now Marty with the snake.

Marty & the Snake

A different view.

Solar Snake

Face to face with the serpent.

The Serpent

After spending some time at the Big Snake, we continued our search for a pithouse and ‘Altar Table,’ as Marty referred to it, that was supposed to be nearby. We managed to find these after some searching, too.

We first came across the remains of a pithouse….and then I found these small petroglyphs on the cliff behind it.

Pithouse Petroglyphs

Next I found some more petroglyphs as we searched for the ‘altar’

Pithouse Panels

Closer views of each panel…

Pithouse Second Panel

Circles Panel

Finally we found the ‘Altar Table’ hidden in a small alcove nearby that we had to scramble up to. This is certainly one of the more unique scenes that I have come across while out exploring. Marty has a photos of this same setup that he took 14 years ago and was surprised to see that everything was still there. There were some petroglyphs here, too.

The Altar Table

Marty at the Altar

Another small petroglyph panel located above the ‘Altar Table’

Curly Arms

The hike pretty much took us most of the day and we were pretty worn out by the time we reached our Jeeps again, but it was certainly worth it. I’m looking forward to heading back in June for the solstice!…..minus the heat….

Check out my other posts in the Moab Area Rock Art Series:

Moab Area Rock Art I | Colorado River Gorge / Golf Course / Kane Creek
Moab Area Rock Art II | Kane Creek Canyon & Potash Road
Moab Area Rock Art III | Mill Creek Canyon / Kane Creek / Bartlett Panel
Moab Area Rock Art IV | The Secret Grotto & More
Moab Area Rock Art V | Hidden Valley & Behind the Rocks
Moab Area Rock Art VI | Yellow Comet Alcove
Moab Area Rock Art VII | Solstice Snake
Moab Area Rock Art VIII | Dark Angel Petroglyphs
Moab Area Rock Art IX | Mill Creek Canyon