IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

September 17-18, 2011

This past weekend I met up with Jim from the Rock Art group on Flickr since he was spending a week or two in Moab. Of course we went out and visited some rock art sites that he had not been to before, and he even brought me to a few sites that I had missed before.

Wrong Way!

Jim takes a photo in the wrong direction as he stands next to the Lonesome Shaman.

Antler Men

I’ve visited this faint pictograph panel with figures that appear to be wearing antlers before, but don’t think I have ever posted a photo…..so here you go…

Strange Creature

Somehow I managed to miss this petroglyph a few times in the past when I visited the Supplication Panel….probably because I never tried to actually get up near the panel.

Jim at the Supplication Panel

Jim admires the Supplication Panel up close.

Missing Detail

We made a stop at the Bartlett Panel pictographs. This figure was probably very impressive before it weathered away.

Moab Cutouts

A line of small anthropomorphs high above the Colorado River.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

One sheep with two heads. There’s a few unique sheep petroglyphs in the area.

Moab Mastodon

We also made a stop by the Moab Mastodon.

Fin Sunset

The sunlight from the setting sun reflects off of some fins in the Behind the Rocks wilderness.

Birdcage & Friends

A large anthropomorph that resembles a birdcage (or R2D2) and a couple of other unique figures.

Birdcage Alcove

A closer look at two prominent figures of the Birdcage Panel situated in a large alcove.

Rock Art Shirt

Jim showing off his rock art shirt while taking a photo of some pictographs.

Jim at the Birdcage

Jim and the Birdcage Panel for a little scale.

Anticline Overlook

Expansive view from the Anticline Overlook looking down on Hurrah Pass and towards Moab and The Portal.

Highway 128

I decided to stop and take this photo on the way home….I seem to drive this stretch of road almost weekly so I rarely stop for photos anymore.

Jeep & Fisher Towers

My Jeep, the Fisher Towers and La Sal Mountains.

Over the Labor Day weekend I decided to head down to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park to revisit some rock art and to find some new panels. I explored a lot of the park in my Jeep and on foot. I drove over Elephant Hill a few times and I ended up camping just outside of the park in Bobbys Hole. I even found the time to take a quick side trip up into Beef Basin. Here’s some of my photos from the weekend…

Black Hands

A few black handprints.

Devils Lane

Driving through the Devils Lane.

Feet & Hands

A small section of the SOB Hill Panel.

SOB Hands

Many handprints of the SOB Hill Panel.

SOB Hill Panel

The full SOB Hill Panel.

Under Hands

A couple more handprints under an overhanging rock.

Framed Handprints

The Needles has no shortage of handprints!

Grabens Panelramic

This was the main panel I was looking for this trip, which I did manage to find. It’s a tough one to get a good photo of, so here’s my attempt at bringing out the pictographs.

Grabens Panel Right

A closer look at the right side of the panel. Very interesting anthropomorphs.

Middle Park Granary B&W

I got to revisit one of my favorite granaries in Beef Basin and took this shot in black & white.

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Sunday, August 28, 2011

On Sunday I met up with my friend Jackson and his wife Sarah to float a section of the Gunnison River from the North Fork to Colorado Highway 65 near Delta. It’s a pretty easy stretch of the river, which is a good thing since this was my first time in my own boat. Previously I have only ridden along in a larger raft, so this was a good learning experience for me. There were a few tricky sections that helped me work on my boating skills, but nothing dangerous.

Inflating

Inflating the boats.

Into the River

Ready to get on the river.

On the Gunnison

On the river.

Reflection

A reflection of Sarah and Jackson in their boat.

Besides spending a relaxing day on the river, I also had the goal of finding a rock art site along this stretch of the river. As we started hiking to the site, we noticed there was a group of people working up there. I had heard rumors that there was a group excavating the site, but I figured that no one would be working there on a Sunday. Guess I was wrong! As we approached the group, they welcomed us in and gave us the ‘grand tour.’ Apparently they have been excavating the site for about five years now and were ready to call it quits in the next few days. However, while we were there they managed to find part of a clovis point and decided they would now be staying at least another year. Pretty interesting stuff!

Lawhead Gulch Panel

The largest petroglyph panel at the site.

Elk Petroglyph

A faint elk petroglyph at the site.

Excavation

Digging and searching…

Documentation

Documenting their find.

Find

One of the arrowheads they found while we were there.

Back to the Boats

Getting back on the river after visiting the excavation.

Lunch on the River

Sarah & Jackson

Floating the Gunnison

It was a great day on the river!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

I’ve been falling behind on my trip reports again, so I need to try and catch up! Here’s some photos I took on a local day-trip into McDonald Creek and the Book Cliffs. Of course I was searching for rock art 😉

First up was the nice hike down McDonald Creek to the Colorado River. I’ve hiked this canyon before, but realized that I missed some rock art on my previous trip. It was a good opportunity to re-photograph the sites I had visited previously, too.

Small Pictographs

A very small and easily missed set of pictographs.

McDonald Creek Alcove

These pictographs are located in a large alcove overlooking the Colorado River.

The Bird and the Sun

My favorite panel along McDonald Creek.

After finishing up the hike I headed north to the Book Cliffs to revisit a few more rock art sites and find two new ones. I ended up finding the two new panels that I had not been able to find before, plus I found a third site that I just happened to stumble upon.

Waving Hello

This little guy welcomes you into the canyon.

Horned Shield with Legs

I’m posting this photo because if you look very closely you can see a faint shield-like figure that appears to have legs. This is the second shield figure like that that I have found in the Book Cliffs, and they are very similar.

Westwater High Panel

A busy panel high up on the canyon wall.

Ute Hands

Handprints….most like Ute or Paiute.

The Yellow Rider

A large horseback rider painted in a yellow pigment. Plenty of other figures and handprints painted here, too.

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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!