IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Earlier today I found some info that helped lead me to some rock art located in the Colorado National Monument, so after work I went home and changed before heading out in search of them. Luckily, they were easier to find than I though they would be, but unfortunately the area they were located in had a lot of vandalism and graffiti. Here’s a few photos of what I found…

Three Anthropomorphs

Three anthropomorphic figures carved into a boulder.

White Rocks Anthropomorph

A closer look at one of the above figures.

Antenna Men

Interesting figures that appear to have antennas coming out of their heads.

Very Faded Sheep

A very faded red sheep painted on a boulder.

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.

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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.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

I’ve been anticipating the Solstice this year so that I could visit the Solstice Snake petroglyph to watch and photograph the arrowhead of light that appear on the snake’s head. For about two minutes on the Summer 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!

Solstice Snake

Of course I went out searching for some new rock art while I was in Moab, too 🙂

Faded Petroglyphs

A new panel of petroglyphs I came across…..very faded, but there’s a lot going on here if you look closely.

Faded Designs

A closer look at the previous panel.

Colorado River BCS

A Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorphic figure found along the Colorado River.

Turtle Man Up Close

This Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorph found high up in a shallow alcove looks like a turtle to me.

I also made a return visit to the Golf Course Panel for a few photos…

Transparent Anthropomorph

Moab Man

On my way home I made a short detour into the Book Cliffs. Over the weekend when I was hiking with Philippe, he mentioned that he had gone to visit the Robidoux Panel when he first arrived in Utah and found that it was now broken…. I wanted to see just how bad the damage was for myself.

Time Takes it’s Toll

I last visited this panel on December 18, 2010 and it was still in one piece then. Here’s a photo I took that day…

My Last Robidoux Photo

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
Moab Area Rock Art X | Stearns Wash