IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Las Vegas Trip 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012

After a great weekend exploring Zion National Park, Amanda and I decided to stick around a bit longer on Monday morning before starting our drive to Las Vegas.

I visited the Court of the Patriarchs in the morning to catch the sunrise. I was worried for a bit that the clouds to the east would block the early morning light, but I ended up getting this spotlighting on the large sandstone formations above the Virgin River.

Court of the Patriarchs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After some breakfast we hiked the Emerald Pools trail before leaving the park. This sidewalk lead around the lower pools and under the small waterfalls above.

Emerald Sidewalk by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Looking up at the small waterfalls pouring over the sandstone.

Emerald Falls by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Las Vegas Trip 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012

Zion National Park by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After losing an hour overnight, I was up early again and back in the park before the sun came up so that I could watch the first light of the day strike the Towers of the Virgin including The West Temple, The Sundial, and the Altar of Sacrifice.

Towers of the Virgin by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at light on The West Temple.

West Temple Light by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Las Vegas Trip 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012

On Saturday morning Amanda and I left for a week-long vacation to Las Vegas with a few other stops along the way. We would be spending our first weekend of the trip visiting Zion National Park for the first time. On our drive to Zion we made a couple of stops to visit some rock art.

Our first stop along the way was just off of the Interstate near Richfield where I hiked up to some petroglyphs. There were many spirals found here including these larger ones.

Richfield Spirals by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A few smaller spirals and an anthropomorph.

Faded Spirals by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Another spiral above.

Another Spiral by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday, March 3, 2012

After spending the last two weeks in the Chicago area, and not having been to Moab in almost a month (February is one of my favorite times to hike around Moab since the weather is usually nice and there aren’t any crowds yet), it was time for me to get back out into the desert for a long hike alone. I left home in the morning without any particular destination in mind, but by the time I reached Moab I had decided to hike out onto Amasa Back following the Cliffhanger Jeep Trail. This is actually one of the few Jeep trails around Moab that I have not driven before, so it was nice to finally be able to check it out.

A short way into the hike I found a small and faded petroglyph panel.

Cliffhanger Petroglyphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Before continuing to Amasa Back I decided to stop an revisit the amazing Owl Petroglyph Panel nearby.

Owl Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I also searched the area to find these very interesting petroglyphs that I had missed before.

Lines & Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Moab Area Rock Art XX
Saturday, January 21, 2012

I was up at 4am this morning so that I could make it to Marlboro Point before sunrise. With storms moving through the area, I was hoping for a colorful and dramatic sunrise…and I wasn’t let down! As I drove out onto the point, the eastern sky started to turn a dark pink on the horizon and I could tell that things were going to be good, so I hurried out to the end of the road. Shortly after reaching the overlook and setting up my camera the light show really started. The light shining on the cliffs to the right only lasted for a few seconds and I was glad to capture the moment in time.

Marlboro Point Sunrise by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After the color in the sky was gone, I continued the drive to Moab where I met Marty at his house. While driving back the wind had picked up quite a bit and it started to snow and rain. We were planning on visiting a new petroglyph site not far from his house, but we decided to wait for a break in the storm before we headed out. Once that break came, we made our way to the petroglyph site.

This was the first panel we visited and there were a few others in the area.

Missing Top by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

There seemed to be a few lines of small petroglyphs in a few of these panels.

Line Up by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr