IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Sunday, October 30, 2011

After spending Saturday hiking to the Dragonfly Panel, I decided to head over to the San Rafael Swell to visit some new rock art sites. The first site I visited is actually just a little bit west of the Swell along Ivie Creek at the edge of the Wasatch Plateau. It was a little tricky finding the way up to this panel, but I did manage to make it up there.

Three red anthropomorphs and one very long snake.

Three Men and a Snake by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

These handprints and the large shield figure are located in the same alcove.

Shield & Hands by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at the three Fremont figures.

Fremont Warriors by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Return to Dinosaur National Monument
Saturday & Sunday, October 15 – 16, 2011

I’ve wanted to get back to Dinosaur National Monument most of the year to re-photograph some of my favorite petroglyphs and visit some new ones. I had to be patient while the Fossil Bone Quarry was being rebuilt because Amanda really wanted to check out the dinosaur bones. At the end of September the Quarry finally reopened and we were looking forward to getting back up there. Since I was was in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah for the first week in October we had to wait until the third weekend in October to finally spend a weekend there.

On Saturday morning we left early and drove right to the park.

Dinosaur National Monument by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Our very first destination was the newly rebuilt Fossil Bone Quarry. It has never been open when we’ve been to the park before, so this was our first time there.

Dinosaur Quarry by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Close-up of a dinosaur skull.

Dinosaur Skull by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

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.

Continue reading

May 14-15, 2011

Here’s the final set of photos I am going to post from our trip through Nine Mile Canyon. Make sure to check out Sets 1, 2, 3 & 4!

Patty-Cake Sheep Panel

Here’s a cool panel we found on Sunday morning….look for the two bighorn sheep figures sitting and facing each other that look like they are playing patty-cake.

Rainbow Panel

This panel with a large rainbow-like figure is just to the left of the one pictured above.

Horned Serpent

One of the more unique horned-snake figures we found all weekend.

Faint Green Elk

Two faint pictographs near Daddy Canyon, including what appears to be a green or blue elk on the right.

Fallen Panel

A few petroglyphs on a slab of sandstone that has fallen.

Yellow Man

An anthropomorph pictograph in yellow.

Painted Petroglyphs

A wider view of the panel that includes the Yellow Man. There are plenty more pictographs here and a few of the petroglyphs that are here are filled in with paint.

Pregnant Buffalo

A closeup of the Pregnant Buffalo petroglyph.

High Pictographs

A faint white shield-like figure located high above on a canyon wall.

I can’t wait to head back to Nine Mile Canyon and search for some more rock art….hopefully sometime later this year 🙂