IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Sunday, May 22, 2011

After leaving Hovenweep National Monument I started heading north towards home again. On the way I took a detour down Utah 211 to try and find some more rock art along the Indian Creek Corridor. I took the road into the Needles District of Canyonlands so that I could hike to a pictograph panel that I had not visited before. This panel contained a number of faded Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorphs and a whole bunch of handprints. Unfortunately, reaching this panel was no fun, as I had to bushwhack through the densest tamarisk jungle I have ever been through! Next time I visit this location, I’m hiking from a different direction!

While most of the anthropomorphic figures on this panel were Barrier Canyon Style, this one appears to be Fremont? A bunch of reverse handprints next to it, too.

 

Speaking of reversed handprints….

 

A closeup of two different styles of handprints found here.

 

The start of a long row of Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorphs.

 

These two figures at ground level seem to have attending dogs above their shoulders.

 

Here you can see the two rows of figures.

 

The details on the anthropomorph on the right reminds me of the Moqi Queen pictograph.

 

Three more figures with a few handprints.

 

My next stop was a revisit to the Five Faces panel, one of my favorite panels! 🙂

 

A different perspective.

 

On my way back to the Jeep from the Five Faces, I noticed some faint zoomorphs that I had missed before.

 

A very small granary along the way, too.

 

After leaving Canyonlands I began my search for the Fighting Men panel, and found this one nearby.

 

A small torso inside a larger one. This is a very cool petroglyph.

 

Finally found the Fighting Men.

 

This petroglyph panel was just adjacent to the Fighting Men.

 

Here’s a wider view of the corner where the Fighting Men and other petroglyphs are found.

 

This faint panel was nearby and hard to get a good shot of. The main figure appears to be a crescent moon.

 

I also revisited the Crescent Moon Panel.

 

These very long snakes are carved deeply into the sandstone. You can see a few other faint petroglyphs in this panel as well, including a good-sized scorpion. This is one of the more interesting petroglyph panels around.

 

While driving back to Newspaper Rock I was scanning the canyon walls for more rock art. I thought I noticed something and stopped the Jeep. What I had seen turned out to be nothing, but where I ended up stopping led me right to a few more panels. Talk about luck! This anthropomorphic figure has a much smaller one inside, making me wonder if it doesn’t represent a pregnancy?

 

A wider view of the panel.

 

A few more petroglyphs near the ones above, including another crescent moon.

 

Of course, I couldn’t not stop at Newspaper Rock before heading back out.

 

Another interesting figure from Newspaper Rock that I don’t think I have posted a photo of before.

 

After taking a few photos at Newspaper Rock I was back on my way home again….after a quick stop at Taco Time in Monticello for some lunch 😉