IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

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 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!

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, 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.