Spring Southwest, Part 2

Sego Canyon Petroglyphs

Sego Canyon Wall

Just off I-70 east of Green River, UT, is the turn off to Thompson Springs and there’s not much there—population 39 (2010). 

Bluff outside of Thompson Springs toward Sego Canyon.

Thompson Springs looks quite a bit like a ghost town.

Five miles through Thompson Springs, though, is one of the best panels of petroglyphs and pictographs we’ve ever seen. At the Sego Canyon site (aka Book Cliffs and Thompson Wash) is a large parking area, a couple of picnic tables, a toilet facility (better than port-a-loos), and a short improved trail to the panels of Native American rock art.  Most of the art is pictographs (painted images on the rocks) with some petroglyphs (pecked images). 

Petroglyphs in Sego Canyon

Graffiti and bullet chips sit next to ancient art.

On one of the Sego Canyon panels it's easy to see where newer art has been superimposed over older images.

The images seen at the Sego Canyon site range from very early (Archaic period about 7000 BC) and the Barrier Canyon period (about 2000 BC), through Fremont Culture art (600-1250 AD, contemporaneous with the Anasazi of the Four Corners region), to Ute art (1300-1700 AD). 

Pictographs in Sego Canyon

Definitely out of this world.

Many of the pictographs are life size.

Besides the main panel of art there is a second grouping about 100 yards further down the road. The panel, again mostly pictographs, is on private property, but is easily viewed from the road.

From Sego Canyon we took I-70 to UT128 and then around the back side of Arches Nat'l Park to Moab. A lovely drive with great scenery, much of it along the Colorado River.

Colorado River

Looking at the various images, especially the pictographs, it’s easy to see why ancient astronaut theorists love this art. Aliens with space helmets and antenna are right there on the rock walls.

The Birthing Stone, Moab Rock Art

The Birthing Stone in the Kane Creek Drive area in Moab.

On Kane Creek Drive out of downtown Moab are several sites of major interest to petroglyph hunters. Moonflower Canyon has a nice panel and there are several small sites along the road, but the one we missed on our last trip to the area is the one not to miss. Called the Birthing Stone, this large rock on a ledge below the gravel road that is the continuation of Kane Creek Road has petroglyphs on all four sides. 

The prime "birthing" image.

Cactus Flowers

Park at a small pull out on the road, room enough for three or four vehicles, and walk about a hundred yards further along the road to see the stone. It’s an easy few steps down to the stone which is fenced off as a reminder not to touch the rock art. Most of the art is of Fremont-style, with the figure giving birth the prominent image. 

At the Birthing Stone we were greeted by one of the locals.

We were lucky on this trip to not only see art on the stone, but also cactus in bloom.

Dead Horse Point State Park 

Mesas on the way to Dead Horse Point State Park--these two are named Monitor and Merrimack.

Dead Horse Point State Park, 32 miles from Moab, is one of Utah’s most spectacular parks. The point above a horse shoe bend in the Colorado River 2000 feet below grants a wonderful Canyonland panorama. 

Great canyon views from Dead Horse Point.

Colorado River

The view point gets its name, according to one legend, from the story that cowboys would fence in an area of the point to use in the roundup of wild horses. One time, for unknown reasons, horses in the corral were left without water, and they died of thirst while being able to see the life-giving Colorado River 2000 feet below.

there were several interesting gnarled trees at Dead Horse Point.

NEXT: SW Part 3: Arches Nat'l Park and More Petroglyphs

SANTA FE TRIP, PART TWO

To continue with our Santa Fe adventures....

The second part of the trip found us wandering more in Santa Fe, exploring Bandelier National Monument,  and playing more golf.

The street art was some of my favorite art.

Window displays in the shops were also fine street art.

The San Francisco de Asis Church in Toas has walls eight to twelve feet thick.

The San Francisco de Asis Church's angles are made lovelier with Taos' blue skies. 

The mystical staircase in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe has a great story.  In need of  help to build a staircase to the choir loft, the sisters prayed for divine help.  Soon a carpenter appeared, built an architectural masterpiece by hand, and left without accepting any pay.  Engineers are still studying how the staircase could be built.

Santa Fe is famous for its artistic doors to homes and shops.

Beautiful scenery on the way from Santa Fe to Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos.

A cliff dwelling at Bandelier National Monument.

The Anasazi (the Ancient Ones) were the people who built these cliff dwellings as much as a thousand years ago.

I climbed up to level one, but the next four ladders got even steeper and more exposed.

Young people had no problem negotiating the ladders.

On the way from Bandelier to Los Alamos we stopped to watch a herd of mule deer.

The dry ground of Marty Sanchez de Links of Santa Fe (a municipal course) made for good roll.

. The last course we played was the Santa Fe Country Club (a public course).  This is the course I played the most while working at the summer debate camps in the early 90s.

We end our Santa Fe trip with another great sunset.

Scottish Festival and Our Next Trip:  As we got ready for our next trip to Scotland (the next post will be from there), we attended a Scottish Festival in Albany.

Our booth at the festival selling books and photos.

The good entertainment included a fine pipe band.

A special treat for us was one of our favorite Celtic vocal groups, Golden Bough.

Shortly after our return from Scotland we'll set up shop at the Newport Celtic Festival and Highland Games (June 13 and 14, at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds).

A Tale of Two Valleys: Valley of Fire and Death Valley

We had never been to the Valley of Fire about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, but we had been before to Death Valley.  On our most recent trip to Las Vegas we managed to go to both valleys.  

Valley of Fire Visitor Center

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

The Valley of Fire, Nevada’s first state park (1935), is an area of ancient sandstone and sand dunes at an elevation of between 2000 and 2600 feet.  The valley has been often used for both TV and movie filming: “The Professionals” starring Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin and “Star Trek Generation” were filled there.  

Valley of Fire Landscape

Big Horn Sheep in Valley of Fire

      Prehistoric users of the valley include Basket Maker people and later the Anasazi (Navajo for “Ancient Ones”) Pueblo farmers from nearby Moapa Valley.  

Sun and Pinnacle on Mouse's Tank Trail

Native peoples used the Valley of Fire from about 300 B.C.E. to 1150 C.E. for hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies.  One of the main features of today’s park is the rock art found particularly along the Mouse’s Tank trail and Atlatl trail.  

Anasazi Petroglyphs Carved on Rock varnish

Symbols for Shaman and Circle of Life

We spent time photographing the scenery and especially the petroglyphs along Mouse’s Tank trail.  The Tank refers to two natural potholes in the sandstone rock part way down a waterfall (usually dry) at the end of the canyon that hold water longer than other places.  

Ceremonial Dancers and Big Horn Sheep

Petroglyphs along Mouse's Tank trail

And it’s called Mouse’s Tank after a southern Paiute Indian named Little Mouse who hid in the area to avoid (unsuccessfully) a lynching party.  The trail is one of the riches areas for petroglyphs—symbols carved into the surface of rock varnish or desert varnish (glossy black, brown, or orange-brown layer of natural chemical deposit on rock surfaces, mainly in the desert).  

Petrified Log in Valley of Fire

View from Rainbow Vista in Valley of Fire State Park

Besides the Anasazi carved symbols, the area is rich in geological splendor.

Death Valley, California

Nopah Mountain Range at the South End of Death Valley (from the east).

Nopah Mountain Range

In Death Valley (California) we stayed at Stovepipe Wells Village in the north end of the valley.  The motel provides decent and relatively inexpensive accommodation as well as a small grocery store, gift shop, bar, and restaurant (average at best).  On this trip we had some good photo opportunities with sun, clouds, and clean air one day—the next day was much hazier.  

There is plenty to see in Death Valley and on this trip we tried to do things we hadn’t on our last visit.  Before we dropped into the Valley at Furnace Creek (Hwy 190) we drove the three miles dirt road (easily passable by passenger cars, especially if they are rentals) of Twenty Mule Team Canyon.  

The Road through Twenty Mule Team Canyon

Twenty Mule Team Canyon

The eight mile paved road called Artist Drive is also great for photographers.  

View on Hwy 190 above Death Valley

A highlight for us was Salt Creek—a boardwalk along a small stream which is home to the rare pupfish and several species of small birds.  

Sunset at Salt Creek

On the way out of the park we stopped at the ghost town of Ryolite on our way to Beatty in Nevada.  

Ryolite ghost Town Relic

Even Beatty, NV, Is Starting to Look Like a Ghost Town

The two valleys are great places to explore and photograph, but always in the desert caution is necessary.  Be safe, especially in extreme heat, and be aware of the fragility of the desert environment and the artifacts left by the “Ancient Ones.” 

Rock on Hwy 374 Near Titus Canyon in Death Valley

Feedback Please: Let me know your favorite photo from each valley--tell me which photos I should mount up and frame for sale.