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

Spring in the Southwest, Part 1

Nine Mile Canyon Scenery

Did We Steal a Car?

This is the first time we’ve rented from Enterprise and the check-in for our car was quite easy. We even got upgraded to a nice Mitsubishi Outlander small SUV for free—nice car to drive even if it is a little less gas efficient. The clerk did the paperwork and I signed electronically. He then gave us our key with a slip that read Slot 20 and said, “Have a grand time.”

We went out to the garage and with only one wrong turn we found Slot 20 and our gray Outlander. It took a few minutes to load our luggage, adjust the seats and the mirrors, and check the map for our directions. We pulled out of Slot 20 and toward the exit. We never did see a check out station like we have with other companies. As we thought about it on the road, the only documentation we had was the email Costco receipt with the Enterprise reservation number. We began to wonder, did we just steal a car? Will the Utah State Police come after us or track us down? 

The Solen Car and Anne in La Plata Canyon

Enterprise has our cell number and email—we haven’t yet received any threatening calls or notices. I still can’t help wondering, did we steal an SUV from Enterprise? If you get a strange call from us from some county jail in Utah or Colorado, please answer.

Nine Mile Canyon

Nine Mile Canyon near Price, Utah, was one of our prime destinations for this trip to the Southwest. To get to the canyon we turned off UT6 about six miles south of Price and followed Soldier Creek Rd. to milepost 21 where we entered the canyon (same road, but now called Nine Mile Canyon National Byway). 

The canyon is actually over 25 miles long and Gate Canyon adds another 30 plus miles to Myton. The canyon probably got its name in 1869 when explorer John Wesley Powell’s cartographer used a “nine mile transect” for mapping the canyon. The name stuck. The canyon is a natural conduit through the Book Cliffs between the Price River and the Uintah Basin. It was the 9th Cavalry who build the road which has long been used by settlers and freighters hauling goods from Price to the Basin.

There wasn't much auto traffic on Nine Mile Canyon road, but cattle were always about.

There is much to see in the canyon, even without venturing down the Gates Canyon road which we didn’t have time for. In the canyon are several ranches, picnic areas, and even limited camping areas. The ghost town of Harper, with several sort of intact buildings, is about half way through the canyon. 

It’s a good spot for photography, but you can’t really explore the buildings. Several examples of Native American architecture can be expored in the canyon, but they can be difficult to find or get to. There are examples of storage granaries and a recreated pit house called the Freemont Village.

There isn’t an abundance of wildlife in the canyon—sheep, cougars, and bear have been reported. 

We did see deer, lizards, vultures, and tourists.

The canyon’s main feature is the Indian Rock Art (petroglyphs and pictographs) carved or painted on canyon walls. People have lived in the canyon for at least 8,000 years. Most of the art remaining is from the Freemont Culture (Ancient Puebloans known as Anasazi) which lived in the canyon from about 200AD to 1200AD. Some newer art was added by the Ute tribes who settled in the area in the 1600 and 1700s. The difference between the Freemont Art and the Ute is style and subject matter. For instance, if the subject includes a horse or a horse and rider it would be Ute because they brought horses to the area.

The main Indian Rock Art areas that we visited were First Site (first major art panel you come to in the canyon), 

the Daddy Canyon Complex, 

and the famous Great Hunt panel. 

Besides these specific area we explored several other unnamed art areas. 

Much more art can be found in Gate Canyon, but we didn’t have time for that section.

Balance Rock in Nine Mile Canyon

We spent half a day in the canyon and were not at all disappointed with Nine Mile Canyon.

Author, Shouted the Crowd!

In a tourist shop in downtown Moab, Anne shopped for earrings to replace ones she’d lost in Price. The clerk helping Anne was wearing a Clan Campbell t-shirt and so Anne started a conversation with her about Scotland. We found out Caryl Say is an author of fantasy novels about “Merlin in Moab.” Nice lady, fun conversation. Check out her books on Amazon.

Starbucks Sleeper

In Starbuck in downtown Durango, this person came in, slumped in a chair, and promptly went to sleep. 

The clerk tried to engage him once, but on he slept. About the time we packed up to leave, the guy woke up (he’d slept about twenty minutes), opened his computer case, and pulled out a new Mac Pro. Bizarre culture Starbucks has developed.

Stories from Wales, Ireland, and Santa Fe

This post has some stories from travels in Wales, Ireland, and Santa Fe, along with photos from the areas. 

Don’t Let Me Get Like This

Aberystwyth, Wales

Caerphilly Castle, South Wales

With its lovely bay, fascinating Telford Bridge, and impressive castle and city walls, Conwy was a great introduction to Wales.  We wandered the castle and city wall, strolled the shopping district, then popped into the Tourist Information Centre to try to wheedle a lunch recommendation out of the attendant.  They are supposed to remain neutral and not give specific recommendations, but it’s not too difficult to get ideas out of most of them.  In this case, we heard on the sly that Anna’s Victorian Tearoom above a mountain equipment store was a pleasant place for a bowl of soup and a sandwich. 

Pwllheli Village, Wales

Typical Welsh pub--Just try to pronounce the name.

We’d seen the mountain shop a couple of blocks back, so thought we’d go for lunch.  We thanked the little clerk and said we’d never tell--oops, that’s one promise broken.

In Anna’s Victorian Tearoom we got a window table which overlooked the busy shopping street.  We had just ordered our soup and sandwich when a large tour group of very senior citizens was herded in and occupied the other side of the room.  Their tour guide brought everyone in and told them, “This is what we’re eating and the toilets are in the back.  Be sure to go!”  

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' writing room in Laugharne, Wales.

St David's City, Wales. Our timeshare apt. was half way down on the right, across from the light blue building on the left.

The waitress put a large platter of sandwiches on each of the tables for the group.  We watched a man at one table start grabbing sandwiches in both hands and stuffing them into his mouth without passing the plate to the rest of his table. The guide finally saw this and quickly took the sandwich plate from the gentleman and passed it to others.  We decided that on this tour you had to fight for your sandwiches: survival of the fastest.  

I’m certainly glad we can still travel on our own.   

Harlech Castle, North Wales. The photo was taken from the golf course below the castle, Royal St David's GC.

It’s Blarney

Blarney Castle, Ireland

One of the premier attractions in Ireland is also one of the worst in our opinion.  Blarney Castle is the quintessential Irish tourist attraction.  Everybody knows about the castle, built in 1446, and the famous Blarney Stone at the top which supposedly imparts the “gift of gab” to those who kiss it.  The fame of Blarney goes back to a story about its Lord, Dermott Laidhir McCarthy.  When the Lord of Blarney was quizzed by Queen Elizabeth I’s emissary, the Lord waxed loquacious without ever answering directly (sounds like today’s politicians). The Queen is reported to have said, “This is just more Blarney!”  What tourists don’t realize until they get there is that the stone is up seven flights of uneven castle stairs, and that to kiss the stone you must lie on your back with an attendant holding your legs as you hang over a seven story drop so you can kiss the bottom of the stone.  The tourist information also doesn’t tell you what an Irish friend of ours who grew up in the area told us--at night young Irish lads sneak up to the top of the castle and urinate on the stone.  I wonder who’s full of blarney?  

Cliffs of Moher

Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara (near Galway), which puts on an entertaining Medieval banquet in the evenings. it's a tourist program we'd recommend.

When we visited Blarney Castle we discovered that the grounds surrounding the castle are lovely and interesting, containing a Druidic rock garden, a sacrificial stone, a wishing staircase, a rock with a witch’s face, and two dolmens (burial chambers). The grounds are well worth the time to visit.  The castle is not.  The castle is an empty shell with graffiti on the walls as you climb to the top.  Be warned as well that the way down is by way of the servants’ staircase--narrow and winding.  The day we were there a large lady got stuck on the servants’ stairs (not literally stuck between the walls, but so frightened by the steep stairs that she couldn’t move down)to the point that they had to bring everyone following her back up and take her down the up staircase (sounds like a movie in there somewhere) after clearing it of people trying to go up.  

I must say the views from the top are fine, but not so fine that I’d ever climb it again.

Dublin

Irish Time

Time is different in Ireland.  I don’t mean that the Irish are in a special time zone, although it may seem that way.  I don’t refer to time seeming to go more quickly or more slowly when you vacation in Ireland.  I mean that the Irish people have their own sense of time.

Corcomroe Abbey, near Galway

One of the elves at the Waterford Crystal factory...Ireland was playing in the World Cup.

A well-known Irish saying is, “When God made time, he made lots of it.”  The Irish live by this saying.  Except for the high powered business district of Dublin, they don’t hurry.  It’s not the slow down you see in the southern states of the US where everything moves at a snail’s pace because of the heat and the humidity.  The Irish pace is just unhurried.

Kilmacduagh Monastery near Gort

Gallarus Oratory, a small stone chapel which used no mortar and has been dry inside for 1100 years. 

We’ve seen examples of the Irish pace in the grocery stores.  As a customer comes through the check out line, the clerk and customer have a conversation.  It makes no matter that there are no other clerks working or that the line behind the clerk is five deep.  The conversation goes on until the conversation is over.  On a single-track road in the west one year we waited for five minutes as the mail carrier blocked the road  in both directions as she had a conversation with the resident.  We could begin to understand Irish Time as we sat in the car on a pleasant day with beautiful scenery around us.  Why hurry, indeed.

Dingle Peninsula

Special whiskey tasting at Milton Distillery (Jameson). Six small drams comparing Irish, Scottish, and American whiskies. Of course, they wanted you to say the best was the Jamisons.

Irish Time can be frustrating though.  In Donegal’s tourist office Anne wanted to buy a small book.  She was second in line behind a lady arranging a B&B for the night.  The clerk, a sweet young thing, gave full attention to the lady’s booking, as well she should.  When the girl had to wait for a callback on a lodging, she still gave her attention to the lodgee.  After ten minutes of waiting in line to pay for a two euro book, we decided Irish Time has its drawbacks. 

Enjoy Ireland on Irish Time and try not to get frustrated.   

Kokopelli on the Golf Course

Kokopelli petroglyphs outside Santa Fe.

Kokopelli is the anscestral Pueblo people’s (Anazasi) humpbacked flute player, a native American fertility deity presiding over childbirth and agriculture. He is a trickster and the spirit of music. Kokopelli is the symbol of the American southwest seen everywhere. We’ve played golf at Kokopelli GC and eaten at the Kokopelli Cafe. A quick search on Amazon turned up Kokopelli home decor items, coffee mugs, jewelry, door mats, wind chimes, tee 

Commercial Kokopelli art.

shirts, window stickers (we have them on both our cars), shower curtains, key rings, and I even found I could buy a  bronze Kokopelli cremation urn. When we hunt Rock Art (Native American petroglyphs and pictographs), Kokopelli representations are one of the prized finds. This description of the humpbacked flute player is background for the meeting we had with the elusive spirit in Santa Fe a couple of years ago.

As we played Santa Fe Country Club, one of our favorite courses in the area, we had an interesting encounter with Kokopelli. 

Santa Fe Country Club

We played the course in a golf cart—it was vacation golf. The day was quite windy as it often is in the southwest. As we played down the third hole I heard flute music, very faint, but distinct. In the middle of the golf course that was strange because we could see no one who could be playing the flute and there was nobody else around who could have a radio playing. Aside from a few birds, The only other living soul we’d met on the course was a horned toad, 

and he wasn’t talking. We heard the music again going down the next hole and the next. Then a pattern emerged; we heard the music as we were driving the cart. Finally, I listened closely enough to discover the source of our flute music. The wind blowing through some holes in the golf cart windscreen was making a distinctly flute-like whistling sound. Mystery solved—we were carrying Kokopelli with us as we made our way around the course.