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Nine Faces

Nine Faces

Besides visiting the Thirteen Faces pictographs last weekend, we also managed to find the Nine Faces. These ghostly figures are all white and not as colorful, but there are at least nine of them that are still visible!

>> The Elusive Horse Canyon

High Five Panel

High Five Panel

I first noticed this high pictograph panel in May when I backpacked to Peekaboo Spring in Salt Creek Canyon. Since I didn’t have my long lens on that trip (too much weight), I couldn’t get a decent photo of the panel. Since I was able to drive to Peekaboo this last weekend I was able to get a closer photo of this very interesting panel. I took this photo just after sunrise when the early morning light was striking it directly for only a few moments.

Besides the very vivid reverse handprints and white zig-zag snakes, there is also an interesting large circular figure and two half circles that seem to have faded. Below those are a large white snake that is also pretty faded. The most interesting aspect of these pictographs is that they are painted very high up on a cliff with no current access to reach them…and we did try to find a way.

>> The Elusive Horse Canyon

Six of Thirteen

Six of Thirteen

I just got back from a very humid weekend spent exploring Horse Canyon in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. I’ve been trying to get back into Horse Canyon for the last two years but the road has been washed out and closed for that long. When I received word a few weeks ago that the road had finally been reopened, I wasted no time and planned a trip out there…who knows when the next storm will close the road again? One of the main reasons to get back into Horse Canyon was so that I could finally visit the famous Thirteen Faces pictograph panel. This photo shows six of the Thirteen Faces, although you can really only see ten of the faces to begin with.

>> The Elusive Horse Canyon

Lone Man

Lone Man

A lone petroglyph pecked at the edge of a patch of desert varnish. This little guy is found among many other unique petroglyphs in Shay Canyon.

>> Shay Canyon Petroglyphs

Red Bear Panel in Black & White

Red Bear in Black & White

Here’s a large panel of red pictographs found on Cedar Mesa known as the Red Bear Panel. When I first came across this impressive panel, I was surprised as just how large the bear in the middle was. This photo doesn’t do it’s size justice. While bear petroglyphs are pretty common around Western Colorado and the Moab area, I can’t recall seeing any other bear imagery on Cedar Mesa before?

>> Cedar Mesa Ruins & Rock Art