A photo of the Perfect Panel is a great way to start off the week. This astonishing pictograph panel is probably one of my very favorites that I have visited so far. Not only is this panel in impeccable condition (hence the name ‘Perfect Panel’), it’s also in a very impressive location that is just a little bit tricky to locate and to visit. This photo shows the full panel in all it’s glory including the well-known ‘hitchhiker’ anthropomorph on the very left.
After hiking with my friend Kevin last Saturday to visit a couple of Barrier Canyon Style pictograph sites. We managed to find two of the sites we were looking for, but did not find the Ekker Site before Kevin had to go. Once he left to meet some other friends I hiked back up into the canyon in search of the Ekker Site. On my search, I managed to find another small site that I wasn’t aware of which was pretty cool. After photographing that small site I started hiking back to my Jeep, but taking a different way back. That turned out to be a good decision since I ended up hiking right by the Ekker Panel on the way. The imposing anthropomorph in the photo above was the largest figure at the site. I’m not sure how tall it was, but I know it was taller than I am! My best guess would probably say it’s about 8 feet? There were many other pictographs and petroglyphs at this impressive site, and I’m sure I’ll post more from here in the future.
After leaving the site I realized that Kevin and I had hiked to within about a tenth of a mile from here before turning back. If we had hiked just a little further, we probably would have found it. Had I known where to look when we turned around, I probably could have even spotted this large figure from there! On my way back to the Jeep I got rattled at by a rattlesnake; the first one I have ever encountered in the San Rafael Swell.
Here’s a very cool panel of Barrier Canyon Style pictographs located near Moab. It’s also a tough one to get a good photo of since it is in direct sunlight most of the day and the pigments are already pretty faded. It’s pretty amazing to think about just how well the paints used have managed to hold up to the UV rays of the direct sunlight for possibly thousands of years! Luckily, the day I visited this panel earlier this year there was just enough hazy cloud-cover in the sky to help me get some better photos. I think it would be even better on a very overcast day. Even though it’s hard to see, if you look closely at the figure that looks like a comet, you can see the very faint yellow pigment. Above the largest anthropomorph (which is life-sized) there are a few yellow arches that go from hand to hand, but they are very faded in this photo. A very interesting panel, indeed!
While out hiking in the San Rafael Swell yesterday we visited an interesting Barrier Canyon Style pictograph panel known as the Barnes Panel. Unfortunately, this panel has not held up to time and the elements very well and is very hard to see (especially in a photo). The above photo was enhanced using a program called DStretch. I have known about this program and it’s use to enhance faint rock art for a while but never took the time to play around with it. This is one of my first attempts with DStretch and it appears to have brought out quite a bit of the very faint detail in this panel. After the enhancement I converted the photo to black and white since DStretch changes the colors in the photo dramatically. In the enhanced image you can admire all of the fine details in this panel that are barely visible to the naked eye. Below is the image I ran through DStretch and pretty accurately represents what you can see in person.
Yesterday I met up with my friend Kevin so we could visit a few pictograph panels in the San Rafael Swell. I had searched for these same panels last month and not found them, but this time I found each site I was looking for, and more! The main site we both wanted to visit was the High Alcove Site which contains this very unique red-painted anthropomorph with scratched designs down it’s torso. This figure is located high on the canyon wall underneath a small arched alcove, which frames the site nicely.
