There was a beautiful sunrise a few weekends ago as I was on my way to hike and search for some new rock art and ruins in Southern Utah. I just happened to be near this large boulder with Ute petroglyphs at the time and thought it might make a nice image. As the early morning sunlight bounced off the clouds above everything was bathed in a red glow for a few minutes. The storm clouds in the background were nice, too.
>> Fable Valley
These petroglyphs of bighorn sheep have eluded me for quite some time. I have searched for them before during the many times I have driven through Indian Creek Canyon over the past few years. I knew they were along the road somewhere, but was never able to find them. While driving back from Beef Basin this past weekend, I wasn’t even looking for new rock art when I managed to spot a few new petroglyphs out of the corner of my eye. I almost didn’t stop, but at the last second I decided to pull over and hike back for a few photos. I’m glad I did, because not only did I find the original petroglyphs I spotted, but I finally found this panel nearby. Maybe one day I’ll be able to drive through Indian Creek Canyon without finding any new rock art, but until that point it’s nice to find new things on each visit.
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.
Earlier this month I spent some time searching The Needles and Indian Creek for ruins and rock art. As I searched along Indian Creek, I found this nice panel of white pictographs. Most of it is comprised of white dots arranged in lines that remind me of the panel near Peekaboo Spring in Salt Creek Canyon. There are also a few different kinds of handprints found here.
Here’s a very close look at one of the anthropomorphic figures found at the massive Newspaper Rock on the way to Canyonlands National Park Needles District.
