Pregnant Buffalo
There are plenty of unique petroglyphs found within Nine Mile Canyon, and this one depicting a pregnant buffalo is certainly among them.
Placing the Stars
It took me a little while to finally find these petroglyphs after two different trips searching for them. I was just about to give up again this time when they caught my eye. I wasn’t looking quite high enough to find them originally.
Some believe that this scene depicts Coyote in the act of placing the stars. According to one Hopi creation myth, Old Spider Woman provides Coyote with with a sack filled with stars. After climbing to the top of a mountain he begins to distribute them neatly in the heavens, including creating the well-known constellations. Soon, he grows tired of this work and picks up the bag to throw its contents into the sky. This is the reason why many of the stars are not arranged in an orderly fashion.
Looking at this petroglyph site you can see many dots surrounding the coyote-like figure that could represent the stars and the bag-like object that is held in one of its hands.
Nine Mile Owl Petroglyphs
This past Black Friday I got up bright and early but I didn’t head to the mall or to our local big box store. Instead I took a drive through Nine Mile Canyon to find some new rock art. I’m sure I had a much better day than anyone out trying to get a deal.
One of the highlights of my day was finally visiting this awesome owl petroglyph panel. I’ve wanted to get to this one for a few months and am glad I was able to make it happen this year. The details in this petroglyph are just amazing!