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.
High Alcove Anthropomorph
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.
Ripples in Time
I’ve visited the Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel many times over the years (including a stop there last Saturday), yet it never seems to get old. With this photo I tried to accentuate the ripples in the sandstone that lead up to the figures that are known as ‘Rain Angels’ according to the interpretative sign below them.
Dancing for Rain
Here’s a closer look at the middle portion of the Unexpected Panel that Philippe and I stumbled across last month. There is a lot going on in this spectacular panel! At the bottom sits what appears to be a large rain cloud. Above that there are some figures that seem to be in a supplicant position. There is also an interesting vertical squiggly line with a circle on each side. That design is also repeated above the white rainbow. Above the supplicant figures is a row of circles, followed by a row of very small and fine lines and then a white rainbow outlined by thin ochre lines above it all. Then to top it all off, there are two larger anthropomorphic figures that seem to be floating above. This is a very detailed pictograph panel and I could just sit and stare at it all day 🙂
Observing
Two of the three figures that make up the Secret Site which I have also seen referred to as the Observer Panel. Hidden in a shallow alcove in the San Rafael Swell, these are an exceptional set of Barrier Canyon Style pictographs with the main larger anthropomorph styled in a simple rake-like motif which is believed to represent rain. The smaller stick figure helps reinforce the rain interperetation since it appears to be pouring water from its hands. There is one more anthropomorph that is off to the right and out of the frame in this photo that looks similar to the large rake-like figure, except a bit smaller.