Wow, it's been a long time. So much has happened since my last post but those of you that know me well know that I quit my job in DC and moved to Colorado to study Natural Resource Management at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville. I really had no intention of starting this blog up again but a Biology assignment prompted me to post here in order to share my pictures and experiences from my recent trip to Moab and Indian Creek in Utah. I went there in search of petroglyphs and dinosaur prints to satisfy a "field journal" project, and this is what I found.
We left early Sunday for the 4 and a half hour trip from Leadville to Moab. When we arrived we immediately set out on a hike in Negro Bill Canyon in order to tire the dog out before his stay in doggie daycare Monday. A tired dog is a good dog, right? Anyway, Negro Bill, besides being completely politically incorrect, is a beautiful hike and one that is especially good for dogs as it has a stream running along the entire 2 miles (4 out and back) of the hike. And it has a nice surprise at the end!
Negro Bill trailhead sign. Score 10 on beauty of the hike. Score 0 on political correctness. Apparently it was named after Bill who grazed his cattle in the canyon. I heard from a local that there is a movement to rename the canyon.
Driver beside the creek that ran the entire length of the hike.
At the end of the trail you are treated to a spectacular view of the 6th largest span for an arch in the country. Morning Glory Natural Bridge is a 243 foot natural stone arch and is unique because it is only 15 feet from the canyon wall. I wonder how this one was formed.
Morning Glory Bridge
Another view of the arch.
After the 4.5 hour drive and 4.5 mile hike, Sonja and I were ready to grab a bite to eat and find a campsite, but first we had to stop and fill up on water. Sonja knew of a natural spring right outside of Moab and I have got to say... it was the best water I've ever had. It even beats the water from the natural spring in Davis, WV which was my previous favorite.
Sonja filling up water bottles from the natural spring.
After the water stop we drove out Kane Creek Rd until we found a suitable campsite, unloaded the Element, folded the seats down, and called it a night. This was our first time sleeping in the Element, which was surprisingly comfortable for the 2 of us and a 90 pound bed hog of a dog.
In the morning we packed up and set out to find our first goal of the trip... the Birthing Scene petroglyph rock. These rocks are somewhat hard to find because they are not marked. You just kind of have to know what you are looking for as they are not usually fenced off or anything. We were lucky and spotted the rock right away.
Birthing Scene
Me giving the rock a little perspective.
The actual Birthing Scene. Note the feet first presentation.
Scary looking petroglyph man next to the birthing scene.
A snake and several triangular men.
We also found some other rock art sites along Kane Creek Rd but they were not nearly as interesting as the birthing scene, and also suffered from quite a bit of vandalism.
The second stop of the day along Kane Springs Rd.
A strange looking petroglyph along Kane Springs Rd.
The third stop along Kane Springs Rd. This site was heavily vandalized so I did not take a lot of pictures.
Next on the agenda was finding dinosaur prints. I had read about a "Dinosaur Trail" that was part of the Monitor and Merrimac mountain bike ride so we loaded up, dropped Driver off at daycare, and headed north of Moab. We had no problem finding the trail...
... however, I was a bit disappointed. I thought I'd see prints. It turned out to be fossils, which are cool if you know what you are looking at. It looked like a bunch of rocks to me. Thankfully Sonja has a good eye and was able to point out the vertebra and stuff.
Fossilized dinosaur vertebra.
Apparently this is a tailbone.
Cool rock layers.
More dinosaur bones.
After completing the 8 mile Monitor and Merrimac loop on our mountain bikes we set off for the Klondike Bluffs mountain bike trail just down the road. Sonja was positive that there were dinosaur prints on this trail. And she was right! After biking about a mile thru sand and then straight up some slickrock, the prints appear. Again, thankfully Sonja has a good eye or we would have missed them.
Dino prints on the Klondike Bluffs trail.
Another feature of this trail is that at the end you can ditch your bike and hike about a half mile and look down upon Arches National Park.
Arches National Park.
Realizing that we were cutting it close on time to get Big D out of daycare at 4:30 Sonja demanded that we hightail it back to the car. The trail is all downhill on the way back, and I am not a good descender. In fact I hate going downhill on my mountain bike, but I somehow managed to make it back to the car by Sonja's pre-determined time of 3:45. I guess I was scared she would leave me in the middle of nowhere in order to get Driver before daycare closed. We all know where her priorities lie.
After getting D (we made it with 2 minutes to spare!) we quickly checked out more dinosaur prints on Potash Road near the Poison Spider trailhead. We also spotted more petroglyphs along the way. And apparently the Poison Spider/Portal Trail loop is in my future (according to Sonja), although I am demanding a Poison Spider out and back. I have no desire to ride the Portal Trail. Check this out to see why.
Anyway, these prints and petroglyphs along Potash Rd wound up being some of my favorite.
Dino prints near the Poison Spider trailhead.
Close up of the prints. These were my favorite.
Petroglyph overlooking the Colorado River. Love the "cutout dolls."
Me being a dork.
Cool rock near the Poison Spider trailhead. What causes the rock to do this spiderweb thing?
I just loved this petroglyph of a bear. If you can see it closeup there are hunters at its nose and over its back.
Next up... driving to Indian Creek for a climb of South Six-Shooter, a desert tower just outside Canyonlands. We drove out and found a suitable campsite along the 4wd road into Davis Canyon. It was late so we just folded down the Element seats and hit the hay. Early the next morning we set out for the tower. A little side note here. This was a 4wd road and we were in my Element, an AWD vehicle. In my mind there is a difference, but Sonja wanted to attempt to drive my car to the base of the climb. I probably would have been ok with it except for this one rocky area. After much calculation and inspection of the clearance of the Element, and after Sonja claimed, "If I can get the front right tire exactly on this rock here, I think we'll be able to make it," I was absolutely not going to attempt the approach in the car. I only mention this because we wound up walking the wrong way and never made it to the climb. In fact, after wandering around the desert for 3 hours I was having visions of vultures tearing up my dehydrated body. But I exaggerate. We had plenty of water and decided to head back to the car, visit Canyonlands National Park, and Newspaper Rock.
South Sixshooter. We will be back! And soon!
Alas, Canyonlands (and seeing the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers) was not to be. Our wonderful National Park Service has severe restrictions on dogs at most parks, and Canyonlands appears to be one of the strictest. I swear, if I ever get a job at the NPS, I will work to change this policy. At least offer day care (even for a fee) for man's best friend because that's $10 the NPS didn't get from us that day. But onward to Newspaper Rock.
Newspaper Rocks contains petroglyphs that were made around 2000 years ago, and as recent as the early 20th century. The reason for the large concentration of rock art at this particular place remains a mystery. Several petroglyphs depicting riders on horses let us know they were carved after Columbus first visited the New World and horses were introduced.
Me checking out The Rock.
The menagerie of petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock.
Horseback rider.
Newspaper Rock is under the cliff.
After Newspaper Rock we decided to head back to our campsite in Indian Creek since we enjoyed the area so much, and were entertaining the idea of attempting the Six-Shooter in the morning. Well, morning came and I was unmotivated for rock climbing so we packed up and headed back to Moab.
Since we had some time we decided to find "Moab Man," a petroglyph located near the Moab golf course. Yes, Moab has a golf course, which just does not seem right to me. How much water does it take to maintain that thing? In my opinion, if you want a golf course in the middle of the desert, fine, just make it one huge sand trap.
Anyway, right next to the course is a petroglyph site with the famous "Moab Man" and also what appears to be a team of reindeer pulling a sleigh. Santa Claus?
"Moab Man"
"Reindeer and sleigh"
We wanted to do one more hike before heading back to the 'Ville so we drove back out Kane Springs Rd to Hunter Canyon. What a spectacular hike! The guides all say it's only 4 miles out and back and that the trail ends in some shrubs 2 miles in, but if you hike with Sonja, you wind up bushwacking thru the shrubs to see what's on the other side. And are we lucky we did! The trail continued for at least another 2 miles and contained some of the most beautiful parts of the hike. We finally had to turn around due to time restrictions, but I would love to find out where this trail actually goes.
Driver swimming in one of the many pools off the Hunter Canyon trail.
Driver again.
Water plants in the middle of the desert. What are they?
Sonja takes a rest in a "chair"
Cactus.
Cool rock formation.
What looks to be a Christmas tree in the middle of the desert.
Back at the car we set off on the 4.5 hour trip home. I was sad to leave, but it's nice to know that this spectacular place is just a quick roadtrip away.
