The Search For 13 Moons (and Other Assorted Adventures Out West)

Prologue

Ever since I unexpectedly stumbled upon a few petroglyph sites on the Volcanic Tablelands north of Bishop, California, I have wanted to make a return visit to that area.  When I got home from that first trip in November of 2019 I began researching the Owens Valley area and soon discovered there were many more sites to be found (than just the three I visited).  I also discovered that the locations of the two of most desirable and best known sites (Sky Rock and 13 Moons) seem to be closely guarded secrets, and apparently it is very difficult to come by directions to them.  I was itching to make a rock art trip, since 2020 was a complete bust due to the Corona 19 epidemic.  I thought about just driving out there and asking around, but decided that might not be the best thing to do.  So, I decided to intensify my research to see if I couldn’t find them on my own.  At first my research for directions to these two sites on the internet met with no success.  Indeed, it appeared that no one, and I literally mean no one, had shared directions or GPS coordinates on the internet, and that is probably a very good thing.  But diving deeper into the bowels of the internet I found a 1965 publication entitled Reports of the University of California Archaeological Survey No. 65, “Rock Art of Owens Valley, California” by Jay C. von Werlhof of the Department of Anthropology at Berkley.    A careful reading of this document along with Google Earth, gave me some pretty good ideas of where I should look for the sites I was interested in.  So, armed with a plan, I started to figure out my routes and where I would lay my head at night.  I had also been researching the location of a unique site in New Mexico which featured a boulder with two large serpents.  While I was not at all confident I could find this site, I decided to stop by there on the way home.  Also, while working on the details of the rock art objectives for my trip, I decided to indulge my newfound passion for bird watching while on the road.  So, I included stops at some eBird hotspots, both coming and going.  For my blog that covers the bird watching part of this trip, look here.  And, without further ado, here is my account of the “Search For 13 Moons”.

The Search For the Crown Jewels of the Owens Valley…

My first full day in Bishop, California (Sunday, May 23, 2021) I set out, confident I would find 13 Moons and Sky Rock in short order.  I drove to what I thought was a trailhead that would take me to the sites.  The Volcanic Tablelands end abruptly at the Owens River on their southern edge, and a steep cliffside.  A number of the Owen’s Valley archaeological sites are found in the draws and gullies that break up this southern cliff-like edge of the Volcanic Tablelands.  I thought I knew which draw(s) contained Sky Rock and 13 Moons and my plan was to hike/climb up to this draw, approaching the sites from the south and from the bottom of the cliffside edge.  It was a pleasant morning, quite cool when I set out.  I could see no discernable path up the cliffside, so I started walking/climbing at an angle that I thought would be the easiest to navigate.  It was very difficult going!  The lower two-thirds of the cliffside were very, very sandy and quite steep in some sections.  It took my maximum effort and well over an hour to climb up what I estimate was a 250 foot high cliffside.  When I reached the top and was finally standing on the rock edge, I was confident I was just east of the draw where I would find the objects of my affections.  In retrospect, the absence of any semblance of a trail the the extreme difficulty of the climb should have given me pause to wonder if I was in the right place.  However, at my age and station in life, I tend to be rather thick headed and simple minded, so I was happy as a fat goose after the climb up.  That brief state of jubilation was soon to change.

After reaching the top, I rested for a while, and marked the spot where I had emerged with a white towel.  I then walked the edge of the cliffside to the draw that I was sure contained Sky Rock.  For the next several hours, I combed every nook and cranny of the boulder strewn edges of the gully, covering the entire length.  I found one single small panel, that was most certainly not Sky Rock!

I knew that 13 Moons was supposed to be about 100 yards east of Sky Rock, so part of my explorations included searching every boulder within several hundred yards east of the draw.  As I neared the end of the draw, I saw something that caused me great concern–  a house, with a fenced area around it.  No where in any pictures, discussions, or references had I seen any mention of a house.  It was then that I finally admitted to myself that I had been searching the wrong draw.  I was completely defeated, and drained of not just my energy, but my enthusiasm.  I realized I might be returning home without finding the Crown Jewels of the Owens Valley after all.  So I beat a not so hasty retreat to the edge of the cliff-side and hiked/slid down to the bottom and my car.  I was very tired and discouraged as I drove back into Bishop, where I spent the rest of the late afternoon and early evening watching golf and licking my wounds. 

Fast forward to  about 1:00 p.m. the next day (Monday, May 24, 2021).  After spending a productive morning visiting the Chalfant Site, The Fish Slough Site, and exploring an unnamed draw that I had accessed via a rough road up on the Volcanic Tablelands, I found myself taking a different backcountry road that I hoped would put me near the draw that contained Sky Rock and 13 Moons.  (See the Sky Rock Gallery for details of the route I took). I wanted to take one more shot at finding Sky Rock and 13 Moons.   After slowly negotiating the rough road, I parked and began my search my search anew. After walking about a mile, I spotted 13 Moons!  I was ecstatic as I walked closer and closer to this beautiful panel.  I spent about thirty minutes there, enjoying the view, soaking in the sacred nature of the place, and taking some photos.  For more photos of 13 Moons and more details about the location, look at this gallery.   

I then headed due west from 13 Moons, back across the draw toward the line of boulders that marked the edge of the next draw over, searching for the elusive Sky Rock. 

Sky Rock is well hidden, as befits a sacred place that was obviously special to the ancient ones who created the art that adorns it.  It took me about twenty minutes to find it– it is difficult to see from above as well as from below.  It is also difficult to get a good picture of the complete panel.  There is one high vantage point that might allow a view of the entire panel, but I was unable to climb up to it.  It sucks being an old man!  But I was excited and amazed as I climbed, hopped,  and slid from boulder to boulder trying to get the best shot I could.  When I finally found a spot that was not too precarious but offered a pretty decent view of the panel, I sat for a while and tried to imprint the extraordinary scene on my mind and soul.

After spending about thirty minutes above Sky Rock, I climbed down into the draw below and took a picture to show how it is almost impossible to see the surface of the rock that contains the art.  As I said, well hidden!  For more pictures of Sky Rock that I took that day and for details about its location, look here.  

Chalfant, Fish Slough, and The Chalk Bluff Sites…

On Monday morning, May 25, 2021, I visited three sites before deciding to once again search for 13 Moons and Sky Rock.  My first stop was the Chalfant Site (Mno-7).  I was there at first light, since the site is an easy drive of about 18 miles up Highway Six from the center of Bishop.  I enjoyed this site!  It is quite different from many of the Owen’s Valley sites– some of the designs are huge and the surfaces at the site seem to be more conducive to rock art than the rough, dark surfaces found at many of the sites.  I spent about an hour at this site before moving on.  To see more of my photos of the Chalfant Site from that morning, look at this gallery.   

My time at Chalfant invigorated me, so I had lots of energy as I headed to the Fish Slough Site (Mno-6).    This site is quite small, and I did not spend much time there.  But I am glad I took the time to take a look– there are a number of things to see at the site.  To see more of the photos I took that morning at this little site, look here.

After my brief visit to the Fish Slough Site I made a spur of the moment decision and decided to try to find the Chalk Bluff Site (Iny-267) by approaching from the Volcanic Tablelands to the north.  “Chalk Bluff” is what I am calling this site.  It may be called by other names, but I decided on this one because the site is 400 yards from the actual Chalk Bluff.  I decided to visit the site because Jay von Werlhof, in his 1965 Survey, called it “the most extensive site along the Owens River”, and I wanted to try to approach a site from the north, not by climbing up the cliffside.  I had plotted a route on Google Earth and followed it successfully to a parking area near the end of the draw that is home to the site.  I walked, climbed, and boulder hopped my way down to the point where the draw meets the cliffside.  I decided that rather than climb down (it looked pretty steep and difficult) I would approach it from below later in the day. 

By the time I made it back to my car, it was about thirty minutes after noon.  I made another spur of the moment decision to see if the fork in the road I had passed on the the way would lead me to the draw that contained 13 Moons and Sky Rock.  As noted above, it did!  After spending most of the afternoon finding and exploring those sites, I headed back down to Chalk Bluff Road and over to the trailhead to the Chalk Bluff Site.  Earlier in the day I had remembered that the Werlhof Survey said the petroglyphs at this site were “visible only when the draw is approached from the South”.  By this time it was after 5:00 o’clock and I was pretty tired, but I walked to the base of the boulders and sure enough, approaching the site from the South,  I spotted petroglyphs.  I walked around the base of the rock fall and took a few pictures, but I did not have the energy to climb up and explore the jumble of large boulders.  For a gallery of all the pictures I took of this site, look here.

The Chalk Bluff Site is one of many reasons I want to return to the Owens Valley some day and spend the time necessary to fully explore this site and many others that I did not have time to enjoy like I would like to.  So after spending only a short time at the Chalk Bluff Site, I headed West on Chalk Bluff Road.  On my ill-fated attempt to find Sky Rock on Sunday afternoon, I had tried to drive the length of Chalk Bluff Road to Birchim Canyon so I could try to find The Tablet Stone (Iny-268) (which some call The Rosetta Stone) and The Bloody Hands Site.  Both of these sites are near the entrance to Birchim Canyon. Shortly before I reached the Pleasant Valley Dam, I found a locked gate blocking Chalk Bluff Road.   Anyway, I wanted to see if the gate was open so I could look for these additional sites, but it was still locked up tight. (After I got home I learned from Google Earth that I could approach these sites via Gorge Road of Highway 395).  So, I made another spur of the moment decision.  I decided to drive up to Mono Lake.  Years ago I had read an article about the lake and knew I wanted to visit it some day.  It took me a little over an hour to drive up to Mono Lake.  It was a pleasant drive with some nice scenery.  I decided to go to the South Tufa Area, where I spent about 45 minutes walking the trail and boardwalk there.  It is a beautiful, almost magical, place and I am glad I took the time to drive up there.

A Quick Stop At Poverty Hills As I Entered The Owens River Valley…

On Saturday afternoon, May 22, 2021, after driving through Death Valley National Park on my way to Bishop, California, I realized I had enough daylight to visit a site in southern Inyo County known as Poverty Hills (Iny-269 and Iny-270).  There are a number of sites in southern Inyo County, but I chose Poverty Hills Sites because of ease of access (they are only about a mile and a half off of Highway 395) and because it seemed like a fairly large and interesting site, as described in the Werlhof Survey.  I arrived at the main site (Iny-269) about 6:30 p.m. and stayed for a couple of hours, leaving the sites shortly before sunset.  Most of the art at the sites was of the Curvilinear Style, and much of it was not in great shape.  But there were several panels that were certainly worth seeing, and I enjoyed the time I spent there.  For a gallery that contains most of the photos I took at the Poverty Hills Sites, look here.  

A Visit With Two Serpents On The Way Home…

As I mentioned in the Prologue to this blog post, one of my main goals for this little trip was to find a site in New Mexico that features two large serpents.  I first saw a picture of the panel that contains these two magnificent serpent elements several years ago but the picture did not give the the site name or any clues as to where it was located, other than it was in the state of New Mexico.  While researching the location of a different site, I ran across a blog post that mentioned a trip to the site.  The author of that post said he did not have any specifics as to the site’s location and only added that it was located near a certain “Cañon” in central New Mexico.  He found the site, but gave no further clues as to its location.  Based on this slimmest of leads, I turned to my friend, Google Earth, and started to search.  I came up with what I thought was probably the general area where the site was located but I was not confident I would be able to find it.  However, as the search is, for me, the most pleasurable aspect of the the rock art experience, I decided I would search for this site on my way home from 13 Moons.  I left the Owen Valley early on the morning of Tuesday, May 24, 2021, heading for home.  That day, I drove to Los Lunas, New Mexico (most of the way on IH-40, passing through Flagstaff), where I checked into a motel for the night.  Bright and early the next morning, I drove for about an hour to the general area of my search.  The first cañon I checked out was a bust.  But, lo and behold, as I continued to explore, I came upon an area where the landscape began to look more and more ideal for a rock art site.  After another thirty minutes of searching, I found my two serpents!  In addition to the large slab that contained the two serpents, there were petroglyph panels to the left, right, and in front of the two stars of the show.  For a gallery of all the pictures I took at the site, as well as a link to directions, look here.  Since I am unaware of this place having a formal or common name, I decided I would call it “The Two Serpents Petroglyph Site”.  I spent about an hour and a half at this beautiful place and was back on the road headed for home by 9:30 a.m., with a wide grin of satisfaction upon my face. 

Epilogue…

I enjoyed this trip.  I met some new birds, saw some new places, and, for the most part met my rock art goals.  Any one of the three major sites I visited (13 Moons, Sky Rock, and the Two Serpents) would have been worth the drive. But, to be honest, this trip was too short.  I would have liked to have spent a full two weeks instead of one.  Maybe next time!  I once again find myself grateful for the good health and the finances that allow me to take trips such as this.  And, as always, I love and appreciate my wife Dorothy’s generosity and understanding–  she is the best!  Until my next trip…