The Road Less Traveled– My Summer 2019 Rock Art Trip (Part 1:  Mesa Prieta to The Great Basin)

Prologue…

As I planned my travel for 2019, I originally did not plan to go anywhere in July.  I had reserved a spot for the Texas Archaeological Society (TAS) Field School at Palo Duro Canyon State Park for the first two weeks of June, signing up for the survey portion of the work to be done in the canyon.  Unfortunately, I had a little health episode in April that I thought might be heart related, so, upon the advice of my cardiologist, I cancelled my plans for the TAS Field School.  About that time, I noticed that the Utah Rock Art Research Association (URARA) had scheduled a field trip for the Delta, Utah area for July 13 – 15, 2019.  Since I had not previously spent any time exploring that part of Utah, I decided to sign up for the event.  I decided to again try to visit Paiute Cave and once again try to find the Ascending Sheep Panel.  I quickly filled out a two week itinerary that included a nice mix of sites to visit.

First Stop:  Espanola, New Mexico, and the Mesa Prieta Project…

For quite some time, I had wanted to visit the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project site near Espanola, New Mexico.  From what I had read, the site contained a large number of very nice and very distinctive petroglyphs.  I made a reservation for a tour on the morning of Wednesday, July 10, 2019.  I left home on the evening of Monday, July 8, and arrived in Espanola late on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 9, 2019.  I checked into my hotel and drove out to the site, just to make sure I would be able to get there the next morning.  The site was locked, but I walked the road at the site and took a few pictures of petroglyphs that are visible from the road.  I walked about a mile down the road, and enjoyed walking along the Rio Grande and trying to spot rock art.  The next morning, I drove out to the site once again.  I went early, and, instead of turning left after crossing the river (toward Lydon), I turned right (toward La Canova), and spent a little time seeing if I could spot petroglyphs from the road in this area, which I did.  I drove down to the Well’s Preserve and met up with a small group.  Our group spent about four hours walking some of the trails at the Well’s preserve site.  We were not able to see it all, and, at some point in the future, I hope to go back to see the rest of the site.  After finishing up with the tour, I drove over to the area near La Canova, which I had scouted earlier, and climbed up to explore, finding a number of nice petroglyphs.  To see all of my photos of this site, look here.

Next up, A Couple of Days Visiting Sites in The Arizona Strip and Southern Utah…

After spending most of Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at Mesa Prieta, I enjoyed a pleasant drive to Kanab, Utah, where I spent the night.  I was up early Thursday morning, headed out to Paiute Cave.  I arrived at the collapsed lava tube cave around seven thirty that morning, and it was a clear, chilly morning.  As I hiked down to the cave opening, I was greeted by a large rattlesnake sunning on one of the black lava rocks.  The light was perfect inside the cave, and I enjoyed the vibrant pictographs located there.  To see the full gallery of pictures I took at Paiute Cave, look here. 

From Paiute Cave, I continued south toward Mt. Trumbell and the Nampaweap Petroglyph Site.  The site is in a small canyon that some people call Billy Goat Canyon.  I enjoyed a pleasant hike down into the canyon and spent several hours climbing around and boulder hopping.  There are quite a few petroglyphs at the site, and I am glad I got to see them.  Gradually, the temperature went up close to 100 degrees, so I decided to hike back to the truck.  For a full gallery of the photos I took at Namaweap, look here. 

Since my route out of the area took me to within 13 miles of the Toroweap Overlook, I decided to drive down there and look down into the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.  As you can see, there was no hint of a storm as I headed thru the Tuweep Area of the Grand Canyon National Park.  About a mile and a half from the canyon rim, I ran into a volunteer ranger (the only person I saw the whole day down there) who pointed to the east and said there was a significant storm headed into the area.  Reluctantly, I decided to turn around, since I know from first-hand experience that the road out quickly becomes impassable with just a small amount of rain.

I made it back to paved road, just beating the rain storm.  I had planned to visit the Canan Gap Site near Colorado City, but the temperature was well over 100 degrees so I decided to skip the site and head for St. George, where I spent the night.  The next morning I was up early and headed for the Anasazi Valley Trailhead at the Santa Clara River Reserve.   I hiked up to the petroglpyh site at Anasazi Ridge and spent several hours exploring.  What a wonderful site!  There are several very well executed panels, and lots of smaller elements scattered about.  I am glad I took the time to stop at this beautiful spot.

I left Anasazi Ridge a little after noon on Friday, July 12, 2019, headed for Delta, Utah.  I decided to travel the back roads, hoping to see some new geography and history and along the way I stopped at the Lion’s Mouth Pictograph Site west of Cedar City.  My first stop was at the Mountain Meadows Massacre site.  I had heard of this incident, but reading the informational kiosks at the memorial site was sobering and disquieting.

I next stopped at the Lion’s Mouth Pictograph Site east of Cedar City, Utah.  I was pleasantly surprised at the size of this site and the well executed elements in the large alcove.  I also enjoyed the short hike up to the alcove and exploring the area around the alcove.  To see my full gallery of the photos I took at Lion’s Mouth, look here. 

I continued north after visiting the Lion’s Mouth and realized that I would be passing just a short distance to the west of the iconic Parowan Gap Petroglyph Site.  I decided to stop and take advantage of the cloudy conditions, since it had been several years since I photographed this site.  To see my full gallery of photographs from the Parowan Gap Site, look here. I also did some exploring, looking for a site I had heard referred to as Parowan East.  I located the site high up on a mountain side just short of the Little Salt Lake.  I  enjoyed climbing up to the site and taking pictures.  To see my full gallery of photographs from the Parowan East Site, look here.  

After my time at the Parowan sites, I continued my drive on the back roads up to Delta, Utah, where I was to meet my Utah Rock Art Research Association friends the next morning.  I enjoyed the scenery and the ambiance of the small Utah towns I passed through.  This ends Part 1 of this trip blog, but I hope you will continue on to Part 2, which covers the second week of my trip.