Buckhorn Draw Petroglyphs Gallery

20180322_152040 — YOURS TRULY, AT THE FIRST PETROGLYPH SITE I SPOTTED ALONG BUCKHORN DRAW ROAD ON THE WAY TO THE BUCKHORN WASH PICTOGRAPH SITE. MARCH 22, 2018.

Buckhorn Draw Petroglyphs Galleries

On the afternoon of March 22, 2018, I set out from Castledale, Utah (after visiting the museum there), headed for the iconic Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Site. I took State Road 401 (Green River Cutoff Road) east to State Road 332 (Buckhorn Draw Road) which then headed south. For my blog post that includes my visit to the sites in this gallery, look here. It was not long before I saw my first two petroglyph sites, both of which were small and located near MM 27 on Buckhorn Draw Road. The first site had a beautiful anthropomorph with a couple of unusual elements nearby. This site was badly defaced with graffiti but a stunning work none-the-less. In fact, the site is sometimes called “The TDK Petroglyph Site” because near the petroglyphs someone used bullet holes to spell the initials TDK. Here are photos of that first site.

The TDK or Birdman Panel Gallery…

A CRACK SEPARATES THE TWO PANELS. THE INITIALS "TDK" ARE TO THE RIGHT OF THE PANELS AND LARGE ENOUGH TO BE SEEN FROM THE ROAD.

SOME REFER TO THIS FIGURE AS "THE BIRDMAN", NOTING THAT THE LEFT ARM HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A FEATHER AND THE LEFT FOOT IS A BIRD'S FOOT.

SOME THINK THIS ELEMENT REPRESENTS A PERSON KILLED BY A SCORPION (UPSIDE DOWN FIGURE REPRESENTS DEATH).

DSC_7636C (1) — A PHOTO OF THE BIRDMAN THAT I TOUCHED UP TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA WHAT THE ELEMENT WOULD LOOK LIKE WITHOUT THE GRAFFITI.

Almost directly across the road from the Birdman (TDK) site is a boulder with a few petroglyphs. Some people call this the “Black Rock Petroglyph Site” because of the dark patina on the rock. The authenticity of these petroglyphs have been questioned, while others think they were made by Indians who ambushed travelers (and their livestock) at this point along the Old Spanish Trail. Here are a few photos from this site.

The Black Rock Petroglyph Panel Gallery…

THE BLACK ROCK SITE GETS ITS NAME FROM THE DARK PATINA OF THE BOULDER.

THOSE WHO CLAIM THIS IS RELATED TO AN AMBUSH SITE SAY THE TWO FIGURES ARE FIGHTING AND THE ZOOMORPH IS A COW.

20180322_152858 — YOURS TRULY AT THE BLACK ROCK SITE IN BUCKHORN DRAW.

The Big Petroglyph Panel Gallery…

Around the corner (at MM 26.7) from the TDK and Black Rock Sites is the Big Panel, also known as the Hidden Panel, or the Buckhorn Cattleguard Panel. This site is a much larger panel than the first two and has some very impressive elements. There are also a few pictographs mixed in with the petroglyphs. Here are some of the photos I took of this very nice panel.

DSC_7648C — THE BIG PANEL IS BIG, AND CONTAINS A NICE VARIETY OF ELEMENTS AND A FEW PICTOGRAPHS AMONG THE PETROGLYPHS.

A VARIETY OF ZOOMORPHS ARE IN THE PANEL. NOTICE THE VERY SMALL ONES-- DOGS?

TWO GROUPS OF FIGURES APPEAR TO BE HOLDING HANDS-- CEREMONIAL DANCING?

THIS PANEL INCORPORATES DOTS AND LINES....

CLUSTERS OF SMALL BLACK PICTOGRAPHS APPEAR IN THE PANEL.

THE LEFT HAND PORTION OF THE PANEL APPEARS TO BE MORE ABSTRACT.

MANY OF THE BODIES OF THE SHEEP AND OTHER HORNED ANIMALS ARE SOLIDLY PECKED.

FROM THIS ANGLE YOU CAN SEE THAT THE LONG LINE WRAPS AROUND THE CORNER IN THE FAR LEFT OF THIS PHOTO.

YOURS TRULY AT THE BIG PANEL...GIVES AN IDEA OF THE SIZE OF THE ELEMENTS.

A Little Bonus– A Really Nice Dinosaur Track!

A short distance from the three sites presented above is a really nice dinosaur track. It is up on a shelf near the road at MM 27.5. I don’t know anything about dinosaur tracks, but this is one of the nicest I have ever seen!