In January, 2015, I spent a few days in Big Bend Ranch State Park.  On my first night at the park, I met a couple from Golden, Colorado.  They were staying at the Sauceda Ranch House, while I was staying at the Sauceda Bunkhouse, but all the guests got together that evening for a visit (there was only one other visitor at the park, a geologist from North Carolina).  As we talked, I could tell this couple were dedicated and knowledgeable rock art enthusiasts.  They told me they were leaving the State Park the next morning.  When I asked if they were headed back to Colorado, the gentleman replied, “No, we are going to spend a couple of days at the National Park — there is one rock art site over there we have never been able to find.”  When I asked which site, he said, “The Red Buffalo”.  I pulled out my cell phone and found a picture of the the Red Buffalo and replied “This Red Buffalo?”.  I must admit, I felt no small amount of pride in having found a site that these accomplished afficionados had been unable to find.  (See my Red Buffalo post under Rock Art Galleries for an explanation of how I found the site.) I explained to them how I found the site and passed the location information along to them.  They were most grateful and when they got back to Colorado, they returned the favor by mailing me several maps of Largo Wash with notations made during their many trips there.  At one point in our conversation that evening, they said that of all the areas they have been to, Largo Wash was their favorite.  So, bottom line, ever since that day, I have had a burning desire to visit this place and use the maps I had been given by my Colorado friends.  For some reason, several years passed and I never managed to make it to Largo Wash.  In late Spring of 2018, Billy and I decided it was about time we made it to Largo Wash, and we planned a trip.

Largo Wash was to be the main objective and the centerpiece of this trip, but, we wanted to add some other locations to the trip as well.  We knew that it would be too hot to camp, so we didn’t want to spend the whole week at Largo.  Our goal was to see the main sites in Crow Canyon, and explore enough of the area to see if we would want to come back and camp there for an extended time in cooler weather.  We decided to visit the Ute Tribal Park south of Mesa Verde and to also spend a day in Bluff, Utah.  These locations rounded out our plan for the week.

We left Billy’s ranch on Monday morning, June 4, 2018 and drove to Bloomfield, New Mexico, where we checked into a motel and went and had some bar-b-que.  We got up early the next morning and drove to Largo Wash.  It was about fifteen miles from our motel to the turn off that leads to Largo.  From that point on, we were on unpaved roads for about 25 miles to reach the Crow Canyon area.

The main road into the canyon was very dusty, but not bad at all.  There is considerable oil field traffic, so they keep the main road well maintained.  After the turn off to Crow Canyon, the road was not quite as good, but we had no problems.  (Well, that is not exactly correct.  As we were searching for the Big Warrior Panel, Billy’s right front tire managed to find a small sinkhole on the shoulder of the road and his truck dropped to the frame.  He was able to back out of it, thanks to his four wheel drive!)  We first explored the area around the Main Panel.  We took our time and searched the entire area.  Next, we drove to the trailhead for the Big Warrior Panel and made the short walk to visit this magnificent panel.  After finishing up at the Big Warrior, we drove further up canyon to the 44 Panel trailhead.  We hiked to The 44 Panel, taking our time and exploring the area.  We took lots of photos of not just the main panels, but the smaller panels and isolates around each of them.  If you are interested in a more complete compilation of our photos, visit the Rock Art Galleries part of my website.  Here are the three major panels at Crow Canyon….

We spent the entire day at Crow Canyon, then drove back in to our motel for the evening.  The next morning, we got up and drove back out to Largo Wash.  Our goal for the day was to drive further into the Wash, and do some exploring for some of the lesser known rock art sites.  We made a quick stop at Crow Canyon to take some more photos of the Big Warrior and the Main Panel in the early morning light.  After that, we headed up the main Wash.   Along the way, we stopped and visited with John Erick.  John has a non-profit called Mustang Camp,  where he breaks, trains and sells wild horses that are captured by the BLM.  We had a nice chat with him and his two interns, a young lady from New Jersey and a young man from Wisconsin.  While we were visiting with John, there was a goat (that acted more like a dog!) who was hanging around and doing his best to become friends with us.  When I first approached John and introduced myself, I had a topo map in my hand, intending to confirm our location and ask him about the area we planned to explore that day.  In short order, my new found friend the goat was having a snack out of my topo map.  I later asked John if it was ok to give the goat some crackers, and he said “Of course, he will eat ANYTHING”.   As if the goat understood every word, he followed me over to the truck and when I opened the door to get him some crackers he tried to climb in.  Such a hoot!  We had also asked John if it was ok to offer a cold drink and a snack to his interns, so we walked to each of them with a cold water and a snack and introduced ourselves.  They were nice young people, in the process of literally shoveling horse shit.  We had a brief visit with them that was quite nice.

During our visit with John Erick, I asked him if he knew of any rock art sites that perhaps only the locals were aware of.  He laughed, and said “If it doesn’t have four legs and fur, I don’t pay it any attention.”  I showed him on the map where we planned to explore that day, and all I got was “That sounds good to me.”  So off we went, driving ever deeper into Largo Wash.  As we drive, we constantly scan the cliffs with binoculars.  When we got to the area I had proposed to explore, Billy immediately spotted some rock art, way up high.  So we put on our gear and set out.  We decided to call this area “The Cattleguard Site“, because we had just crossed a cattle guard before we parked.  We spent several hours, climbing up to the top ledge and following the ledge as best we could.  It was a perfect day, and a perfect landscape for what Billy and I love to do!  We found several small panels, nothing outstanding, but all very interesting.  One area that we wanted to explore (we could see some petroglyphs from the road) we could never reach, but it was fun trying!

I don’t mean to brag, but as I looked through the photos Billy and I took that day at the Cattleguard site, I was filled with gratitude that he and I are both physically able to still climb these rocks and scramble up to these amazing places.  I am also grateful at how well we work together when we are climbing and exploring — we both know when to reign the other in — and when to turn back!  So, a few more photos, if you please….

After we finished up at the Cattleguard site, we headed back out toward Bloomfield, on the main road that passes through Largo Wash.  We stopped a couple of times to explore for rock art right along the road.  As you can see from the photos below, these panels along this route (which was the original Old Spanish Trail) are all but ruined with graffiti.  We also made one final stop at a grave site Billy had seen the day before.  Billy has a fetish of sorts when it comes to graves out in the middle of nowhere, and always insists on stopping to inspect, and, I suspect, say a little prayer….

After spending one more night in Bloomfield, we got up early Thursday morning, and headed out to meet a guide we had engaged for the day at the Ute Tribal Park in southern Colorado.  Along the way, we stopped for about an hour at a site I had heard about called Waterflow.  The site is right on Hwy 64 between Farmington and Shiprock.  I had passed by it many times, never knowing it was there.  Although badly damaged with graffiti, it is a charming site none-the-less, and I am glad we stopped to take a look at it.

After our early morning stop at Waterflow, we headed into Shiprock,  then turned due north to drive up to the Ute Tribal Park.  We had arranged with Gerald Ketchum, a Ute Elder, to act as our guide for the day, and to meet him at the visitor’s center at 9:00 a.m.  We arrived a little early, and enjoyed the magnificent scenery in the area.  After Gerald arrived, we made our introductions and set out, following him into the Ute lands, which lie directly south of Mesa Verde.  (For an informative and interesting article about the Ute Tribal Park, written by David Roberts [accompanied by our friend Vaughn Hadenfeldt] for The National Geographic Traveler in 2011, look here).  The first landmark we passed was Jackson Butte, which guards the entrance to the Ute Tribal Lands.  The butte has two names,  Chimney Rock and Jackson Butte. It is known by the locals as Chimney Rock because of the chimney like shape. The formal name is Jackson Butte, named after the famous photographer, William Henry Jackson, who traveled through the area in 1874 with the U.S. Government during the Hayden Survey.

We spent the entire day with Gerald — who was most generous with his knowledge of the area in general, and the rock art sites in particular.  Billy and I were most grateful for his help, and his generous friendship.  Among the sites we visited that day:  The Tower Site; AtlAtl Point; The Mary Cliff Ruins; The Sunfield Solstice Marker; The Medicine Woman Panel; The Train Site; The Chief Jack House Site; The No-Name Panel; The Creation Story Site; Kiva Point, and The High Snake Panel.  Here are a few photos that I took that day.  For a more complete set of photographs, go to the Rock Art Gallery Tab and look under Colorado and Ute Tribal Park.

Kiva Point was the last major site we visited with Gerald.  As I was looking through my photos, trying to decide which ones to post on this blog, two very colorful images from Kiva Point jumped out at me.  I would like to share them with you!

We said our farewells to Gerald and the Ute Tribal Park and drove to Cortez, Colorado, where we spent the night.  I am not sure why, but, outside of Bluff, Utah, Cortez is our favorite small town in the Four Corners Area.  Lots of motels, lots of shops, lots of places to eat, and lots of nice people.  We got up early, headed south out of town, then headed West on County Road G.  We enjoyed a hike up Sand Canyon, two stops for roadkill (our term for miscellaneous rock art spotted from the road), and a few hours at the Ismay Site.  For a complete gallery of photos from the Ismay Shelter Site and County Road G, look here.   Our time there was extended somewhat when I realized I had lost my phone while exploring the complex landscape around the site.  It took us a while, but with Billy’s eagle eye and methodical search techniques, we finally found my phone.  I must say I fully deserved the tongue lashing I received from Billy for my negligence!  From Ismay, we crossed into Utah and headed for Bluff.  That afternoon, we went out to Butler Wash and attempted to locate the Big Crane (see my post under Rock Art Gallery Tab for the full story of that adventure) and we visited the Upper Sand Island Site on the San Juan River.  (Look Here for a complete gallery of photos from Sand Island.)  We had dinner at the Navajo Twins Cafe, then headed for Blanding for the night.  The next morning we headed home.  It must have been an uneventful trip, because I can’t remember a single detail!  Thank you for taking time to read this post, and, many thanks to my faithful travel companion Billy Ward for going with me on this trip and for helping me find my phone, my sunglasses, and my ass!  [And Holt, if you happen to read this, the password to Kaku Kingdom is the name of the street you live (or lived, depending how far in the future you might venture to this post) on.  I love you, PawPaw.]  A few final pics of  Sand Canyon, Ismay,  and the Upper Sand Island on the San Juan…