July 21: Maidens and Warriors

It was 95º at 10 a.m. (daylight savings time) today.  At 3:00 p.m. it was 104º and at 6:00, 106º.  We visited two sites and took lots of water in our canteen and backpacks.  In the evening, we cooled off in the overly air-conditioned county library and started working on setting up our blog and finding more sites to visit.

We hiked to sites on the west and east sides of Moab.  Neither site is generally known to tourists, although locals are probably well aware of them.  I have not seen either site represented in most scholarly records of rock art sites, except Kenneth Castleton’s 1970s survey.  We used GPS coordinates from an internet source to locate them.

The first site was back in Kane Creek Canyon.

  It required a climb up a steep slope on a side wash that was shaped like an amphitheater.

  I believe the setting was important.  At the top, near a prominent rock that can be seen and from which someone could be hear for a great distance,

 we finally found the rock we sought.

  It is called the Moab Maiden, although one cannot be certain about gender.  Who was she and what did she represent?

Again, like the Owl petroglyph site, this was not on any obvious trail.  Rather it was at the confluence of Kane Creek Canyon and the Colorado River.  It was also directly across from one of the great rock art panels in the area (to be presented later).

In the afternoon, we followed Mill Creek Canyon out of Moab proper.  Mill Creek comes down from Mt. La Sal and provides Moab with much of its water.  We had to cross the creek several times along the several mile hike.  Since it was 104º, the cool, wet feet were welcome.

We climbed a ledge looking for a specific set of petroglyphs.

  We did not find what we were looking for, but did find a number of peckings high up in the bluish desert varnish on the ancient red Wingate sandstone cliffs on the west side of the canyon.

As we were returning, somewhat disappointed, I noticed two boulders on a ledge at the confluence of the north and south forks of Mill Creek.

  Knowing that confluences are often marked by “rock art,” we scrambled up the ledge.

There they were.

 Strange Fremont Indian style figures, perhaps warriors wearing ceremonial paraphernalia.  Birdlike.

  They were very ancient and weathered.  But still clear.  Three boulders were connected by lines and sheep and more strange anthropomorphs.