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Nine Mile Canyon

Saturday & Sunday, May 14-15, 2011
 

Nine Mile Canyon
 

I’ve wanted to get back to Nine Mile Canyon for quite a while. The last time I was there was in 2007 and I kind of rushed through the canyon on my way elsewhere, so I missed a lot. I had wanted to go to Nine Mile Canyon back in November or December, but the weather prevented me from doing so. Then I planned on going in March, but that never worked out either. Finally, this weekend Amanda and I were able to spend the weekend there searching out many panels of rock art.

We left bright and early on Saturday morning and made a quick stop in Wellington to top off my fuel tank before making our way into the canyon. Our first stop was at the Nine Mile Ranch so that we could setup camp before starting our search. After leaving the ranch we spent the rest of Saturday and much of Sunday searching the canyon for rock art and taking many photos. Unfortunately, many of the rock art panels are located on private property and you can only take photos from the road. Luckily I had my 100-400mm lens with me, so I was able to get decent photos of most of the panels we found. We managed to find well over 50 different rock art sites, many which contained multiple panels…and I’m sure there are a lot more that we missed. I’m looking forward to getting back and finding many more in the future.

Here’s a selection of the many photos of rock art that I took this weekend.

An overview of the Long-Necked Sheep Panel.

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Long-Necked Sheep Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A close-up look at the Long-Necked Sheep…a very interesting petroglyph.

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Long-Necked Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

An interesting anthromorph that is part of the Long-Necked Sheep Panel.

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Ladder Man by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The right side of the panel with another long-necked sheep.

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Another Long-Necked Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

These figures remind me of cheer leaders…they are probably holding shields.

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Cheer Leaders by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A man leading a horse with a rider.

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Leading A Horse to Water by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Located alone on a boulder near the balanced rock, this anthropomorph is fading away but on a colorful section of the rock.

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Colorful Faded Figure by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Hunting scenes are common in petroglyphs, this one has a figure with a bow and arrow in the middle.

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Another Hunting Scene by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A line of decorated pictographs.

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Decorated Torsos by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This panel has many dots with what appears to be an elk or deer pecked above.

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Elk on Dots by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The petroglyph on the left reminds me of a head with Mickey Mouse ears on.

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Mickey Mouse by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A small panel found a little ways up Daddy Canyon consisting of an anthropomorph and a few bighorn sheep.

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Daddy Canyon Petroglyphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After exploring Daddy Canyon we hiked back towards Rasmussen Cave. We found this petroglyph panel along the way with a very detailed elk figure under a rainbow.

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Rainbow Elk by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Of course, no Nine Mile Canyon photo collection is complete without a photo of this vandalized, complete with misspelling, pictograph in Rasmussen Cave.

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No Tresspassing by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This small petroglyph panel has a figure in the middle that appears to be wearing a horned headdress and a long flowing cloak.

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The Wizard by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a closeup of The Great Hunt Panel, probably one of the most famous petroglyph panels found in the Nine Mile Canyon area.

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A Great Hunting Scene by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A wider view of The Great Hunt Panel.

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Cottonwood Hunt by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A couple of petroglyphs next to the Big Buffalo.

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Spiral Sheep Slab by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The Big Buffalo Panel at the confluence of Nine Mile Canyon and Cottonwood Canyon. The panel was glowing in the late afternoon sunlight when I was there for this photo.

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Big Buffalo by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This panel, near The Great Hunt, features a bighorn sheep that has a large spiral tail.

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Spiral Tail Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A busy panel across from the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon.

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Centipede Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This large alcove, located high above the road, contains a few painted white snakes.

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White Snake Alcove by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The figure in the upper right hand corner appears to have 4 legs.

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Four Legs Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Amanda spotted this fading white snake along the way.

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Fading Snake by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A small panel with a wavy line through it.

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Wavy Line by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Spirals and snakes…a common theme in Nine Mile Canyon.

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Spirals & Snakes by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

One of my favorite horned snakes that we came across this weekend.

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Spiral Horned-Snake by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The Family Panel, another well known site in Nine Mile.

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Family Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A high panel up in Devils Canyon near the remains of a granary. The large big horn sheep and elk on the left are pretty cool.

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Devils Playground Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A number of anthropomorphic figures with triangle-shaped torsos.

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Triangle Men by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Some experts consider the large figure in this panel to be a Basketmaker figure.

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Basketmaker Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The last site we visited near the mouth of North Franks Canyon on Saturday before turning around and heading back to camp for a late dinner. It was starting to get pretty dark out at the last few panels we visited.

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Franks Circles by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a cool panel we found on Sunday morning…look for the two bighorn sheep figures sitting and facing each other that look like they are playing patty-cake.

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Patty-Cake Sheep Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This panel with a large rainbow-like figure is just to the left of the one pictured above.

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Rainbow Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

One of the more unique horned-snake figures we found all weekend.

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Horned Serpent by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Two faint pictographs near Daddy Canyon, including what appears to be a green or blue elk on the right.

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Faint Green Elk by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A few petroglyphs on a slab of sandstone that has fallen.

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Fallen Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

An anthropomorph pictograph in yellow.

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Yellow Man by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A wider view of the panel that includes the Yellow Man. There are plenty more pictographs here and a few of the petroglyphs that are here are filled in with paint.

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Painted Petroglyphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closeup of the Pregnant Buffalo petroglyph.

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Pregnant Buffalo by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A faint white shield-like figure located high above on a canyon wall.

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High Pictographs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I can’t wait to head back to Nine Mile Canyon and search for some more rock art…hopefully sometime later this year!

>> Nine Mile Canyon Photo Gallery

2 Comments

  1. Barry Lunt
    Barry Lunt May 13, 2012

    Just returned from a weekend there, at 9-Mile Ranch and at the petroglyphs and pictographs – saw many of the ones you’ve shared here. Your photos are outstanding – thanks for sharing!

    • Randy Langstraat
      Randy Langstraat May 13, 2012

      Thanks Barry!

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