San Rafael Swell Rock Art VI
Saturday, July 30, 2011
On Saturday I met up with my friend Kevin for the first time so that we could do a little hiking in the San Rafael Swell and hopefully find a few new rock art panels. Luckily, we did end up finding the panels we were looking for…so here’s a few photos from our day.
Our first stop was at the Barnes Panel, which is a very faded Barrier Canyon Style pictograph panel. I enhanced this photo greatly so you can see the details.
Barnes Panel Details by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
This is pretty close to what the panel looks like with the naked eye.
Faint Barnes Rainbow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Same scene as above, except enhanced so you can see all the interesting details. Pretty amazing details in this one!
Barnes Rainbow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Our next stop was a visit to the High Alcove Panel. This is a cool panel set high up on the canyon wall under an arched overhang. This is the main figure found here.
High Alcove Anthropomorph by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
After parting ways with Kevin, I headed back into the canyon in search of the Ekker Panel. While searching, I managed to find this unique figure overlooking the canyon below. There was also another small panel of pictographs and petroglyphs nearby that didn’t photograph well.
In the Shadow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Finally! I found the Ekker Panel, which turned out to be an impressive site. This anthropomorph has many small sheep walking up it’s side.
Sheep Shaman by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A very large figure next to a few smaller ones.
Big & Small by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The small figure on the left has some pretty big eyes! Reminds me of some of the figures in the ‘Unexpected Panel’ that Philippe and I found last month.
Big Eyes by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The largest figure at the site, and the highest, too. I’m not sure how tall it is, but if I had to guess, my guess would be around 8 feet….since it sure looked like it was taller than me.
The Ekker Giant by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Another figure at the Ekker Site with three medium sized sheep.
Three Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
One of the larger petroglyphs I found nearby.
Ekker Petroglyph by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Three fading anthropomorphs at the Ekker Site.
Ekker Spirits by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
After finishing up my hike, I headed back over to Temple Wash to search for a second pictograph panel in the area. I have searched for this one before, but never found it…until today!
Faded Man & Dog by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Another productive and great day of searching for rock art in the San Rafael Swell!