Dragonfly Panel & Blue-Eyed Moqui Queen

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Today I spent an awesome day hiking in a beautiful secluded canyon to some seldom-seen and exquisite rock art panels. I have been wanting to visit the Dragonfly Panel pictographs for quite a while and they did not disappoint. It’s not a large panel, but the details and uniqueness of the figures found here are just amazing!

This is a nice overview of the main portion of the Dragonfly Panel.

The Dragonfly Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at the two larger anthropomorphs in the scene. There appears to be a very elongated dog, a rabbit-like figure and one other smaller zoomorph (maybe a bird?) here.

Dragonfly Twins by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Another of the larger anthropomorphs found here with a faint white one to the left.

Fringed Anthropomorph by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

At least two dragonflies are in this photo. I’m not sure if that larger figure in the middle is another dragonfly or something else?

Dragonflies by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

These small figures are found on the right side of the panel. It kind of looks like this dragonfly is carrying a snake as a bird flies above? Very cool and unusual!

Dragonfly Detail by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a look at the full panel.

Full Dragonfly Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This is the lower portion of the panel that contains many very small but detailed paintings.

Lower Dragonfly Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After visiting the Dragonfly Panel for a while I continued hiking to another panel nearby. This one is known as the Blue-Eyed Moqui Queen after the large anthropomorph on the right that has blue eyes. Here’s an overview of the site. These pictographs are a little more faded than the Dragonfly Panel.

Eyes & Ribs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The large anthropomorph on the left appears to have ribs painted on it’s torso and a faint bird off to the right. It also has one eye painted blue and one painted green.

Blue-Green Eyes by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

An overview of the figure known as the Blue-Eyed Moqui Queen. There’s also a small figure painted to the right of this one.

The Blue-Eyed Moqui Queen by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at some of the details of Blue-Eyed Moqui Queen, including the blue eyes.

Blue-Eyes by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The weather was perfect for hiking in a beautiful and secluded canyon.

Nice Hike in a Secluded Canyon by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Before starting my hike back to the Jeep, I made one last stop at these two deep alcoves.

Two Alcoves by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The first alcove I explored had a few old storage cists, but no rock art to be found.

Storage Cist by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

There’s still some mortar holding this one together, which I haven’t seen in a storage cist before.

Cist Mortar by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Two of the cists along the back of the alcove.

Old Storage by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

As I explored the second large alcove, it didn’t appear that I was going to find anything in there. Luckily I scanned the walls thoroughly, because I managed to find this one tiny Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorph that was incised on the low ceiling of the alcove. This figure is only a few inches tall and very detailed, but it was also very difficult to photograph in the darkness of the alcove.

Tiny Anthro by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A straight on closer look at this incised anthropomorph.

Tiny Incised Anthropomorph by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

By the time I reached the Jeep again, my GPS reported that I had hiked over 12.5 miles for the day. It was an easy hike with many awesome sights along the way, so it didn’t even feel like I had hiked that long. The scenery was awe-inspiring, the rock art was amazing, and the weather was perfect…I couldn’t have asked for a better day of hiking!

>> Dragonfly Panel & Blue-Eyed Moqui Queen Photo Gallery