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Rock Art Along the San Rafael Reef

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.

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Barnes Panel Details by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This is pretty close to what the panel looks like with the naked eye.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Sheep Shaman by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A very large figure next to a few smaller ones.

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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.

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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.

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The Ekker Giant by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Another figure at the Ekker Site with three medium sized sheep.

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Three Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

One of the larger petroglyphs I found nearby.

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Ekker Petroglyph by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Three fading anthropomorphs at the Ekker Site.

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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!

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Faded Man & Dog by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Another productive and great day of searching for rock art in the San Rafael Swell!

>> San Rafael Swell Rock Art VI Photo Gallery

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