San Rafael Swell Rock Art XII | Saturday & Sunday, February 11-12, 2017
The always amazing Rochester Rock Art Panel in the San Rafael Swell.
Since Saturday was my birthday, we decided to spend the weekend in the San Rafael Swell based out of Green River to celebrate. We ended up visiting a bunch of rock art sites that I hadn’t been to in a while and that Diane had never been to (much like our day trip to Moab a few weeks ago), but we also found a couple of new sites. I had hoped to visit more new sites on this trip, but the roads in those areas were still pretty muddy, so we stuck to the drier areas of the Swell along the San Rafael Reef. Of course, I made sure to have a birthday burger from Ray’s on Saturday evening! Here are plenty of photos from the weekend…
A few scenes from the Rochester Panel.
The Hunter
Such unusual petroglyphs found here…
A new pictograph panel we found this weekend.
Of course, we stopped to check in on the Molen Reef Snake.
We took a break at the Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel for lunch on Saturday.
Rain Angels
The Snake Dance
Our view of Mexican Mountain as we hiked along the old road to the airstrip.
Mexican Mountain Petroglyphs
A number of boulders had petroglyphs on them.
This was Diane’s favorite boulder at the site.
The San Rafael Reef from Mexican Bend.
A colorful landscape along the San Rafael River.
While it was overcast for most of the day, the sun did come out shortly before sunset as we were driving back down the Mexican Mountain Road.
Spotlight on Window Blind Peak.
Light Up the Sky
The sky turned magenta as we drove up Cottonwood Draw on our way back to I-70.
The clouds were interesting on Sunday morning as we made our way towards Temple Mountain.
Interesting clouds over the San Rafael Reef.
The Transformation Scene
The pictographs here are small, but they are very detailed.
Alcove Exploring
Diane hikes ahead of me into a slot canyon.
I’ve always wondered what that big rectangle on the left was supposed to be?
Great lines in this slot canyon.
Three Fingers Petroglyphs
You can just barely make out the red paint that decorated this petroglyph.
Before heading back home we made one last stop in Petroglyph Canyon since it’s been a very long time since I was here last.
