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Grand Canyon Polychrome Pictographs

The Panther Gallery, Shaman’s Gallery & Turret Site
Veterans Day Weekend | Thursday – Monday, November 9-13, 2017

The Panther Gallery
The Panther Gallery (Cat Site) is an impressive example of the Grand Canyon Polychrome Style.

This year for the extended Veterans Day weekend Diane and I headed down to the Arizona Strip where we met up with our friend Jerry to backpack and hike along the Esplanade in search of Grand Canyon Polychrome pictographs. By the end of the weekend we would visit The Panther Gallery, Shaman’s Gallery and Turret Site. We also made stops at Toroweap and Paiute Cave since we were in the area. The weather was pretty nice for the entire weekend with highs in the low 70’s and the lows at night in the 40’s. Unfortunately, the Esplanade was pretty dry this time around and we had to carry all the water we would need which added quite a bit of weight to our packs. I’ve wanted to see The Panther Gallery (Cat Site) for a long time and was happy to finally get a chance to see it up close and personal. Enjoy some photos from the weekend!

The Esplanade Wave

Esplanade Wave

The Shaman’s Gallery (Spirit Shelter)

Shaman's Gallery

A pretty great campsite out on the Esplanade just before sunset.

Esplanade Camp

The Turret Site

The Turret Site

Since we were in the neighborhood, we made a quick stop at Toroweap.

Thousand Below

Paiute Cave Pictographs

Paiute Cave Pictographs

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision

The Panther Gallery Site

The Panther Gallery Site

Jerry taking a break.

Jerry

The Cat

The Cat

Looking down the Colorado River from Toroweap over Lava Falls.

Downstream Toroweap

I like the red stripes painted on the back of this white sheep.

Striped Sheep

Part of the Shaman’s Gallery

Shaman's Gallery Pictographs

Backpacking the Esplanade.

Backpacking

Turret Site Pictographs

Turret Site Pictographs

A life-sized painting at the Spirit Shelter.

Big Figure

Great sights were all around even though there was no water around…

Canyon View

Feline Friend

Feline Friend

A colorful sunset above the cliffs.

Early Sunset

Red & White Pictographs

Red & White Pictographs

A survey marker from 1914 that we stumbled across.

1914

Paiute Cave Man

Paiute Cave Man

A large decorated shield with a white sheep.

Big Shield

Scenery while hiking along the Esplanade.

Esplanade Shapes

A close look at a small part of the Shaman’s Panel.

Shaman's Detail

Skinny Aliens

Aliens

Our campsite on the Kanab Plateau just outside of Grand Canyon National Park. It was a little bit colder at night up on the plateau, but at least we were able to have a fire which helped with the long nights.

Kanab Plateau Camp

A big sheep and other unusual figures found at the Turret Site.

Turret Site

>> Grand Canyon Polychrome Pictographs Photo Gallery

10 Comments

  1. jerry
    jerry November 16, 2017

    Fantastic photos Randy, you have a great eye.

  2. Dianne
    Dianne November 17, 2017

    Fantastic photos. I loved seeing them!
    You are privileged to have seen such interesting
    art works.

  3. Tom McCoppin
    Tom McCoppin November 17, 2017

    Thank you so much Randy! I genuinely appreciate your willingness to share your adventures. Tom McC

  4. John Spurr
    John Spurr November 18, 2017

    Super cool! I’m envious!

  5. Elex
    Elex January 31, 2018

    Super amazing art! I’m actually planning to do a similar loop to what you have here pretty soon. Question though — still doing locality research — relative to Shaman’s, is Panther and Turret in the same general area?

  6. Alex Juneau
    Alex Juneau February 4, 2020

    Hello randy, these are some amazing sites! I have a few questions for you and I was wondering if you could respond to me through email?

  7. Tom McGuire
    Tom McGuire November 18, 2024

    What an amazing place! Your photos capture its deep spiritual essence.

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