Canyon Pintado Rock Art

[IntrepidXJ]

Sunday, December 5, 2010

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183275-2/IMG_1194.jpg

On Sunday I decided to stay close to home and re-visit some of the rock art in the Canyon Pintado National Historic District. Here's a few photos from my day...

My first stop was at East Fourmile Draw

Sun Dagger Pictographs
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183278-2/IMG_0462.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183284-2/IMG_0487.jpg

Then I stopped by the petroglyphs nearby
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183299-2/IMG_0592.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183290-2/IMG_0571.jpg

Foot & Hand
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183293-2/IMG_0585.jpg

I like this little one
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183296-2/IMG_0589.jpg

Lonely horse
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183302-2/IMG_0627.jpg

After spending some time exploring Fourmile Draw, I made my way to the Waving Hands site.

The Guardian
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183187-2/IMG_0663.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183191-2/IMG_0696.jpg

[IntrepidXJ]

One of the hands
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183194-2/IMG_0718.jpg

The Waving Hands
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183197-2/IMG_0723.jpg

From there I went to the Kokopelli Site.

Faded Spirit
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183200-2/IMG_0770.jpg

Harvest
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183203-2/IMG_0797.jpg

Shackled Kokopelli
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183272-2/IMG_1162.jpg

Next up was the White Birds Site.

White birds Panel
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183209-2/IMG_0829.jpg

Multi-colored
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183206-2/IMG_0819.jpg

A quick stop at Cow Canyon<bbr>
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183212-2/IMG_0888.jpg

Then the State Bridge site
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183218-2/IMG_0956.jpg

[IntrepidXJ]

A small panel along the way had these figures
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183221-2/IMG_0994.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183224-2/IMG_1006.jpg

The Camel of Camel Ridge
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183227-2/IMG_1035.jpg

My last stop of the day was at the Mellen Hill Caves. This was the only area I had not visited before. There were a lot of petroglyphs here, but unfortunately someone had decided to 'chalk' them pretty good.

The largest of the Mellen Hill Caves
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183269-2/IMG_1138.jpg

This small cave was the most interesting. Not only did it have the most rock art, but the top of the cave had a natural chimney that allowed smoke out. As you can tell from the soot on the rocks, it has seen many fires.
http://myxj.net/g2/d/183260-2/IMG_1123.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183257-2/IMG_1096.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183236-2/IMG_1045.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183248-2/IMG_1065.jpg

http://myxj.net/g2/d/183242-2/IMG_1049.jpg

It was another great day chasing rock art :)

[accadacca]

Wow, cool stuff! Those hands are really cool. :popcorn:

Just curious. Why do they call it the sun dagger panel? It obviously sounds like it's solstice or equinox related. I'd be interested if anyone had photos of the site during an equinox or solstice.