Grand Staircase

Saturday & Sunday, July 16-17, 2011

This past weekend Amanda and I headed down to the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument to visit some ruins and rock art that I have wanted to get to for a while. The weather was pretty nice all weekend, in the upper 80′s during the hottest part of the day, and there were enough clouds in the sky to block the sunlight occasionally to help keep things feeling a little cooler.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/...73e50e82f5.jpg
Hundred Handprints by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Our first stop was at the Hundred Handprints panel near the Escalante River. Unlike the last cave I visited that claimed to have 100 handprints, this one delivered!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/...abbf2c866e.jpg
Hunter Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

An interesting petroglyph panel overlooking the Escalante River.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/...a607c7c9f8.jpg
Escalante Hunter by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at the above panel.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6021/...1b99336323.jpg
Confluence Site by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A severely damaged petroglyph site.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/...81a88e225c.jpg
Escalante Vandalism by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Closer look at the damage.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/...7ab1d32541.jpg
Confluence Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A lone sheep that luckily was not damaged.

Our next stop was visiting a few small alcoves that contained a whole bunch of small pictographs known as the Weavers Caves because of the many needle-like paintings found within.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6004/...cf5faa8dc0.jpg
Weavers Designs 1 by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Very fine and detailed pictographs unlike anything I have seen in the area before.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6133/...d805949530.jpg
Weavers Designs 2 by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/...6e2b238252.jpg
Weavers Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

One of the few figures that wasn’t abstract. It kind of looks like it may have been a bighorn sheep.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6147/...388feb7479.jpg
Faint Creature by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The only anthropomorphic-like figure I found in the Weavers Caves.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6122/...d853990c15.jpg
Needles by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Needle-like paintings.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6144/...4edc7dc360.jpg
Tiny Sun by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

If you look closely, there is a small sun-like painting in the panel.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6014/...5fc3e2e0e0.jpg
Amanda's Find by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

On our way back from the Weavers Caves, Amanda spotted this arrowhead on the ground…..I had walked right over it!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/...0087aac65c.jpg
Circle of Life by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This panel was high on my list to find this weekend and it did not disappoint!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/...6ab9685b33.jpg
Flute Player by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A flute player next to the ‘Circle of Life’

Soon we headed up onto the Kaiparowits Plateau (Fiftymile Mountain, Smokey Mountain) to visit a few ruins and find a campsite for the night.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6132/...a86fcb5eef.jpg
Alvey Pictographs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Pictographs found along the way.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/...958a602d2d.jpg
Collet Top Granary Arch by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A very cool arch and ruin that I have wanted to visit for quite a while. A very cool site, but I think the morning would be a better time for photos this time of the year…

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/...7479d8a6f3.jpg
Double Decker Granary by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s another small but interesting ruin we visited. This one was very cool because the floor between the top and bottom granaries was still completely intact.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6024/...87d13fe605.jpg
Hidden Granary by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A small hidden granary we stopped by on our way back down towards Escalante on Sunday.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/...7bc46a7d98.jpg
Hells Backbone by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After topping off the fuel tank in Escalante we planned on headed to Boulder via the Hells Backbone Road.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6021/...c7df8069c0.jpg
Box Death Hollow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Great views over Box Death Hollow from up at Hells Backbone.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6122/...ab4ccf77c4.jpg
Road Closed by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I guess I should have checked the road conditions…..shortly after crossing Hells Backbone we found out the road was closed. Oops. Instead of heading back to Escalante we took the Posey Lake Road to Highway 24 in Bicknell before heading home.

Great photo's!!

You found all the best places. We have yet to find the Weavers Caves. Darn, we will just have to go back :)

Very Cool!