Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO


On Saturday I was invited by my friend Greg to visit the Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park near Montrose. I've been wanting to visit this site for quite a while, but never got around to getting permission to go, so I jumped at the opportunity. Amanda and I planned to head back up into the San Juan Mountains again this weekend, so it worked out perfectly since we would be driving through Montrose on our way. We left Grand Junction very early so we could meet Greg at the park around sunrise. We ended up spending a few hours searching the cliff faces for petroglyphs and taking photos. Here are a few photos of the petroglyphs...


Our favorite petroglyphs at the site were at the Bear Dance Panel.


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Ute Bear Dance by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


A closer look at the bear climbing a tree petroglyph. Very unique and cool!


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Bear in a Tree by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


This was another large panel of petroglyphs next to the Bear Dance Panel.


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Big Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


There were a few petroglyphs of footprints in the area.


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Feet by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


A faded panel with what appears to be a handprint petroglyph with six fingers.


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Faded by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


This interesting panel was sheltered under an overhang. A nice setting for some petroglyphs.


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Sheltered Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


These petroglyphs were found high above another large panel.


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Up High by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


There were also a few historic inscriptions found here. These were the two oldest ones I saw.


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Edwin Gravestock by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


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Joe Harrison by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Here's another look at a bear petroglyph from the Bear Panel.


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Bear Without a Tree by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


This panel was also located right next to the Bear Dance petroglyphs.


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Prints by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


These two petroglyphs were found alone away from the other large panels.


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Shavano High Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Before we left the park and headed up into the mountains, we stopped at this horse petroglyph hidden among some lichen covered rocks.


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Shavano Horse by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


We had a nice morning photographing the petroglyphs before it started to get hot out!


>> Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park Photo Gallery