The Needles & Indian Creek
Sunday, May 6, 2012
The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO
After a nice night sleeping along Indian Creek, I was awake again the break of dawn and having some breakfast. I packed up camp and then headed back into The Needles for another day of exploring. I was soon driving the rough road over Elephant Hill into the heart of the Needles. I ended up doing a little hiking and searching for some new rock art sites as I explored this beautiful area once again.
Driving through Elephant Canyon after crossing over Elephant Hill.
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Elephant Canyon by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Squeezing my Jeep through this tight section into Devil's Pocket.
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Devil's Pocket by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Interesting black handprints along the road.
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Black Hands by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Great view in Devil's Lane.
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Devil's Lane by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
I finally managed to find The Headdress Site that I have looked for in the past with no success. As is common in these parts, there were a lot of handprints here.
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In the Corner by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A closer look at some of the handprints with a small anthropomorphic figure in the middle.
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Ceiling Hands by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
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Above by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
These figures appear to be wearing very large headdresses, which is where the site derives it's name.
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Hands & Headdress by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A few more of the smaller pictographs found at this site.
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Celebration by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Since I was driving right by them, I just had to stop at the pictographs near SOB Hill again.
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Hands & Feet II by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
No shortage of handprints...
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Devil's Lane Hands by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Another new Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorph I found. I have been past this area many times before and was surprised I had missed it!
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Lone BCS by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
I stopped at one more site before leaving the park. This was also a new one to me, and contained some interesting petroglyphs and a few painted designs.
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Petroglyphs & Pictographs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Here's a look at the petroglyphs found here.
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Lower Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
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Designs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
After leaving The Needles I headed over to Indian Creek via the Lockhart Basin Road to look for another rock art panel and a small ruin. It took a little searching, but I did manage to find what I was looking for.
First up, I found this nice pictograph panel. It sure reminds me of the one found at Peekaboo Spring along Salt Creek because of all the white dots.
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White Dot Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A closer look at part of the panel.
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Dots & Hands by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Then I managed to find the ruin I was looking for. I can't believe I missed this one in the past. I have driven right by it a few times before. It does blend in well.
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Spot the Ruin? by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
I did try to find a way to get closer to this ruin, but found no way up to it.
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Indian Creek Ruin by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Every time I have driven by these falls on a nice warm day there always seems to be people here, so I usually just pass it by. Today there was no one around, so I stopped to cool off and take a few photos before starting my drive back home.
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Indian Creek Falls by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
It seems that I can't drive along the road through Indian Creek Canyon without spotting some new petroglyphs along the way. Today was no exception as I spotted these faint Basketmaker anthropomorphs above the road.
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Faded Basketmaker Petroglyphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
>> The Needles & Indian Creek Photo Gallery
