My First Day of Adventure

 

On the day before the conference began, I drove up from Cedar City and went directly to McConkie Ranch to view and photograph the petroglyphs.  I visited the ranch last year, and hiked to a different rock art panel.  There are 2 here.  This is private property, but the family that has owned it for many generations graciously allows people to come and experience the magic.

My first order of business was to climb up a very steep and slippery switchback trail to reach the rock art, which was located about half way up this canyon wall just beyond the trees.

The very tall figures below are done in the Classic Vernal Style of Fremont rock art.  They are characterized by having a trapezoidal figure with broad shoulders and narrow waists.  Because they have been protected by the property owners, they are pristine. 

Now, take a look at the feet on this guy.  I have seen other petroglyphs with very big hands, but not big feet like this.  I have no idea what this symbolism means.  One of the presenters at the conference even suggested that this represents "Bigfoot" but I highly doubt that.

So after scrambling down that slippery slope, I checked into my hotel.  This is what greeted me!

PhenomeCon 2026

 

This past week, I attended the annual PhenomeCon conference in Vernal Utah at the Uintah Conference Center.  What fun!  It is a very doable 5 ½ hour drive from my house.  Last year the featured topic was Bigfoot, but this year, because of other very meaningful events taking place on the national stage, the topics ranged more towards disclosure and the 25^th anniversary of 9/11.  Always predominantly featured was the Skinwalker Ranch TV show and that cast. 

Speakers included Dr. Avi Loeb, Dave Schrader, and George Knapp.  Jay Stratton spoke about the road to disclosure.  He coined the term UAP, and was actually in the pentagon when it was hit.  There were several presenters on ghosts and psychic phenomenon.  I especially enjoyed retired police officers Marianne Robb and David Rich speaking about why many first responders do not report their paranormal experiences.  They have created a non-profit organization to support these first responders by recording their stories. 

There were also extra activities involving field trips off property and having meals with some of the speakers.  I had a dinner with the Holzer Files panel, and I have not laughed that hard in a long time.  Dave Schrader is so funny when he tells about his paranormal experiences.  Cindy Kaza and Shane Pittman are also part of that group. 

I will do a few other posts on my experiences last week.  If you are interested in going next year, the dates are September 8-11, 2027.  As of now, it looks like the 2026 website is still up if you want to look at the activities and speakers.  Go to www.phenomecon.net. 

A Sacred Day

 

What a wonderful day!  It has been a while since I have devoted a whole day to my inner spiritual work.  I have been so busy lately! 

So this is what I did.  Upon getting up early, I spent about 45 minutes doing several meditation exercises.  Then, I participated in a 1½ hour breathwork session on the internet.  This was a first for me, and I really loved it.  At noon, I went over to our local Episcopal Church to walk the indoor labyrinth.  This is the only indoor one in all of Utah, and we are really privileged to have it here.  There was a good turnout of serious and dedicated walkers today.

My afternoon was spent by catching up with some spiritual course content and reading, after which I sautéed a pan of bolete mushrooms that I picked in the high country yesterday.  That was a real treat since our past 2 summers were pretty dry, and there were no mushrooms to be had.  We have had a very rainy monsoon season this year, hence the good crop. 

It is now after dinner, and I would like to get a walk in tonight.  It is very windy, and it looks like more rain is forthcoming.  Maybe a quick one?

Tomorrow morning there are 2 more spiritual type activities to round out the weekend.  I will be cooked to perfection by the end of the day. 

Lion's Gate

 

We are now entering the Lion’s Gate energetic window.   This is from July 28 to August 12, more or less.  The Sun is now in the astrological sign of Leo, and we also have a solar eclipse on August 12, so there is a lot going on!

I can see where all of this is confusing if you want to honor the occasion with some sort of meditation, ceremony or group gathering.  Clarity is important here. 

First of all, the 8:8 Lion’s Gate portal is a New Age concept that was created in the late 1980’s to blend ancient Egyptian traditions with numerology and astrology.  Someone must have thought that this was a good idea that would make some money at the time!  The idea snowballed and now has all sorts of meanings attached to it. 

Traditionally, the Heliacal rising of the star Sirius signaled the flooding of the Nile River in ancient Egypt.   It was the Egyptian New Year that heralded a time of increased fertility, abundance, renewal and growth for the people and the land.  This date is marked by the first time that the star Sirius was seen just before sunrise.  Back then, this event occurred some time in June, but because of the procession of the equinoxes, it now occurs around mid August.  (Not exactly on the 8^th!)  The Egyptian goddess Sopdet represented Sirius.  She is pictured with a star on the top of her head.  Her Greek name is Sothis. 

Interestingly enough, most if not all of the megalithic temples on Malta have their main corridors aimed at either the Heliacal rising of Sirius in the southeast, or the setting of Sirius in the southwest.   They had a clear view of the Mediterranean Sea at that time, so this event must have been spectacular. This was a major big deal for the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean part of the world.

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.  Tradition has it that beings from that star system helped seed life on our planet eons ago.  So many people, as do I, have a strong connection the 6D Sirian High Council.  At this auspicious time of the year, it would be nice to do some kind of honoring of our progenitors, however you relate to that.  Even better if you live in a place where you can look out across the ocean right before sunrise. 

There are several websites on the internet where you can find the exact date for Sirius rising at your location.  Where I live, it does rise on exactly August 8^th!  If you are further south in latitude, it may be a day or two earlier, and north of my latitude, a few days later than the 8^th.  If you can get together with a group of like minded souls, wonderful!  I am not so sure about the New Age “portal” deal.  That may or may not happen.  Or you can create your own.  However you honor Sirius, be open to something special happening. 

Flying Free

 

I have been an avid bird watcher all of my adult life.  Yesterday, I had an opportunity to drive up to Cedar Mountain east of Cedar City to watch the release of 3 barn owls that had been brought to the Enoch Wildlife Rescue 4 months ago.  These owls were taken from their nest illegally as hatchlings, and retrieved by officials somewhere in Nevada.  The wildlife rescue, which is north of Cedar City, was the closest facility where they could be brought.  After 4 months of expert care and feeding, they were ready to go.

The release location was at about 8200’ elevation.  Here you can see Cedar City down below at 6000’.  What a lovely spot! 

The owls were taken out of their carriers and released one by one.  I have seen other owls handled by experts under similar circumstances with little to no fuss.  These barn owls were quite different.  There was a lot of hissing, growling and struggling involved just to get them out of their carriers and ready for release.  Here are some photos. 

This last one is of a young lady military veteran who had the honor of releasing the lone female of the three.