Rock Art

One of the reasons why I was so excited to visit Vernal and the PhenomeCon event was to visit 2 of the famous rock art panels in the area.  All of the petroglyphs are of the Fremont Indian style and are about 1000 years old. Very special!

The day before the conference, I drove 6 hours northeast from Cedar City and went directly to the Dinosaur National Monument in northern Utah.  My interest was not in the dinosaurs, but the rock art located in the monument at McKee Springs.  To get there, I drove from the visitor center 10 miles on a paved road and an additional 12 miles on a dirt road.  No one was out there!  Here is the escarpment where the rock art was located.  

I had to climb the hill to get to the sandstone cliff.  Here are the fabulous petroglyphs.

The next day, which was the first day of the conference, I took some time off at lunch to drive northwest of Vernal to the McConkie Ranch.  This is private property, but the owners have been very gracious in allowing people on to the property to view the petroglyphs.  Here is a view of the escarpment where the rock art is located.  Another steep climb to get to the rock art

Here it is!

I passed a lovely grey and white kitten in the bushes on the way out to the panels, and he jumped out at me on my way back to the parking lot.  What a cutie!  He followed me all the way back to my car.  I could have brought home a barn cat.  

I have no way of interpreting what all of this rock art means, but the designs were so elegant and most likely meaningful and sacred to the Fremont Indians.  Even though these 2 days were sunny and very hot with temps in the high 80's, both excursions were well worth it.