Little Petroglyph Canyon

About 45 miles north of the desert California town of Ridgecrest, hidden in the confines of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (which happens to be larger than the state of Rhode Island) is one of the best preserved and most extensive examples of Native American petroglyphs in the country.  If you want to see it though, you have to go through quite a rigamarole via the local Maturango Museum and the U.S. Navy. As I'm sure you can imagine: if it's governmental, it's complicated. 

Once you've jumped through the hoops and reserved a spot on one of the tours, gotten up before dawn to meet at the museum, carpooled with other excited folks, passed through a complete inspection of the vehicle, shown your legal ID and auto paperwork, and wound your way through the twisting-turning dirt backroads of the Naval Base, you will finally arrive at Little Petroglyph Canyon for a real feast for the eyes and imagination.  Phew!

Every tour is accompanied by several highly informed volunteer tour guides. Here's Tom, one of ours. I tried to stay close enough to him throughout to hear what he had to say about all we were seeing.  Here he's telling us about the little dots above the heads of some of the figures, symbolizing power. 

There are hundreds and hundreds of petroglyphs in just this canyon alone, and there are many other canyons with petroglyphs out there as well. This however is one of only two (I believe) that are accessible to the public.  Here's another one our guides and a view of the canyon.

In some places the canyon got kind of narrow and required scrambling over dry volcanic rock waterfalls. The guides were very helpful in those spots, if help was needed. Even without the petroglyphs the three mile (round trip) hike would have been interesting.

There were two groups out there that morning. We got a little backed up at times as some folks needed to navigate the dry falls a little more slowly than others. There were some visitors who opted not to negotiate the dry falls at all and stayed back to see what they could closer to the canyon entrance, and there was plenty to see. The speedier types quickly passed by and were on their way down the canyon in the blink of an eye. Except for those few times it never felt over-peopled, and didn't interfere with viewing the petroglyphs in any way. 

Now, for the petroglyphs themselves. Most of what is "known" about them is hypothesized by various experts, and the subject matter, artists and ages of the glyphs are still in question.  The most ancient are thought to be as old 3,000 years.  Some think they are made by the ancestors of the local Paiute-Shosone tribes, other hypothesize that they are an altogether different group. It's possible they were made by several different groups of people as they were created over a very long period of time and have clearly different styles and subjects.

Many images are anthropomorphic, that is of human-like shapes. Some are identified now as "shaman" figures because they are highly complex and uniquely decorated, looking like they are dressed in ceremonial regalia. Others are humbly human (center and right below), with a few exaggerated features, like arms, hands or feet. In the bottom left is what looks like a 1:1 bow and arrow battle.

This one is known as "Bad Hair Day" by the frequent visitors.

Many others are abstract, or symbolic of unknown subjects, many one of a kind.  Enthusiasts like to hypothesize about what they represent, but it's all guess work. 

I think that by far the most commonly depicted are animals, especially long horned sheep. But there also seem to be a few mountain lions, deer, dogs, thunderbirds/eagles and maybe rabbits and turtles. Who knows?

In a few places there are images of what are thought to be "medicine bags."  It's interesting how things are often represented in collections, possibly returned to over time and recreated there for some reason.

There are quite a few "atlatl" collections. The atlatl is a spear throwing device, the hunting weapon used before the bow and arrow. The bulb-like object in the center of the all the atlatls (below) is supposedly an exaggerated rock that served as a counterweight.

Of course no one knows why the rock is made so much larger than it would be in the actual weapon, (if that's what it is at all) but there seems to be clear agreement among the artists about what it should look like.  (The images seem to be of only the atlatl, without the spear part.) Why are there no bow and arrow collective images?

This is thought to be a picture of a man hunting with an atlatl. It's the only picture of its kind. The descending wavy-lined image below him supposedly represents rain. It's one of the more commonly seen symbols.

Some interesting anomalies can be found as well, including this singular image of a human footprint...

…and this modern petroglyph. It was actually made by a scientist participating in the development of US nuclear weapons at this site during WWIII. Interesting how "primitive" his artistic methods are compared to the older petroglyphs. Was it meant as a joke, or a profound statement of one of the most powerful symbols of our time? It too is now protected as one of the historic petroglyphs, even though it's only about 60 years old. 

It was a fascinating day, and I recommend the outing to anyone who's interested in anthropology, history or art. It's a real eye-full and so thought provoking.

Hot Rocks: Lava Beds National Monument

Our week's stay at Eagles' Nest RV Park in Tionesta, CA started with a surprise. As we pulled in, our hosts met us at the entrance and confided that they were expected "The Burners" to be showing up that evening.  It turns out that Burning Man was starting the next day, and although Tionesta is about as far off the beaten track as any RV park we've ever been to, it's close enough to the main route from Portland, Seattle, Bend, (and other hip alternative-culture PNW communities) to the Black Desert. It seems the Burners (participants in Burning Man) know all about Eagles' Nest RV Park and hundreds were expected to be camping all around us by nightfall. Barbara, our host, made it sound like it would be a major inundation, but after a moment's thought we decided it all sounded interesting, so we stayed.

About 15 miles from the campground is the entrance to Lava Beds National Monument, which covers only about 10 percent of the 700 square mile Medicine Lake shield volcano.  A shield volcano, in contrast to more mountainous others, like nearby Mt. Shasta, is a slowly erupting and widely spreading volcano. Within the National Monument there are volcanic buttes (below), cinder and splatter cones, massive lava flows and almost 700 lava tube caves!   They are all the remains of some very hot rocks.

Rick is not so into caves, so this was a park for Lenore the explorer. With my Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), two headlamps, lots of water and my walking stick I headed to the caves.  The rangers at the Visitors' Center suggested starting with the Mushpot cave, as it is the only lighted one in the park and a good place to figure out if you even want to go further.  

In addition to lights, Mushpots has stairs at the cave entrance, hand rails...

and paved walkways... 

These caves are also much cooler and more humid than the hot sun and parched desert air above. 

 So I guess in this case the rocks were pretty cool (rather than hot). 

The walk to the end of the lava tube and back took just a few minutes and was easy going all the way.

Lava tubes are made by the fast passage of very hot liquid lava flowing gently downhill. The floor and walls of the tube harden first as the outside contacts earth and air, cooling while the inside still flows, eventually flowing right out at the bottom of the hill, leaving the hollow tube behind. Many have collapsed, or partially collapsed, and their openings can be seen all over the park.  About 20 are maintained and open to the public.  The park provides an excellent brochure describing each one and their level of difficulty.  It also offers ranger led tours of some of the caves.

For my next lava tube encounter I chose the Sentinel Cave (above), also at the ranger's suggestion. It's rated as easy, with wide and tall passages, so no crawling is necessary. Below is what it looked like from the mouth of the cave.

Oh, did I mention that it has no lights? But I had my trusty headlamps so I thought I'd be OK.  Well, here is a picture of how far I got, looking back out to the entrance of the cave.  It was just too creepy for me, by myself. With a group I'd be fine, but as I tippy-toed into the darkness with my suddenly very inadequate headlamp, it was easy to decide that this adventure was not for me. 

OK. Not to be defeated, I drove on to two more caves, at the entrances of which there were reportedly pictographs to be found. If I didn't have to go deep inside the cave that sounded good to me. A 1.5 mile hike was required to get to their entrances.  At the first one I couldn't even see the trail down, let alone walk it, so I passed that one by. 

At the second one, Symbol Bridge Cave, I had better luck. The way down was evident, looked manageable, and wasn't dark.  In fact it was lighted by a collapsed section just a short way in, creating what I assume must have been the bridge referred to in its name.

And right at the entrance were the clearly visible pictographs, if you took the time to look. 

Pictographs are not carved, scratched or chipped into rock, but rather are created using liquid or powdered minerals, usually applied with fingers or other parts of the hand, or in some cases blown on. 

So, cave adventures complete enough, I headed to the northern sections of the Monument, passing some Giant Blazing Stars along the roadside. 

Of interest to history buffs is Captain Jack's Stronghold, another one of the Monument's easy access popular roadside attractions. 

Along the trail through the Stronghold there were many places where Mt. Shasta was visible in the distance.  There were actually two trails - a short and a long loop. (I opted for the short trial because of the heat and midday sun.)

Captain Jack was the war leader of the local Modoc people in the mid-late 1800's. The Stronghold is a complex of lava formations with caves and fissures used by as many as 150 members of the Modoc tribe in the defense of their land against US troops in 1872-3 for 5-6 months.  In the photo below you can see Tule Lake in the distance. It used to come right up to the Stronghold before it was drained for farm land. It was the source of water for the Modoc during the siege.

The Modoc Wars are described in detail here, for those interested. (Like most conflicts between Native Americans and the US government - it's complicated - so I won't attempt it here.) 

It seems the Stronghold was an especially effective location to defend because of its complexity, and the dangers of unexpected holes and sharp lava rock for those unfamiliar with it.  The brochure and trail markers throughout the area explain how parts of it were used by the Modoc, for living, storage, defense, gatherings, even ceremonial dancing during the siege. 

Walking through, it's easy to imagine their temporary life here during the siege and the related battles.  The location and the significance of the historic Modoc medicine flag is noted in the brochure, and there is also what seems to be a contemporary medicine flag mounted on a nearby highpoint within the Stronghold. (No explanation provided.)

After the Stronghold I pushed northward to the edge of the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, and saw lots of white pelicans, Canada geese, white egrets, coots and black necked stilts.  My final stop was in the small town of Tulelake for some chicken tacos at a local burger stand before heading back to Tionesta.

BTW, we were not inundated with Burners, there was no late night pre-Burning Man celebration, 

we all got along, and we all slept well.

A Birthday Loop Around Cedar City, Utah

Our last stop in Utah was Cedar City, so we could try to see Cedar Breaks National Monument. The road into the park, Rt. 148, is usually closed until late May, but we thought we'd stop by the Visitor's Center in town to see if by some chance it was open. Success! The road had just opened.

For my birthday this year I planned a day that would make me happy - exploring the local area with Rick. I guess that's nothing too special - we do a lot of that. But I got to pick the whole day's itinerary.

Our first stop was for cinnamon rolls and a latte in town, then Cedar Breaks, then swing by Brian Head, through the little town of Parowan, on to Parowan Gap to see the petroglyphs and topped off with dinner at the Depot Grill in Cedar City. (We even had time for a little nap in the afternoon.) The loop started east on Rt. 14, cut north on 148, back west on 143 and then back roads out to the Gap and home.

Cedar Breaks was, as others have described it, a mini-Bryce. There was still some snow around, but it was verging on mud season. I'm glad the roads were all paved or it would have been a big mess. The few other people stopping at the observation areas with us seemed to be German tourists. I've got no explanation for that.

The view from Point Supreme. Brian Head in the distance.

Just north of Cedar Breaks is Brian Head, the southern most ski mountain in Utah. The whole place was closed up tight - no snow and no summer activities yet. Just mud season.

The back side of Brian Head

It looked like they were replacing one of the lifts, or putting in a new one. All the components of the lift were laid out in orderly lines in the parking lot.

After a quick necessary stop in the little town of Parowan we found our way to what was, for me, the high point of the day: Parowan Gap.  The gap itself is a natural geological formation that has been used as a roadway for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Although originally created by water running through a fissure in the Red Hills, the stream eventually dried up and now it is simply a "wind gap."

It is estimated that as long ago as 750 AD, Native Americans were using the gap as not only a passage, but a special place to record…uh...whatever it was they were recording there. No one knows for sure, but there are theories about the significance of the petroglyphs.  The prominent figure below is called "The Zipper" for obvious reasons, but the going hypothesis is that it is a recording of the location of the sun over time in relation to the sides of the gap.  Kind of like Stonehenge. If you're interested check out the link to Parawon Gap.

Even to a petroglyph amateur like me it's clear that these are atypical. The others I've seen are primarily pictures of animals and humanoids, with some wiggly lines and suns thrown in. The experts say these are all about counting, or keeping track with repetitive markings predominant throughout the site. 

On one side of the road the petroglyphs are protected by a fence, but on the other side visitors are free to scramble around and look for more. And there are plenty to find. This is by far the largest collection of petroglyphs I've ever seen. More even than Newspaper Rock near Canyonlands National Park. And they are really accessible. Just outside of Parowan, maybe 30 minutes from I-15. There's plenty of information on the internet to help you find and appreciate them.

Next a report on some more contemporary local color.