Sometimes messages are loud and clear and easy to read. We especially try to do this with warnings.
Getting to McCarthy is not always easy.
Sometimes they need a little interpretation.
Residents of the Wrangells really like their guns.But are generally kind, loving people.
Sometimes we read messages from the past, but can no longer understand them.
These petroglyphs are nearly a thousand years old.What does this mean?
Sometimes what might seem like a message is just a coincidence.
Truth in advertising?
But sometimes we think a clear message is just a coincidence.
Melting permafrost due to climate change is trouble for Alaska roads.
Nature sends us lots of messages. Some are easy to read.
A Kangaroo Rat came by here last night.Termination dust (snow) means it’s time for snowbirds to fly.
This message I read loud and clear every autumn.
Leaves are falling all around It’s time I was on my way
Sometimes Nature’s messages need a little interpretation. For instance, when an animal turns its back to you like this, they’re saying, “I’m pretending you’re not there. Now go away and leave me alone!”
Leave me alone!
Or when the fireweed reaches the top of its stem, it means summer is over.
Summer is ending!
We ignore some of nature’s messages at our own peril.
Be bear aware!
Here’s another one we are ignoring at our own peril. Global climate change is real. Sea levels are rising. I awoke one day last month to find that the sea had invaded the yard and the ocean was throwing logs onto the lawn. The homeowners say this has never happened before, but I’m willing to bet it won’t be long before it happens again. Mother Nature is sending us clear messages. You might even call them warnings. We need to pay attention.
Sea levels are rising.
Thanks to Wind Kisses for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Messages.
When I saw that this week’s Lens-Artist’s Photography Challenge was geometry, I was at a bit of a loss at first. After all, I do primarily nature photography and although Mother Nature loves a circle or a sphere, she isn’t much into squares and cubes.
Trapezoids, circles and ovals
Then I happened to notice a similarity in the rock art of many of the ancestral peoples of the desert southwest. These folks were really into geometry! Even their sheep were made up of squares and rectangles.
Squares and circles on this petroglyph from Three Rivers Petroglyph Site in New Mexico.
Stylized, geometric depictions of people and animals can be found in rock art from the Fremont culture of northern Colorado and Utah to the Ancestral Puebloans of the Four Corners region to the Mogollon culture of southern New Mexico and Arizona.
Rectangles and squares – These ruins at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in southern New Mexico date back to the 1200s.
Most of the ruins and rock art date back 700 to 1100 years. There are thousands of sites throughout the canyons of the desert southwest, some in quite remote locations. It is so thrilling to walk around a bend in a canyon and discover these traces left behind by people who lived there a thousand years ago!
Rock art panel near Moab, Utah
My first backpacking trip into the desert was in Grand Gulch, Utah. Back then it was just BLM land, in the middle of nowhere. Now it is part of the disputed Bear’s Ears National Monument. After walking around many bends in the canyon and discovering rock art and ruins here, there and everywhere, I was hooked for life. Searching out Ancestral Puebloan sites on the Colorado Plateau became a hobby and a passion of mine every spring.
The trapezoidal body shape of this petroglyph is typical of Fremont Culture rock art.
By the end of the 1800s, many ruins were damaged and destroyed by pothunters, who would tear up the dwellings in their search for the buried treasure of the artifacts left behind. In 1906 the Antiquities Act was passed by Congress to protect these national treasures.
Agate House in Petrified Forest National Park was built out of petrified wood.
Since then, only 5 presidents have not used the Antiquities Act to protect additional lands (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Trump). Trump is the only president who has attempted to remove lands from Monument status.
Many rock art panels have been defaced by bullet holes and graffiti
Theft and vandalism are still major problems faced by those trying to preserve both ruins and rock art. When I worked at Death Valley, we were not allowed to publish any pictures of rock art in the park or disclose locations to visitors because people would literally chip the panels right off the cliffs!
Rectangles and circles on this rock art figure from Dinosaur National Monument
Graffiti and target practice deface many rock art panels. This damage is difficult and often impossible to repair. I can’t help but wonder why some people feel this need to destroy the work left behind by others. I just don’t understand it.
Triangles – Why would someone deface a painting that had lasted a thousand years?
Since enforcement is so difficult, the key may be education. If we can convince others of the value of these ancient artifacts, and how that value is enhanced by being left in place for future generations, perhaps we, and our grandchildren’s grandchildren, may enjoy the geometry of ages past for many more years to come.
I’ve always been a big fan of the petroglyphs and pictographs left behind by the ancient peoples of the Southwest. Religious rituals or prehistoric graffiti? Hard to say. I sometimes wonder what future archaeologists will make of the artwork found on railroad cars and inner-city walls.
There are over 21,000 petroglyphs at 3 Rivers.
I made it a mission many years ago, when I worked ski resorts in the winter, to spend a month each spring on the Colorado Plateau searching out ancient rock art sites, trying to see and photograph as many as possible before they were ruined or degraded by ignorant yahoos with shotguns and spray paint.
I’m still enthralled with these signs left from the people who came before us. That’s why I was so excited to find Three Rivers. Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site has a LOT of rock art. Over 21,000 individual petroglyphs can be found here, most accessible along a rough mile-long trail from the campground. The Jornada Mogollon people were the artists, decorating the rocks between 900 and 1400 AD. They also had a village nearby, which can be reached by another short trail.
Religious significance or graffiti? Who knows?
I planned to camp when I got there, but when I arrived I found the BLM campground quite unappealing. A gravel lot with a few mesquite trees planted for shade, the sites were too close together and afforded little to no privacy. But I learned that there was a much nicer Forest Service campground, also called Three Rivers, just 12 miles away. I decided to check it out.
The Forest Service Campground was beautiful. All day long, though, for some reason, I’d felt uneasy about camping. My instincts were sending me red flags, but I didn’t know why. The area was fairly remote. Was I too close to the border to be camping solo? I really wanted to stay, but the neon DANGER sign wouldn’t quit flashing in my mind. I equivocated with myself – if there were others camped there I would stay – safety in numbers – if not, I would have to leave.
From the Forest Service 3 Rivers Campground, a trail leads up the canyon deep into the heart of the White Mountain Wilderness.
The camping spots were spacious and inviting. I toured the campground. Someone was parked in the Host spot. I saw one other occupied campsite. The old gentleman relaxing in the sun there looked like Santa Claus. I got no danger vibes from him. I passed a campsite filled with a herd of mule deer. That’s my spot! I really wanted to stay there. I parked and walked down to the registration board to claim my campsite.
But the danger signals wouldn’t go away. Would a bear come and molest my camp? There were numerous bear warning signs, both in the campground and at the trailhead. I watched the heavy cloud of a winter snowstorm settle on the peak at the head of the canyon. Would the snow level drop and make it a cold and miserable night? Was it something else? I really wanted to stay and decided to ignore my uneasy feelings.
Deer at my campsite!
I set up my camp chair but didn’t set up my camp yet. I just soaked in the sunshine and reveled in the peace. Then I heard a horrifying scream, kind of a combination of a scream and a bray, immediately followed by the high-pitched singing of a pack of coyotes. The sound kept reverberating, incredibly loud, echoing throughout the canyon.
Wow. I think I had just heard a pack of coyotes kill a large animal. Were there wild burros here? The bray kind of sounded like a burro. Or was it a deer dying? It was one of the wildest sounds I’d ever heard. Now I REALLY wanted to stay. But I still felt so, so uneasy.
I reached into my truck to get out a bird guide to identify some of the songbirds fluttering around near my camp. As I turned around to close the door, I caught a glimpse of a coyote running up the hill, less than 20 yards away, He was a big mountain coyote, not a scrawny Wile E. desert coyote. This place was getting more awesome every minute! But, still… I learned a long time ago to listen to my instincts. But it was so wild and beautiful.
New Mexico is full of surprises!
It was almost sunset, and I needed to commit. Just then, a man walked by my campsite. I think he was the campground host. In a distinctly unfriendly tone of voice, he said, “Oh, there is somebody staying here.” I said “Hi, how’s it going”, and he morosely replied, “I’m alive.”
OK, the red flags are flying. My instincts are screaming at me now. Suddenly the barren BLM Three Rivers Petroglyphs campground is looking good.
I stayed until sunset because I really didn’t want to leave, then headed up the road. As soon as I pulled away from the canyon, the heavy, leaden uneasiness I’d felt all day evaporated like a puff of smoke. I’ll never know why I felt so uneasy, but I’m glad I visited and didn’t stay.
Back at the BLM campground, there was only one other camper, another solo woman. It turned out to be a fabulous place to spend the night.
I’ll be back to Three Petroglyphs one day. I want to stay at that wonderful Forest Service campground on a day when my red flags aren’t flying, and hike the trail into the canyon.
Petroglyphs everywhere!
I want to stay at the BLM campground again too, for another reason. I stopped at the Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography in Carrizozo, a sleepy little town north of Three Rivers. It’s the largest photography gallery in the state of New Mexico, and I discovered a new favorite photographer, Wayne Suggs.
His night sky shots of the petroglyphs are some of the most incredible I’ve ever seen. After seeing his images, everything else in the gallery seemed inconsequential. His work is phenomenal. One day I would like to take a workshop and learn from this master, then go back to Three Rivers and photograph the night sky.
I used to hang out around Moab a lot, BMB (before mountain biking). From the mid-eighties through the nineties, I would spend a month every spring hiking on the Colorado Plateau.
Potash Road
It was just a cow town then, a place to get gas and groceries. We would camp for free along the river, on the River Road, Kane Creek and the Potash Road. In Arches, we’d get up before dawn to get a jump on the masses and have the most popular trails to ourselves. If we felt like sleeping in, we’d find more obscure routes to follow. After all, it’s not wilderness if you can’t find solitude. Once, we spent three weeks straight trippin’ in the Needles District of Canyonlands, seeing ice cream flavors in the colors of the slickrock – fudge swirl and neapolitan.
Alpenglow on Skyline Arch
It was a free life, both in cost and the freedom to do what you wanted whenever and wherever you wanted.
Things changed. Moab was discovered. It got crowded. We still came to the Colorado Plateau every spring, but we passed through Moab and didn’t linger on our way to points further south. Just gas and groceries.
It’s the first time I’ve been back in quite a while. The old cow town now smacks of the overkill typical of National Park gateways, reminiscent of Estes Park, Glitter Gulch outside of Denali, West Yellowstone.
Changes
New construction is happening everywhere. The Rock Shop used to be WAY on the outskirts of town, but now it’s motel after motel all the way past the river on Hwy. 191. There’s even a tram and a zip line.
It’s been years since you could camp free on the river. Designated fee campgrounds are the way to go now. You can no longer spend three weeks lost in the backcountry of Canyonlands. There’s a two week maximum limit, a $30 fee, permits to be acquired, designated backcountry campsites. And Arches? Ed Abbey would roll over in his grave. Talk about being loved to death.
Sunset in Arches
I understand. We need to manage the impact on this fragile environment. Rightly so, there’s a lot of impact. Still, I cherish the time I had here when it WAS free, a little known secret paradise.
Of course, it’s mountain bike Mecca now. I don’t mountain bike, so if you want to know more about the Moab biking trails, check out this article on GoNomad. It’s also a hotspot for four-wheeling, with all the old uranium mining roads, rafting, and rock climbing. The hiking is still great. In addition to the national parks, there are the Behind the Rocks, Mill Creek and Negro Bill WSAs among others. The dining options and the nightlife are a lot better than they used to be, I’ll give it that!
Check out the petroglyphs and rock climbing on Highway 279
I have no desire to be here in the peak season of spring anymore, when the crowds are insane, but it’s winter now. Off season, no crowds. I can love this place once again, and I’ve found some deals.
Due to Park Service budget cuts, the visitor center, and the entrance booth, at Island in the Sky in Canyonlands are closed in January and February. There’s nowhere to pay your fee, so the park is free for a little while. Quite a change from the proposed $70 per vehicle fee (up from $30) that may be charged beginning in June.
kit fox napping
Although there are always a lot of visitors in Arches, even in winter, you won’t find any problems with getting a parking space, even at the most popular viewpoints and trailheads. And then there’s still the Potash Road. I may have to do an entire blog on that one. I fell in love with it all over again.
One of the best wintertime deals, though, is lodging at the Lazy Lizard Hostel. It’s cold outside. I don’t really want to camp in the cold. I need a place to stay.
Lazy Lizard Hostel
The Lazy Lizard is a great deal year-round, with $12 bunks in the dorms. However, I find in my old age that I’m no longer comfortable sharing my sleeping space with half a dozen other people. The real deal at the Lazy Lizard in winter is private rooms and cabins. You can get a private room or cabin during December, January and February for only $22 a night!
That’s cheaper than rent in Denver. You get privacy, Wi-Fi, kitchen privileges, heat …and good company. There’s a great mellow vibe to this place. I find myself continually coming back. It’s allowed me to fall in love with Moab all over again. So if you’re passing through Moab in the winter, give the Lazy Lizard a try. It may become one of your new favorite places!
Theodore Roosevelt created the Antiquities Act specifically to protect Mesa Verde and other ancient Puebloan ruins. Some of this country’s most precious cultural resources, they were being pillaged and destroyed by pothunters, way back in 1906.
Roosevelt, a Republican, was a true conservative, unlike many of the people who go by that appellation these days. He believed in CONSERVING our natural and cultural resources so that all Americans could enjoy them, not just a few people who wished to profit by taking from these lands.
One of the greatest tools ever created to protect our national heritage, Presidents have safeguarded national treasures by using the Antiquities Act countless times since. President Obama used it to create the Bear’s Ears National Monument shortly before leaving office.
A coalition of five Native American tribes recommended and promoted this new National Monument. They consider this land sacred. It is one of my favorite places in Utah.
This area is exactly the kind of place the Antiquities Act was created to protect. Cedar Mesa alone has over 56,000 archeological sites. That’s right, 56 THOUSAND! That’s more than any other National Park or Monument already in existence. And that’s only one part of the Bear’s Ears. As you hike these canyons, you walk with the ghosts of those who have been there before us, Everywhere you look you find ruins, petroglyphs and pictographs. It’s where I learned to love the Colorado Plateau.
This new monument is under attack. The Utah Legislature is on the fast track to try to convince Washington to find a way to overturn the proclamation. We need to fight to keep this sacred place safe.
I would show you more pretty pictures to convince you, but the Coalition of tribes that promoted saving the Bear’s Ears can show it better than I. So check out their site, http://bearsearscoalition.org. Help defend this precious land.
