IntrepidXJ

It's been a while since I posted up a trip report here, but I thought you might enjoy my latest....so here you go....

--------------

Day 0: Change of Plans?

Friday, April 8, 2011

As you might have seen in this post before I left for this trip, there was some real concern about the government shutting down and closing Canyonlands National Park. The night before I was set to leave, I stayed up to see what was going to happen in Washington. Luckily, at the last minute they figured out the budget and averted a shutdown. Of course, my time would have been better spent sleeping, but at least we did not have to make any last minute changes to our plans and we would still be able to explore The Maze District of Canyonlands for a few days.

Day 1: Into the Maze

Saturday, April 9, 2011

After staying up later than I would have liked on Friday night, I was up again at 3am on Saturday morning so that I could finish getting ready and head straight to Hanksville to meet up with Jared. I had hoped to grab a quick breakfast on the way, but apparently the McDonalds on my way out of Grand Junction isn’t open 24 hours like I thought….and neither is the one in Fruita. I also found out that the Burger King in Green River doesn’t open at 5am like I had hoped….

I met up with Jared at the Hollow Mountain in Hanksville and we transferred his camping gear into my Jeep. Then I followed him south to the Poison Springs Road so he could find a spot to park his car for the next few days. Since it didn’t take us as long as we planned, I still had time to get some breakfast at Blondie’s before meeting up with Dave.

We met Dave at 8am at the turnoff to the Hans Flat Road and took off towards the ranger station to go get our camping permits. We ended up picking up our permits less than an hour after leaving the highway and then started our descent into The Maze. It snowed on and off on our drive down the Flint Trail and on our way around Teapot Rock. The snow wasn’t sticking to the ground and wasn’t falling enough to make the road slippery.

Four hours after leaving the ranger station we arrived at Chimney Rock; our camp for the next two nights. It was pretty windy as we setup camp, and both Jared and Dave had brand new tents they had not used before…Jared had a few issues but managed to get it setup.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632680361/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632680361/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Chimney Rock from near our campsite.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633267736/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633267736/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared trying to setup his brand new tent.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632684477/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632684477/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Part of our campsite.

Once camp was setup we hiked over to take in the views over nearby Water Canyon and Jasper Canyon. We hiked along the rims for a ways and watched the sun go down.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633269942/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633269942/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared and Dave overlooking Water Canyon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633266912/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633266912/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A small arch we spotted on the rim of Water Canyon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633269476/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633269476/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared and Dave hiking towards Jasper Canyon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633268734/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633268734/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A view over Jasper Canyon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633269146/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633269146/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared overlooking the Maze.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632681855/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632681855/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A view over The Maze at sunset.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632680857/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632680857/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A small tree growing out of the sandstone at sunset.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632682551/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5632682551/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

My long shadow close to sunset.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633264932/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633264932/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Island in the Sky lit up in the distance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633263328/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5633263328/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Chimney Rock and Ekker Butte at sunset.

There was plenty of wind, snow and even more wind that evening! The weather certainly could have been better, but it still turned out to be a nice first day to start our trip.

Day 2 to be continued…

IntrepidXJ

Day 2: Pictograph Fork & The Harvest Scene

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Our second day started out cold with plenty of wind. None of us slept very well since the wind was noisy all night. After some breakfast we bundled up and started our hike down Pictograph Fork to check out the Harvest Scene pictographs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639133870/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639133870/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

If you look closely you can see Dave and Jared in the canyon ahead of me as we hike towards Pictograph Fork.

Along the way we stopped at a petroglyph panel.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639134594/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639134594/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638554023/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638554023/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Then we continued on until we reached the Harvest Scene, which was one of my main reasons for going to The Maze this trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639135190/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639135190/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The canyon near The Harvest Scene Panel.

The sun was shining on the panel and washing it out pretty good, but luckily there were a few puffy clouds in the sky that blocked the sun for a few minutes at a time so that I could try and take some decent photos of the panel.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638840837/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638840837/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

An overview of the Harvest Scene Pictograph Panel.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639182246/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639182246/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A closer look at the part of the panel that gives it the name ‘Harvest Scene’.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638843413/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638843413/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

These figures found on the left side of the panel are very elaborately decorated.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638840265/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638840265/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The figure to the right of the striped anthropomorph appears to be bowing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638842187/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638842187/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A closer look at the striped figure.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638843855/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638843855/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared checking out the panel and giving it some scale.

IntrepidXJ

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638844613/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638844613/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Both Dave and Jared for some scale.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639418452/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639418452/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Not a great photo, but the best I managed to get on this trip. If you look closely you can see what looks like a bird a rabbit and another smaller zoomorph on the outstretched hand. There is also what appears to be indian rice grass growing out of the middle finger on the hand. A very interesting panel.

There were plenty of other pictographs to be found nearby, too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639139284/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639139284/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The furthest figure on the right appears to be a very long dog standing up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638841605/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638841605/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

These two pictograph panels are located just to the left of the main Harvest Scene panel.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639420760/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639420760/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Another of the panels found nearby.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638944135/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638944135/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

These pictographs are found a bit upstream from the Harvest Scene and are actually the first panel you will come across when hiking down-canyon as we did.

We had some lunch before leaving the Harvest Scene and then continued on our loop hike.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638857525/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638857525/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Another view of Pictograph Fork from near the pictographs.

We took a detour towards the Maze Overlook trail in search of some more rock art and found this snake petroglyph, which might be the one Ed Abbey spoke of in Desert Solitaire when he descended into The Maze….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638560677/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638560677/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

An overview of the location where the snake petroglyph is found.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638561671/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638561671/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A closer look at the snake petroglyph.

It was a long hike back to camp and windy again once we climbed back out of the canyon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639136936/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639136936/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Hiking over the sandstone on our way back to camp.

IntrepidXJ

We passed this small arch along the way.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639135652/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639135652/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638561143/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5638561143/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A view of The Maze and the La Sal Mountains in the distance through the small arch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639133206/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639133206/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Can you spot Chimney Rock in the distance, it was a long hike back to camp.

When we arrived back at camp, we had some dinner and tried to stay out of the wind as much as possible.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639132704/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639132704/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared having some dinner and using my Jeep to block the wind. Chimney Rock in the background.

When the sun was getting close to setting, we grabbed our cameras and took some photos…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5636447876/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5636447876/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

I love the layers of color in this photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5637129407/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5637129407/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Just another photo of Chimney Rock glowing in the late evening sunlight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639132342/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639132342/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Dave trying to keep warm.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639131990/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639131990/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639131160/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5639131160/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5637129135/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5637129135/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Aside from the wind when we were up out of the canyon, it was a good day. I’m glad I finally got to visit the Harvest Scene and will probably hike down from The Maze Overlook next time I want to visit it.

Day 3 to be continued…

IntrepidXJ

Day 3: The Doll House & Tibbett Arch

Monday, April 11, 2011

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642725077/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642725077/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The sun rising in the east over the La Sal Mountains lights up Ekker Butte.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641736121/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641736121/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Early morning light looking towards the La Sal Mountains casts a blue hue over all the different layers of the landscape.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644998064/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644998064/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Known to most as The Chocolate Drops because they are misnamed on current maps. They really look more like Chocolate Bars to me, anyway. The Maze Overlook is located right behind them from this angle.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644997560/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644997560/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Our campsite near Chimney Rock before packing up and leaving.

Since our permit for the Chimney Rock camp was only for two nights, we packed up camp after some breakfast so that we could move on, and then headed to The Doll House.

Our first hike in The Doll House area was the Granary Loop, which gave us a nice view of Surprise Valley on our way to visit a few hidden ruins.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644435501/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644435501/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

View of The Doll House while hiking The Granary Trail.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644763524/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644763524/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

On our way to the granaries, we passed through this small slot. Jared takes my photo as I take his.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644436481/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644436481/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Dave and Jared check out Surprise Valley from above. Look closely and you can see the Colorado River.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642726273/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642726273/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Three of the four small granaries lined up on one side of the alcove.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641736451/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641736451/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The one granary by itself on the other side of the alcove converted to black and white.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644441357/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644441357/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Here’s all four granaries in view.

j2d013

Wow, bro I've missed seeing your great photos. Glad to see you posting back up and giving us a great write-up. Keep them coming.....

IntrepidXJ

After checking out the granaries, we completed the loop trail and then hiked out to Beehive Arch along the Colorado and Green Rivers Overlook Trail.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5645003544/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5645003544/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared and Dave below the needles in The Doll House area on our hike to Beehive Arch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644439097/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644439097/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A view along the Colorado and Green Rivers Overlook Trail.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642726639/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642726639/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A wide view of Beehive Arch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644197695/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644197695/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A closer look at a different angle.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5645005384/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5645005384/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Dave climbed up some sandstone for a better view of the area.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644440919/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644440919/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

More needles in The Doll House area on our way back from Beehive Arch.

Before leaving The Doll House area I checked out all three campsites so that I could plan some future trips to the area. Next, we headed back past Chimney Rock so we could setup our last campsite in The Maze at Standing Rock.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5643295322/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5643295322/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

My Jeep parked at our campsite near Standing Rock.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642725941/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642725941/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Camp setup under the monolith.

IntrepidXJ

Once camp was setup we had some lunch and took some photos of the Sun Circle that appeared overhead as a thin layer of clouds rolled in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641405663/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641405663/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

I decided to try my 16-35mm lens for the first time in the field for some nice sunbursts, which I think turned out pretty good.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644999886/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644999886/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A less colorful version, but with an interesting composition.

There was still plenty of time in the day, so we headed off to Lizard Rock and started hiking towards Tibbett Arch. There was plenty of route-finding involved, but I managed to find a nice overlook right across the small canyon from the arch. Dave, on the other hand, managed to get above and on the other side of the arch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5645007188/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5645007188/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The large monolith on the left is Lizard Rock, with Plug Rock just to the right of it. Standing Rock is the skinny one in the distance. Land of the Standing Rocks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644442695/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644442695/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Looking down into the canyon in front of Tibbett Arch. You can see the arch to the upper left of the photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644442981/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644442981/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A closer look at Tibbett Arch. I was hoping to get low enough to see some sky through it, but that didn’t work out this time.

After finishing our exploring of the area and taking some photos we headed back to camp to relax and have some dinner. I was hoping the skies would clear a bit that night so that I could try some star trails with Standing Rock in the foreground.

Dave made us all dinner that night, which included fried chicked and potatoes which were pretty good. Then we watched the sun go down from Standing Rock with cameras in hand.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644999644/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644999644/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Looking up at Standing Rock. You can see the very small moon above it and to the left a little bit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644999352/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644999352/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Zoomed in to see the moon with a small piece of Standing Rock in view.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642725331/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5642725331/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Dave watches the setting sun under Standing Rock.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644998290/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5644998290/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Jared lies down to get a photo of Standing Rock.

When it got dark enough, I finally got to try some star trails….unfortunately, since this was my first time trying them with my new camera and lens they didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. Here is one photo that I took without the trails while experimenting, though.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641374455/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5641374455/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A night shot of Standing Rock with plenty of stars and a nice little cloud in the sky.

It was a nice night under the stars, and not too cold. Not a bad way to spend our last evening in The Maze.

Day 4 to be continued…

IntrepidXJ

Day 4: From the Maze to the Mesa

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

On our forth day Under the Ledge, we awoke to an awesome sunrise. The colors in the sky were just amazing! I quickly hopped out of my tent and grabed my camera for a photo. When I got my shot composed, I realized that I had taken the battery out the previous night to charge in the Jeep…and hadn’t replaced it! I ran back to the Jeep and grabbed the fully charged battery, but missed the best colors of the sunrise in the process. Here’s the shot I managed to get before all of the colors disappeared.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5646273160/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5646273160/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

After the colors over the La Sal Mountains were gone, I turned around and took a few more early morning shots.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650597030/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650597030/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Standing Rock bathed in golden early morning sunlight on our last day in the Land of Standing Rocks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5647946295/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5647946295/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Lizard Rock and The Plug glowing in the early morning sunlight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651402784/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651402784/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The first light of the day strikes Ekker Butte and the rims of the canyons that make up The Maze.

After sunrise we had some breakfast and packed up camp so that we could move on. We would have a long and full day ahead of us, since we would be leaving The Maze and heading to Cedar Mesa…but there would be plenty of stops along the way.

Before leaving The Maze we parked near Mother and Child Rock so that we could hike a little way into into Ernie’s country. We dropped down into Range Canyon so that we could visit Cedar Bark Ruin and Lou’s Spring.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650712516/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650712516/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

There has been some disagreement as to how old this ruin actually is, however, after seeing it in person, in my opinion, the ruin itself looks pretty old and not recently made, but the roof certainly looks newer, like someone may have added it. I’m no expert and these are just my impressions from my visit to the site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652019176/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652019176/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

These very faint pictographs found on the ceiling of the alcove that contains Lou’s Spring kind of remind me of the one’s located across the Colorado River in Cave Spring in the Needles District.

After reaching the Jeeps again, we finally started to head out around Teapot Canyon. Along the rough road we met some of Canyonland’s rangers in 4×4 training. We had to wait for a few minutes to let them pass. They were driving the roughest stretch of road in the park’s 4-door Jeep Rubicon Wrangler.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5649775759/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5649775759/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

Just a photo of my Jeep as we head out of The Maze.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652015116/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652015116/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A photo of Dave’s Jeep as we leave The Maze.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651026362/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651026362/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The 4-Wheel Drive High Clearance Only sign just before you get to the roughest section of the road into the Land of Standing Rocks around Teapot Canyon.

IntrepidXJ

After leaving The Maze we made our way over to pick up Jared’s car before heading over to Cedar Mesa for the rest of the week. Along the way we stopped at a few rock art sites. Here’s a bunch of photos from the sites we visited.

The Hollow Boulder Panel:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651465313/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651465313/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

An overview of the Hollow Boulder Panel. I’ve seen a lot of rock art, but this panel is certainly in one of the more unusual locations, especially for a Barrier Canyon Style panel. As you can see, these pictographs are located inside a large boulder that has a naturally hollowed out area big enough to stand in. Step inside and you are treated to an almost 360 degree display of rock art!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651469109/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651469109/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

One of the more interesting figures in the Hollow Boulder is this anthropomorph that appears to be holding five snakes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651464175/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651464175/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A better look at the back of the boulder.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652038220/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652038220/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

There are a lot of pictographs hidden inside this boulder.

North Wash Pictographs & Petroglyphs:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651473957/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5651473957/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

On the road in North Wash.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650892478/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650892478/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

This photos shows just a small part of the very large alcove these are located in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652041518/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652041518/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

A closer look at the large anthropomorph and it’s attending dog.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650079662/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5650079662/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

An interesting anthropomorph petroglyph set within some varnish-stripes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652026704/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/5652026704/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/, on Flickr

The full petroglyph panel over the stripes.