Parowan Gap Petroglyphs (Cedar City, UT)

If there's a petroglyph within 500 miles of where I am at, I want to see it.  The were a short drive from Cedar City (paved road).  The road lead right to them.   You can walk along the street and see hundreds of them, and I am sure there were many more I couldn't see.

Several centuries ago Native Americans traveling through the area stopped and pecked designs onto the smooth faces of large boulders found on the east side of the gap. Over the years, many of the boulders have been covered with these chiseled figures known as petroglyphs.  The petroglyphs here are thought to be the work of several cultural groups and represent a long period of use by Native cultures. What these designs mean is still unknown. Archaeologists debate that they represent concepts, ideas or actual happenings. Perhaps they were part of a religious activity or hunting ritual. The local Native Americans consider them to be an important part of their cultural history relating stories of their ancestor's lifeways.

 

This one looks like he has Micky Mouse ears on!

 

There are so many interesting petroglyphs here.  I am sure there are even some that have not been discovered yet.

 

This was a small cave with some petroglyphs inside.

 

 

LOCUST! 

 

 

Experts are always trying to figure out the meaning of the petroglyphs in this area.  The below petroglyph, experts believe, is large calendar sometimes called the "zipper glyph".  It faces the large basin to the east. This device is not just a glyph - it is a composite map, glyph, numerical calendar, and system of outer cairns. The glyph itself consists of a large "V" shaped line with a narrow neck and a lobe at the vertex. Along with the line are numerous tick marks thus giving it a zipper line appearance. Counting the tick marks on both sides of the line indicates that there are or very close to 180 marks. This is the number of days that it takes the sun to traverse the horizon between the solstices.  The extended arms of the "V" represent the extremes of the sun's traverse, so figure makes perfect sense as an observational calendar.  It combines the angle of solar traverse with the number of days it takes to make that traverse.    (I really, really wish I understood what ANY of that means.)

 

 

This makes me crazy.  There are people who drive all the way out here to deface these ancient carvings.  I don't understand what kind of nit-wit would do that - this place is sacred and should be respected.

 

 

Bristlecone Pine Forest (at Cedar Breaks)

Today I thought that I was a seasoned hiker (I am not), and that I could easily do a strenuous hike uphill to 10,000 feet (I was unqualified!). 

This is a beautiful hike at Cedar Breaks National Monument.  The trail is a mile up and a mile back.  That seems easy enough, but it is all uphill and with the altitude I am not used to, I pretty-much gasped for air the entire time.

But, it was very much worth it (I can't believe I made it).  The Bristlecones in Cedar Breaks are MAGNIFICENT!  There were so many of them, and one was estimated to be over 1,600 years old.  These trees are the oldest living organisms on Earth.  It is rare to find them because they only grow off cliffs at above 10,000 feet, and are only found in a few states (I only know of California, Nevada, and Utah).

I made it to the top, and enjoyed the view from there.  The trees are beautiful!

Up, up, uphill!

 

There are no railings.  It's pretty scary!

 

Gorgeous views along the way.

 

More climbing.

 

Ok, so when I got near this little house, I was thinking - Oh, yeah!  A snack shop!  I thought I could go in for a cup of hot chocolate and a little snack.  WRONG!   When I got to it, it was a water tank.  Bummer!

 

Pretty new growth of flowers

 

There was still some snow on the ground

 

There it is.  A BEAUTIFUL Bristlecone!

 

These were so pretty

 

This tree is over 1,600 years old!

 

A little pinecone

 

This is the hike I took.  I was headed to the very end

 

You can see the hiking trail

 

I kept getting closer and closer!

 

Finally, I reached it

 

I was happy to be there, but then I thought - OH NO, I have to go back down!

 

As I have said before - this was the best $12 I ever spent.  You couldn't do this without a hiking stick.

 

A sign for the visitor center never looked so good!