While driving through Central Utah, I decided to extend my stay and camp over the weekend.  I stayed in a nearby town and then used the rest of the day for rock art hunting.  I drove up and down canyon roads with my binoculars out trying to find any signs of rock art.  After a few hours, I didn’t find much.  I found a very small pictograph of two anthropomorphs (human like figures) holding hands, but was hoping for a much larger panel.

Nearby this place, I scanned high up on the hills and saw a large distinct red pictograph!  I could see it without problem with my binoculars, but decided it was time to get out of the car and make the hike to it.  It’s only about 1/2 mile roundtrip and I found lots of unusual rocks along the way.

The hike was steep and there wasn’t a trail, so you’ll need to bushwhack a little in some parts.  Overall, this was a short hike even though it was steep.

I got to the pictograph and it was clear to me that someone had used a gun to shoot at it.  Parts of it were missing from the bullet wounds.  I’m sure the pictograph was much more majestic before the blatant vandalism.  There are other rock art in these canyons that are already dated around 700-1,000 years old, so I would guestimate that these are about the same.

The pictograph is a large red painted anthropomorph with two outstretched arms.  I am calling it The Watchman since it is at the highest point of these cliffs and appears to be watching over the area.  It appears to be holding a sphere or ball in its right hand.  It may have been holding another ball or sphere in its other hand, but it was shot out.

This one appears to be made by the Fremont people since its similar in style to many that I have seen like this – the triangular body style, antennae or spikes on the heads, etc – it’s beautiful and deserves our protection and respect.

Please do not touch the rock art or shoot at it (it goes without saying, but there are probably a few idiots out there who may truly believe these are targets)

I found some broken pottery shards nearby and then I scanned the cliffs and found a granary!  It’s completely inaccessible except to a ladder.  You can see that the granary was created using a type of cement/mortar and stacked rocks along with sticks.  It appears to be lived in by rats now.