Thompson Canyon | Sego Canyon | Utah

Petroglyphs are ancient carvings on rocks.  In this area these are from 3 different time frames and different tribes. 

It seems to me that the red ones are less prevalent than the ones just carved in the stone walls. I have not seem many of the red ones, but lots that are not colored.

Since this was an old mining area, there are a few of these old train trestle, which is how the ore was moved to processing areas.

The rock formations in the area is stunning, they make you feel really small. 

In these canyons, people lived and died, and therefore were also buried here.  There is a little cemetery that people still visit.  Graves are rustic or modern, as you can see.

Many of the stones have items, like coins on them that visitors have left.

The most modern grave is one of a Vietnam Vet who had lived in this area.

Nearby is a tree where people have left items that have special meanings.

This was the strangest one I saw and it looks like part of a vehicle to me.

Back in the mining days, the workers lived out here and I'm assuming this is a small house built by one of them.  Or it could be that it was left from some of the Indians who lived in the area.

Around the corner, this little oven has been covered to help preserve it.

This building was a store for the mining people.  Unfortunately, this is all that remains.

Next door, this building was made of wood, but has fallen down over the years.

Someone had a car out here and behind it that square looks like the remains of a refrigerator.

Another house that has gone to ruin.  This was a nice one and even had a basement of sorts, possibly food storage.



Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

This post will be different from most - it's just a photo blog.  No words are necessary when faced with these magnificent canyon walls and rock formations.

 

 

 

White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

 


This photo was the view at the top of the canyon near the trail leading to the White House Ruins. I had no idea if the ruins were cliff dwellings or not, since I have been seeing quite a few cliff dwellings in this area. I was surprised when the trail took me to the floor of this canyon. The trail was well marked and zigzagged down the canyon walls, sometimes dirt, sometimes rock and sometimes steps.

When I reached the canyon floor, the trail continued before I reached the actual dwellings. A good portion of the ruins are actually on the ground, but there is an upper level that was built in a natural cave high above the other dwellings on the floor. The ruins are all fenced in, so photos were limited. There were petroglyphs that were quite large, easily seen in the photo below, to the left of the center, not too far from the cave dwellings. Others were visible also.

 

I went on the hike early in the morning, but by the time I was ready to start back up, it had gotten hotter, even though it was before 9 AM. With the sun beating down, the rock walls retain heat and lack of air flow makes it seem hotter. There were still people headed down while I was coming up and I mentioned to one woman that the high elevation was the worst part. She agreed and told me she had been here 6 months and it still bothers her. So much for the adjustment within a couple days! When I went to the visitor center later in the day, I noticed a sign about the hikes - this one was rated "moderately strenuous". I think I'll start the next hike at 6 AM when it's cooler!

The nicest part of the trail were a couple short tunnels, instead of making us climb up a large rock formation. It was nice and cool inside, and I was thinking a few benches would be an improvement! The next photo shows the top of the canyon, from part-way up the trail.

I was happy to get back in my truck and turn the AC on. Tomorrow, I'm starting out earlier - guess I should set an alarm.

 

 

 

Information (and interesting facts) you need to know before you go to the Grand Canyon National Park

 

 

 

Just for general information, I thought I'd log some of the interesting facts I've learned about the Grand Canyon.  If you want to sightsee the canyon the easy way, you can buy yourself a seat on the red helicopters that can be seen flying over. It only costs $539 per person! Guess who's not doing that?

The Canyon has been a national park for a long time, long enough that they have the transportation efficiently set up. You take your car to a parking lot and then you board a shuttle taking you to the trails and sights you want to see. You are given a map at the entrance which explains the whole thing. They have different routes depending on where you want to go. However, if you want to get a great spot for sunset, there may be a couple busloads filled up while you're waiting to go. But, the light is much better for photos about 5 PM and sunset was amazing.  The late afternoon photos are much better than the daytime ones, since the sun is on the opposite side at that time.

 

They do not sell bottled water, but they have a few water stations along the way where you can refill your own bottle.  It comes from a spring right down at the bottom of the canyon.  If you don't have a bottle, they will sell you a nice souvenir one.  Luckily, I brought my own bottle and the water tastes good. They could use a few more locations though.

 

It's a good idea to bring pretty much everything you need.  They have a little grocery store in the Grand Canyon Village as well as a store in the little village about 2 miles outside the gates.  However, the prices are at least double what you'd find in a normal grocery store.  I felt like I was shopping back in the Virgin Islands because the prices were so high.

They do have a very nice little library with WiFi that you can go in and use.  Wonderful idea for people who spend more than a couple of days there.

One thing I was surprised about was a monument for an airline crash that happened on the east end on the Canyon in 1956. Two airplanes collided, TWA and United, above two buttes in the Canyon. There is a monument in the Pioneer Cemetery in the Grand Canyon Village for 29 passengers from United Airlines who were unidentified. The remains of most of the TWA passengers were buried in a mass grave in Flagstaff. Only 29 passengers were identified and returned home.

 

Back in the late 1800s it seems that everyone in Arizona was mining copper. It surprised me to find out that mining was happening inside the Grand Canyon, 3000' below the the rim. This mine was reached by a 3 mile trail, still in use today by hikers. In order to bring the ore up, they used mules to haul 200 pound loads to the canyon rim. While I was visiting here, the temperatures were in the low 90s and there were signs warning of excessive heat. Inside the canyon, things heat up and temperatures over 110 were predicted during the daytime. The hikes down into the canyon are steep and winding. I went down the mine trail for a ways, but at an elevation of 7000', I didn't want to be on that trail for long.

The Colorado River cuts through the canyon about a mile down.

On the road leading into the park, you're likely to see elk grazing along the road. The first morning I went in, I was able to catch a lazy one who was apparently not hungry.

And this little guy was wandering across the street from my camp site the other day.

And the rest of the photos are just shots of the Canyon.  This Park is so massive there is no way to see the entire thing in one or two days.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch Tower, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

 

Perched near the east edge of the Grand Canyon is a 70' tall tower made of local stone. It was built in the 1930s in the style of Indian pueblos, kivas and other dwellings of the southwest. It contains four stories, with a winding staircase on the inside walls.

 

 

The tower is decorated with various recreated petroglyphs and pictographs, wall paintings, all recreated from Indian dwellings. The tower was designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, who also designed another building in the Grand Canyon National Park.

 

The ceiling on the top floor has many reproductions of paintings and other Indian-like drawings and can be seen from the bottom floors.

 

 

A few chairs that were made from natural products, wood and animal hides, were inside the structure, with strict signs not to sit in them.

 

It was a wonderful structure and a great view of the Grand Canyon from inside. This National Park takes days to explore, if you want to see the highlights.