Mom's Day at Weaver's Cave

Mother's Day is my favorite day. I love seeing my little boys grow up into sturdy, adventurous big boys. I am so lucky that they share my love of exploring (MOST TIMES). Today I got to choose the adventure -- and I had read about Weaver's Cave a while back -- and we tried to hike here in the fall. But it was a cold day, and there was a water hole that we just didn't think we'd get past. So today was the day we'd figure it out.

Hiking into the unknown amazingness that is planet Earth

Cave 1: Spirals

Posers

Called Weaver's Cave because of the unique pictographs inside a series of caves that depict a weaver's art, tools, and designs.

I like this weird thing behind me.

My hearts

So so rad. blankets? shawls?

cool

Not another human soul in sight. My perfect kinda day.

I love these people. They made my day 👌💓

Never stop exploring xoxo

The Clamshell: A local fav

Sometimes I just need to get outside for an hour or two -- after work -- as the sun is setting. JJ and I first tried to find an  elusive waterglyph nearby (FAIL) so instead I headed to a local favorite called The Clamshell.

My adventure buddy for the evening.

Concentric circles (my fav!) and footprint. RAD.

I love this particular glyph -- bc it's a mini waterglyph!!

Do you see the footprint?? :)

Man -- I forgot how cool this place is. If you're in Fredonia, AZ or Kanab, UT -- send me an email and I'll take ya here. LATER dudes. xoxo

New Obsession: Waterglyphs

Double glyph that I found in Kanab, UT

There's a new type of petroglyph that I'm currently obsessed with 😁. These very distinct rock carvings are seen around the Arizona Strip region of the northern Southwest. And here in Kanab where I live, there's a whole bunch of them -- and I'm on a quest to find them all. ALL

So what ARE these glyphs, exactly? The locals call them water glyphs, because often they are found on rock outcroppings at the tops of mesas either pointing to or overlooking a water source. But, after finding a bunch of them, I'm not so sure that they have anything to do with water. I mean, why would Native Americans (research by Michael Louis Terlep in a 2012 thesis concluded that these petroglyphs date between the Basketmaker II and Pueblo II periods - 500 BC-1150 AD) need to carve into a rock to indicate water? Water is either seen easily from the glyph, or nearby and not hard to find.

Stumbled on this one during one of my trail runs 👍

The more proper name for these glyphs are "cup and channel". As noted in Terlep's thesis, "Cup and channel petroglyphs generally consist of several deeply pecked elements: a large circular or oval element measuring 35 cm to 75 cm in diameter; a narrow linear element, measuring from 2 to 5 cm wide, that spans the diameter of the circle; a wider exterior linear element, measuring from 10 cm to 150 cm long, by 6 cm to 10 cm wide, and up to 6 cm deep, continuing from the end of the interior line and circle; and one to four cupules measuring 3 cm to 7 cm in diameter."

Another cool one hangin' off the side of a rock - found on a trail run

The kiddos helped me find this RAD rad rock

I'm excited to find more of these fascinating petroglyphs. Keep following me to how I do :) And, what do YOU think they mean?

Sand Hill Crack: Steep and sandy and rock-arty

Human centipede weirdness

Finding new rock art sites makes me happy. Today my friend Jen (who's just as obsessed w/ rock art -- maybe more -- than me) said she knew of a place that had some amazing panels and thought we could easily hike to them in a winter's day. The sun was shining and getting to the start of the hike took some off-roading (right off highway 89A in AZ) but the trusty jeep easily got us to the remains of an old ranch which is where we started our trek.

Looking through

Starting point

The first mile was pretty chill -- we had loose directions but knew that our ultimate goal was getting to the top of the Vermilion Cliffs -- and by foot there is pretty much only one way directly up: via the sand hill crack. We also knew it would get steep and sandy -- so we looked for an obvious sandy uphill route. Burning glutes. BURN!

trail pooch, andy :)

On the trail (I think?)

We saw the sand hill looming in front of us --- and the crack. The petroglyphs are on the left and right of the crack, inside the crack as you go up, and I think there's probably even some more going down the other side (we didn't get to those on this day --- but I'll be back!)

So enjoy this collection of super rad rock art -- :)

walk like an Egyptian guy

Lizard dude

There were so many different types of drawings here. Many were super faded but totally awesome. Check this out:

These dudes might have been my favorite (besides human centipede :)

Alright -- that's all for now. Onward to the next adventure!
xoxo

Santa Clara River Reserve: My favorite rock art site in southern Utah

Mars Man

One of my FAV rock art sites in southern Utah is super accessible and completely amazing. Every time I visit the Santa Clara River Reserve (in Ivins, UT) I discover more and more art --- and every time I find myself asking "how did I miss this last time?!" :)

foot prints

The name of the trail is the Tempi'po'op Trail (fun to say!!) and is listed as "moderate". Both of my kids (under age 10 when we first hiked this trail) had no trouble at all. It's just over a mile to get to the rock art and once at the top of the trail you will see hundreds of petroglyphs on practically every rock! (looking for directions to the trail head? Click here.)

Harry tagged along with me on my last trip to the glyphs. We had so much fun, climbing up an over rocks, through cracks, and over mountains. I love spending time outside, exploring and finding treasures of the past. We like to make up stories about the drawings -- what they must have been thinking or how the landscape may have looked different.

After our exploration gig, we hit up Menchi's and Costco OBVS :)

I love you, Tempi'po'op! Thanks for another fun day.