Ponderosa Grove Sunset

Last night after I got back from the Wave, I built a fire at my campsite at

the Ponderosa Grove Campground, poured myself a celebratory glass of Merlot, and watched the wind blow in the clouds that created this wonderful sunset. A great way to end my journey to the Wave.

Wave Gallery #1

Well, I made it to the Wave yesterday, and it was just as phenomenal as advertised. Enjoy the pics!

Wave Gallery #2

Wave Gallery #3

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Went down to the BLM office to try my luck in the Wave lottery again today. It was a packed house, with 65 people hoping to get one of the ten permits to the Wave - almost twice as many as yesterday.

The bingo balls went round and round, and the second one out was mine!

So I just sat through an hour-long presentation on how to get in to the Wave and back out again. It's a bit tricky, but they provide permit holders with a secret map that includes 10 photos of key waypoints. It's a pretty good map.

The weather prediction for tomorrow is excellent. I'm going in!!!

Should have known it was my lucky day. Last night at my Ponderosa Grove campground, I was visited by half-a-dozen mule deer. And, just before dawn, the coyotes howled like a chorus of demons. First time I've heard coyotes on this trip.

In Kanab

On Tuesday, I made the drive from Moab to Kanab via I-70 and I-15. It's about an eight-hour drive, very desolate - including one stretch of 106 miles between gas stations - but also very beautiful.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I spent the day getting my bearings. Found the BLM office where they hold the lottery for permits to hike to the Wave, and also set up camp in a really pretty campsite called Ponderosa Grove, about 15 miles from Kanab.

So today I made my first attempt to get a permit to hike to the Wave. They start taking applications at 8:30, and conduct the lottery at 9:00 sharp. This is a big damned deal. Among the aspirants were people from China, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, and various states. But I had a good chance - there were only 33 people in the room, and ten get to go. Unfortunately, the bingo ball didn't bounce my way today. I learned that the record for showing up and not getting to go is 11 straight days, held by someone from South Korea. I hope I'm not the one to bring the record back to the USA.

About time to head to Kanab

Starting to get pretty frosty here in Moab - they're talking about 16 degrees tomorrow night. So I think I'm going to stay here through Monday night, then head down to Kanab Tuesday morning first thing.

Moab Man Revisited

Went back to the fantastic Moab Man site and got some better pictures by the simple expedient of jumping the restraining fence. Don't tell anyone.

An Apparition

Yesterday I hiked up Hidden Valley again to shoot some video. Came across a petroglyph I totally missed the last couple of times. It could be I just overlooked it because it was old and faint. But I like to think it is some kind of magical apparition that only reveals itself to the patient and persistent.

Courthouse Wash

This morning I made the short but tricky scramble to see the pictographs at Courthouse Wash, just on the edge of Moab. I've been here before, and it always depresses me. In 1980, some fool climbed up here with a brush and a can of cleanser, and scrubbed the art right off the wall. It was really magnificent before that. Now, only this little panel remains. It is in the top right corner, and it only survived because he couldn't reach it.

Quality Literature

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I do a lot of reading when I'm camping out. And, as befits a former English major, I read only fiction of the highest literary quality.

Or not. Here's my last bunch. Not a page full of literature in all five books put together, but they were all entertaining.

Highway 313 Petroglyphs

Acting on a local tip backed up by Internet research, today I drove about 10 miles north of Moab, hung a left on 313 - the road to Canyonlands National Park - and managed to find these totally unmarked and well-hidden petroglyphs.

Hidden Valley

Yesterday, I hiked up Hidden Valley again, partly to see if I could find any more petroglyphs, and partly just for the exercise. Didn't find any new rock art, but I did take a couple of scenics.

Note the snow on the La Sal Mountains in the background.

More ghosts from Sego Canyon

Of all the rock art I've seen so far, I think the ghostlike images in Sego Canyon are the most evocative. Here are some that are located across the canyon from the ones I posted before. These are on private property, so you're not supposed to go close enough to get a good picture. But there was no one around...

The Red Ghosts of Sego Canyon

Yesterday I drove about 40 miles north of Moab to see the rock art at remote Sego Canyon. It was fantastic! The art here is pictographs rather than petroglyphs - that is, painted rather than carved.

Experts think these paintings are 2,000 to 4,000 years old.

The best exterior house paint available today lasts what? Fifteen years? So how did these ancient people formulate a paint that has survived exposure to sun and rain for four millennia?

Local Scenery

I feel like I've been focussing on petroglyphs so much I've neglected to show how pretty the country all around Moab really is. So here's a shot I took on my hike up the South fork of Mill Creek.

And here's one I took up Kane Creek Road, near the Birthing Rock. This canyon is so deep and rugged, you would think it must have been carved by the Colorado. But no, it was just little Kane Creek, eight feet wide. The erosive power of water over millions of years of time is awesome.

Potash Road Petroglyphs

Well, today is my birthday, and my present was finding a very nice petroglyph panel on Potash Road. Lots of very nice anthropomorphic figures.

More shots from Birthing Rock

Here are four more images from Birthing Rock.

Birthing Rock

Yesterday, I drove out Kane Creek Road, about six miles west of Moab, to take a look at a remarkable rock art site called Birthing Rock. Here's what it looks like.

And here's why it is called "Birthing Rock."

The rock is about eight feet tall, and just about every flat surface is covered with petroglyphs. Here are a couple more.