Mystery at Horseshoe Canyon

[Berzerker]

I'd like to take you on a journey, one I may not be able to continue but for the more adventuresome out there, the mystery awaits... As I-70 runs through eastern Utah northwest of Moab there lies a small town called Green River named for the nearby river.

The Green and Colorado Rivers meet further south about 70 miles in Canyonlands Nat'l Park southwest of Moab... Its a desolate yet beautiful land, twisting canyons inspired the naming of this section of the park called "The Maze" for its labyrinth-like structures of red rock lined canyons - dont go there without telling others, and go prepared. I wasn't prepared almost 30 years ago, but I lucked out.

Actually I turned back from entering the Maze, I came to a very long, very steep dirt and rock road and as I started down it with my Toyota pick up, I quickly realized my 2 wheel drive vehicle would not make it out and I'd be stranded - and dead. So I put it in reverse and after depositing a little rubber on the rock I fortunately pulled back away from my impending demise.

I wanted to visit the Maze but being denied by the harsh terrain and that enormous incline I turned around heading back north past the ranger's station to my other destination which I had passed by on the way down from Green River - Horseshoe Canyon and some the country's finest rock art - The Great Gallery. I had this dream of visiting the place for years, the rock art was featured on the back of a book I had on North American geology. I think the book was titled "Making of the Continent", I probably have it lying around here somewhere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Canyon_(Utah)

I did eventually see the Great Gallery, but the mystery I discovered was located to its north within walking distance of the dirt road leading to Green River. I pulled off the road into the sand that had been piled up by the grader and as I got out of my truck a horny toad I had disturbed was peaking out at me. I apologized for running him over, but he seemed to take it all in stride, the sand cushioned the blow for him.

I dont know why I chose that spot, just dumb luck I guess. As I started to explore I could hear rattlesnakes everywhere, the rattling seemed to come at me from every direction but up. I walked down from the road and came upon a strange rock formation. It was maybe 4 ft high and elongated kinda like the top half of a football about 15-20 ft long.

I noticed a series of ridges in the rock and the surrounding floor, they were lines and they ran everywhere in circular formations, but they seemed to focus on this rock and a bunch of these raised ridges measuring in millimeters met at a hole that was punched or drilled thru the top of the rock. As I peered thru the hole it was aimed just above the horizon to the southeast.

I concluded this was not happenstance, I was looking thru a sight hole someone made long ago for observing the rising of some celestial object. This naturally got my attention, so I began wandering about the site. I soon found on the rock floor a depiction of a 'human' skull in turquoise. The mouth was open wide giving the impression of a split between it and the rest of the skull.

This confirmed for me people had been there and they were responsible for the strange lines and sight hole in the rock formation. I still have pictures of the site somewhere, I showed the skull to an archaeologist at the University of Kansas. He asked me what I thought of it and I told him it was the skull of creation - a common theme in mythology is the splitting of a being or head to form heaven and earth and that was the impression I got looking at it.

Anyway, I said hello to a baby rattler that was making a fuss at my presence and I continued exploring. Oh yeah, now I remember why I pulled off the road. A bit further down (south) the road heading to the rangers' station and another road leading to the west (actually I should have come in that way, its closer than driving south from Green River) I saw from the road a 'birdman'.

Looked like a carving in stone of a man with wings looking up above the horizon. That was unusual enough to pique my interest so my exploration actually began there. On the way down from Green River I did see just to the west a large depiction of a white bird on a rock wall. Course I got out to investigate, it made me think of the various Indian legends of the great bird occupying a conspicuous role in mythology.

Back to the rock... and the mystery. Running north-south over the rock were two parallel ruts. They were maybe 2-3 inches deep and were located a few feet 'west' of the sight hole and about 2 ft apart from each other. Unfortunately I'm not a trained astronomer much less archaeo-astronomer so I didn't try to line up the sight hole with any obvious objects like the winter solstice, but my guestimate is the hole lined up maybe 50-60 degrees south of an east-west line.

Now here's the mystery - I got out my binoculars and observed the land to the south beyond the rock and what I couldn't see with the naked eye popped out at me immediately. The terrain was different, the two ruts continued on all the way to the horizon. Not the ruts themselves, but the vegetation was different. I could see parallel lines running maybe a 1/2 mile to a mile south heading for Horseshoe Canyon and the Great Gallery.

When I say the vegetation was different, its hard to explain or describe. But the color changed, what was green became interrupted by a lighter color, then some more green, and then another lighter patch. But they were lines, it was not some blurring or blending of colors - they were damn near just as noteworthy as the ruts themselves.

But I couldn't see it without the binoculars... It was as if the terrain had been changed so profoundly plants and shrubs changed color to align themselves with the ruts. What in the hell was I looking at? Was the soil permanently modified from a time long ago, perhaps even 9,000 years? I wish I had notified park archaeologists, the site is definitely deserving of excavation with help from an archaeo-astronomer.

I do hope to return before I pass on from this world... And aside from the animals I'm left taking care of, not much is holding me back now. Its at the top of my bucket list... And I got 4 wheel drive this time! Eh, I didn't need it back then to find this mystery, its only ~50 yards from the only road in the area maybe a mile or so past the entrance to Horseshoe Canyon.

Moab is a strange place, its a haven for bikers, not the motorized ones. People go there to ride bikes all over the rock. Now maybe the visually stunning land was making me hallucinate, but I could see rock carvings galore. The birdman, a giant bison (?) head, somebody even carved a home out of the rock (hole in the rock?) more recently just south of Moab. And of course the natl parks, Island in the Sky overlooking the confluence of Green and Colorado Rivers, Arches Natl Monument (yeah, Indiana Jones).

If anyone is interested in finding this rock I can probably provide a bit more detail, as I recall I passed by the road that branches off to the entrance to Horseshoe Canyon heading south. The road I was on meets another one coming in from the west and 24 maybe 2-5 miles past the site and the ranger's station is a few more miles south of that junction. I'd guess the rock is about a mile or so from the parking area for hikers making the descent into the canyon and the Great Gallery.

 

[Kyriakos]

Reminds me of:

Spoiler :

When a traveller in north central Massachusetts takes the wrong fork at the junction of the Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean’s Corners he comes upon a lonely and curious country. The ground gets higher, and the brier-bordered stone walls press closer and closer against the ruts of the dusty, curving road. The trees of the frequent forest belts seem too large, and the wild weeds, brambles, and grasses attain a luxuriance not often found in settled regions. At the same time the planted fields appear singularly few and barren; while the sparsely scattered houses wear a surprisingly uniform aspect of age, squalor, and dilapidation. Without knowing why, one hesitates to ask directions from the gnarled, solitary figures spied now and then on crumbling doorsteps or on the sloping, rock-strown meadows. Those figures are so silent and furtive that one feels somehow confronted by forbidden things, with which it would be better to have nothing to do. When a rise in the road brings the mountains in view above the deep woods, the feeling of strange uneasiness is increased. The summits are too rounded and symmetrical to give a sense of comfort and naturalness, and sometimes the sky silhouettes with especial clearness the queer circles of tall stone pillars with which most of them are crowned.

Gorges and ravines of problematical depth intersect the way, and the crude wooden bridges always seem of dubious safety. When the road dips again there are stretches of marshland that one instinctively dislikes, and indeed almost fears at evening when unseen whippoorwills chatter and the fireflies come out in abnormal profusion to dance to the raucous, creepily insistent rhythms of stridently piping bull-frogs. The thin, shining line of the Miskatonic’s upper reaches has an oddly serpent-like suggestion as it winds close to the feet of the domed hills among which it rises.

As the hills draw nearer, one heeds their wooded sides more than their stone-crowned tops. Those sides loom up so darkly and precipitously that one wishes they would keep their distance, but there is no road by which to escape them. Across a covered bridge one sees a small village huddled between the stream and the vertical slope of Round Mountain, and wonders at the cluster of rotting gambrel roofs bespeaking an earlier architectural period than that of the neighbouring region. It is not reassuring to see, on a closer glance, that most of the houses are deserted and falling to ruin, and that the broken-steepled church now harbours the one slovenly mercantile establishment of the hamlet. One dreads to trust the tenebrous tunnel of the bridge, yet there is no way to avoid it. Once across, it is hard to prevent the impression of a faint, malign odour about the village street, as of the massed mould and decay of centuries. It is always a relief to get clear of the place, and to follow the narrow road around the base of the hills and across the level country beyond till it rejoins the Aylesbury pike. Afterward one sometimes learns that one has been through Dunwich.

You should physically remove yourself as far as possible from that area. The Old Ones know no mercy

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Back to the rock... and the mystery. Running north-south over the rock were two parallel ruts. They were maybe 2-3 inches deep and were located a few feet 'west' of the sight hole and about 2 ft apart from each other. Unfortunately I'm not a trained astronomer much less archaeo-astronomer so I didn't try to line up the sight hole with any obvious objects like the winter solstice, but my guestimate is the hole lined up maybe 50-60 degrees south of an east-west line.

The winter solstice isn't the only reason ancient people made giant calendars.

Now here's the mystery - I got out my binoculars and observed the land to the south beyond the rock and what I couldn't see with the naked eye popped out at me immediately. The terrain was different, the two ruts continued on all the way to the horizon. Not the ruts themselves, but the vegetation was different. I could see parallel lines running maybe a 1/2 mile to a mile south heading for Horseshoe Canyon and the Great Gallery.

When I say the vegetation was different, its hard to explain or describe. But the color changed, what was green became interrupted by a lighter color, then some more green, and then another lighter patch. But they were lines, it was not some blurring or blending of colors - they were damn near just as noteworthy as the ruts themselves.

But I couldn't see it without the binoculars... It was as if the terrain had been changed so profoundly plants and shrubs changed color to align themselves with the ruts. What in the hell was I looking at? Was the soil permanently modified from a time long ago, perhaps even 9,000 years? I wish I had notified park archaeologists, the site is definitely deserving of excavation with help from an archaeo-astronomer.

Why can't you notify them now? Don't they have email addresses?

Of course it would be reasonable to assume you're not the only person to notice this stuff.

 

[Berzerker]

I wouldn't call this a calendar, not like the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming or Stonehenge. But thats a good idea, I'll look into sending them an email... I'm sure if they dont already know about the site they can find it based on my recollections. Since rangers do have to make seasonal trips out to the station one can spend a couple hours looking for it. That would save me the trip and its illegal for me to do any further research anyway, I think the law allows for removing some windblown sand but not much else. I guess I just wanted to be there when they looked at the site and didn't take advantage of that when I was in the area.

There were a couple of mounds nearby covered by sand and plants that could be related to the rock but I didn't check them out, I knew the law limited what I could do and digging into them would have crossed the line.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I'm glad you realize that disturbing sites and artifacts is not a good thing to do. Archaeologists need to be able to study them in situ, before anything is moved or otherwise disturbed.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'd like to take you on a journey, one I may not be able to continue but for the more adventuresome out there, the mystery awaits... As I-70 runs through eastern Utah northwest of Moab there lies a small town called Green River named for the nearby river.

The Green and Colorado Rivers meet further south about 70 miles in Canyonlands Nat'l Park southwest of Moab... Its a desolate yet beautiful land, twisting canyons inspired the naming of this section of the park called "The Maze" for its labyrinth-like structures of red rock lined canyons - dont go there without telling others, and go prepared. I wasn't prepared almost 30 years ago, but I lucked out.

Actually I turned back from entering the Maze, I came to a very long, very steep dirt and rock road and as I started down it with my Toyota pick up, I quickly realized my 2 wheel drive vehicle would not make it out and I'd be stranded - and dead. So I put it in reverse and after depositing a little rubber on the rock I fortunately pulled back away from my impending demise.

I wanted to visit the Maze but being denied by the harsh terrain and that enormous incline I turned around heading back north past the ranger's station to my other destination which I had passed by on the way down from Green River - Horseshoe Canyon and some the country's finest rock art - The Great Gallery. I had this dream of visiting the place for years, the rock art was featured on the back of a book I had on North American geology. I think the book was titled "Making of the Continent", I probably have it lying around here somewhere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Canyon_(Utah)

I did eventually see the Great Gallery, but the mystery I discovered was located to its north within walking distance of the dirt road leading to Green River. I pulled off the road into the sand that had been piled up by the grader and as I got out of my truck a horny toad I had disturbed was peaking out at me. I apologized for running him over, but he seemed to take it all in stride, the sand cushioned the blow for him.

I dont know why I chose that spot, just dumb luck I guess. As I started to explore I could hear rattlesnakes everywhere, the rattling seemed to come at me from every direction but up. I walked down from the road and came upon a strange rock formation. It was maybe 4 ft high and elongated kinda like the top half of a football about 15-20 ft long.

I noticed a series of ridges in the rock and the surrounding floor, they were lines and they ran everywhere in circular formations, but they seemed to focus on this rock and a bunch of these raised ridges measuring in millimeters met at a hole that was punched or drilled thru the top of the rock. As I peered thru the hole it was aimed just above the horizon to the southeast.

I concluded this was not happenstance, I was looking thru a sight hole someone made long ago for observing the rising of some celestial object. This naturally got my attention, so I began wandering about the site. I soon found on the rock floor a depiction of a 'human' skull in turquoise. The mouth was open wide giving the impression of a split between it and the rest of the skull.

This confirmed for me people had been there and they were responsible for the strange lines and sight hole in the rock formation. I still have pictures of the site somewhere, I showed the skull to an archaeologist at the University of Kansas. He asked me what I thought of it and I told him it was the skull of creation - a common theme in mythology is the splitting of a being or head to form heaven and earth and that was the impression I got looking at it.

Anyway, I said hello to a baby rattler that was making a fuss at my presence and I continued exploring. Oh yeah, now I remember why I pulled off the road. A bit further down (south) the road heading to the rangers' station and another road leading to the west (actually I should have come in that way, its closer than driving south from Green River) I saw from the road a 'birdman'.

Looked like a carving in stone of a man with wings looking up above the horizon. That was unusual enough to pique my interest so my exploration actually began there. On the way down from Green River I did see just to the west a large depiction of a white bird on a rock wall. Course I got out to investigate, it made me think of the various Indian legends of the great bird occupying a conspicuous role in mythology.

Back to the rock... and the mystery. Running north-south over the rock were two parallel ruts. They were maybe 2-3 inches deep and were located a few feet 'west' of the sight hole and about 2 ft apart from each other. Unfortunately I'm not a trained astronomer much less archaeo-astronomer so I didn't try to line up the sight hole with any obvious objects like the winter solstice, but my guestimate is the hole lined up maybe 50-60 degrees south of an east-west line.

Now here's the mystery - I got out my binoculars and observed the land to the south beyond the rock and what I couldn't see with the naked eye popped out at me immediately. The terrain was different, the two ruts continued on all the way to the horizon. Not the ruts themselves, but the vegetation was different. I could see parallel lines running maybe a 1/2 mile to a mile south heading for Horseshoe Canyon and the Great Gallery.

When I say the vegetation was different, its hard to explain or describe. But the color changed, what was green became interrupted by a lighter color, then some more green, and then another lighter patch. But they were lines, it was not some blurring or blending of colors - they were damn near just as noteworthy as the ruts themselves.

But I couldn't see it without the binoculars... It was as if the terrain had been changed so profoundly plants and shrubs changed color to align themselves with the ruts. What in the hell was I looking at? Was the soil permanently modified from a time long ago, perhaps even 9,000 years? I wish I had notified park archaeologists, the site is definitely deserving of excavation with help from an archaeo-astronomer.

I do hope to return before I pass on from this world... And aside from the animals I'm left taking care of, not much is holding me back now. Its at the top of my bucket list... And I got 4 wheel drive this time! Eh, I didn't need it back then to find this mystery, its only ~50 yards from the only road in the area maybe a mile or so past the entrance to Horseshoe Canyon.

Moab is a strange place, its a haven for bikers, not the motorized ones. People go there to ride bikes all over the rock. Now maybe the visually stunning land was making me hallucinate, but I could see rock carvings galore. The birdman, a giant bison (?) head, somebody even carved a home out of the rock (hole in the rock?) more recently just south of Moab. And of course the natl parks, Island in the Sky overlooking the confluence of Green and Colorado Rivers, Arches Natl Monument (yeah, Indiana Jones).

If anyone is interested in finding this rock I can probably provide a bit more detail, as I recall I passed by the road that branches off to the entrance to Horseshoe Canyon heading south. The road I was on meets another one coming in from the west and 24 maybe 2-5 miles past the site and the ranger's station is a few more miles south of that junction. I'd guess the rock is about a mile or so from the parking area for hikers making the descent into the canyon and the Great Gallery.

I tried to follow your directions and find the approximate location on google earth. I ended up looking in the area west of the trailhead to Horseshoe canyon and NW of the great gallery rock art. I would think that what you saw from your rock would also be visible from the air. Lower San Rafael rd seems to be the nearest named road. If I am in the right spot, nothing jumps out to match. Youcan probably refine such a search.

 

[innonimatu]

I also thought of looking at air photos of the area, that different vegetation may show up.

One of the things I regret is not having gone on a cross-continent trip in the US looking into just this kind of landscape, back when the country was still mostly free. It remains tempting, but post patriot act USA has been out of my travel destinations.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I also thought of looking at air photos of the area, that different vegetation may show up.

One of the things I regret is not having gone on a cross-continent trip in the US looking into just this kind of landscape, back when the country was still mostly free. It remains tempting, but post patriot act USA has been out of my travel destinations.

My dad wanted us to go on a trip in that part of the US (among others). Unfortunately, life didn't work out for either of us as we'd planned, and so we never managed it.

And yeah, with that paranoia going on down there, I doubt I'll ever visit the U.S. again. If the border agents ever asked my opinion of Trump, I wouldn't be able to lie with a straight face.

 

[Berzerker]

I'm glad you realize that disturbing sites and artifacts is not a good thing to do. Archaeologists need to be able to study them in situ, before anything is moved or otherwise disturbed.

And they're all over the place out there... I sure didn't want to go sight-seeing only to face federal charges, the parks were well posted about avoiding tampering with archaeological sites. I saw many corn/crop storage structures like round hollowed out piles of stone, hand prints in caves, etc. But I still cant figure out what those ridges are. They were curved (circular) and a few millimeters high. They ran all over the smooth rock floor and onto the rock outcrop with several joining up at the sight hole.

Normally I'd say they were formed by erosion leaving behind a slightly raised more durable rock while the surrounding rock was eaten away by wind and water. Imagine the washboard ruts created by running water shaking the hell out of the front end while driving over them, but smaller. Very strange phenomenon... I'll track down the photos I took and mail the ones of the rock and turquoise skull to the park archaeology office, that will help them find the location. The site may not be within their jurisdiction but they can notify state archaeologists.

I tried to follow your directions and find the approximate location on google earth. I ended up looking in the area west of the trailhead to Horseshoe canyon and NW of the great gallery rock art. I would think that what you saw from your rock would also be visible from the air. Lower San Rafael rd seems to be the nearest named road. If I am in the right spot, nothing jumps out to match. Youcan probably refine such a search.

Yeah, San Rafael comes to mind... I remember crossing a river further north and making friends with an old horse that was living there. Must have gotten away from its owner cuz he was quite tame. I doubt a wild horse would have let me pat him down. We parted as he climbed down into the river by the bridge there and swam off.

But if it was NW of the Great Gallery then the ruts didn't point to that section of the canyon because they were north-south judging by my compass - another reason I figured it was made by people. My 'fear' is driving out there again only to find the change in vegetation not visible. I dont think it would show up from an overhead view, the only reason I saw it was the concentrated depth perception allowed by the binoculars. I did meet a guy who was in the air natl guard as a helicopter crewman in that area and I asked him if he ever saw anything like that, nope, nothing unusual. I haven't tried google Earth, I'd think the rock would show up given its size in relation to the surrounding terrain.

ugh, cant dl the program, wont accommodate my old system (XP). Rat farts...

 

[Birdjaguar]

Yeah, San Rafael comes to mind... I remember crossing a river further north and making friends with an old horse that was living there. Must have gotten away from its owner cuz he was quite tame. I doubt a wild horse would have let me pat him down. We parted as he climbed down into the river by the bridge there and swam off.

But if it was NW of the Great Gallery then the ruts didn't point to that section of the canyon because they were north-south judging by my compass - another reason I figured it was made by people. My 'fear' is driving out there again only to find the change in vegetation not visible. I dont think it would show up from an overhead view, the only reason I saw it was the concentrated depth perception allowed by the binoculars. I did meet a guy who was in the air natl guard as a helicopter crewman in that area and I asked him if he ever saw anything like that, nope, nothing unusual. I haven't tried google Earth, I'd think the rock would show up given its size in relation to the surrounding terrain.

ugh, cant dl the program, wont accommodate my old system (XP). Rat farts...

Yeah XP sucks today. I've taken a google earth screen shot. The great gallery is noted. In the top right corner is the Horseshoe Canyon Trailhead parking. It is hard to see. Near the top left is a small white box with the route number of the nearest main road to the NW. Looking north from the rock art is just rock and sand. There is hardly any vegetation except along the river. If my angle or position is wrong, let me know.

Spoiler :

 

[Berzerker]

Thanks for that... I wasn't too far off on my estimates, funny how memory works - I forget simple things I just had in my head like why I went into a room but I can remember the rock and surroundings with a vivid accuracy. I understand thats how dementia works Memories from deep into the past survive and resurface while short term memories get lost easily.

Not that it matters, but what do you think the white W is between the parking lot and Gallery? Maybe an overlook?

The route number marking the road is very close to the rock. I cant tell from the photo but I remember the road on a southerly trajectory taking a more westerly swing just before the rock, maybe 50-100 yds. I eventually drove down the trail head road toward the parking lot and followed a wash westward sort of paralleling the road between it and the canyon so I could park close to the rock without leaving my truck on the side of the road above, I spent at least one night there and was worried someone might hit my truck if I left it so close to the road.

Unfortunately the resolution may not show the rock, the detail is a bit lacking. The elongated rock itself paralleled the road too. The vegetation was sparse in that area, shrubs etc were spaced apart 5-15 feet probably due to lack of rain - I remember because I was on the constant lookout for snakes. Maybe thats why the binoculars were required for me to see the lines/ruts, the vegetation became more concentrated in my viewer looking south.

As I recall this was during the monsoon season in Arizona (late August?), after leaving the Maze entrance south of the ranger's station I hit a straight patch of road as a storm hit and I just pulled off the road and went to sleep. The higher elevation made the lightning strikes appear to originate so close to the ground I got freaked out and didn't want to risk getting hit while driving.

Seeing that photo makes me want to get back out there again... The birdman was maybe a mile or two from the rock in a southwesterly direction, it too was about 50-100 yards from the road and part of a much larger rock outcropping that might show up on google Earth. Actually there were several larger outcrops, I remember walking around them. I think they were somewhat close to the junction with the road coming in from the west and hwy 24. The ranger's station was maybe 3-5 miles south of that junction and I remember there being quite a bit of vegetation there, even trees - the trees became more numerous heading south to the Maze incline.

I gotta find the photos I took, if I wasn't such a luddite I'd scan and post them here But I do need to mail them to the people out there in charge of archaeological sites. I promised myself I wouldn't let the mystery die with me.

edit: actually if you can track down a google photo I might be able to identify the rock and send the authorities a link to this thread. The rock itself would still be hard to locate going just by my photos but google Earth will show its location better.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I will post another view. the W you see is the map notation from Wiki that says Horsehoe canyon

 

[Birdjaguar]

Two pics. The first is a wider shot of the area around the road. The Great Gallery is in the lower right. The second is a closer view of an interesting outcropping SE of the white road marker in the first pic.

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

 

[timtofly]

That second picture has a few good size foot prints.

I have been to the southern border of Utah, two years in a row, mid 90's. Tried to get to the northern side of the Grand Canyon, but both times in late August, early Sept, high elevation snow was coming down and only 89a was passable. Jacob Lake, Arizona is near the top of an elevated area of green forest jutting like a finger into the dry arid lower elevation area along the border of Utah and Arizona. There were 6+ inches of snow on the ground both times by the time I reached the top.

Sorry rambling there. So never made it further north to use the I 70 route through the Colorado Rockies near Denver. It would probably take several lifetimes to explore all the land area between the mountain ranges of the western US.

 

[Berzerker]

thx... I cant tell where in the 1st photo the outcrop in the 2nd is located but its far too large to be the rock I'm thinking of even though its proximity to the road is similar distance wise, but in the 1st above the white marker the road takes a 90 degree turn northward and then another 90 degree turn back to the west. That kind of reminds me of the turn I originally parked on when walking down to the rock. There's just no way to zoom in on that bend unfortunately.

 

[Birdjaguar]

thx... I cant tell where in the 1st photo the outcrop in the 2nd is located but its far too large to be the rock I'm thinking of even though its proximity to the road is similar distance wise, but in the 1st above the white marker the road takes a 90 degree turn northward and then another 90 degree turn back to the west. That kind of reminds me of the turn I originally parked on when walking down to the rock. There's just no way to zoom in on that bend unfortunately.

The out cropping in the second photo is the dark spot below the number box. It is between 5 & 6 on a clock face circle around the number, It has a road that leads up (north) to San Rafael. Where San Rafael makes its two turns (going west, going north and going west again) if you follow the section that runs north and draw a line extending it south. The dark spot is to the left of that line.

I will explore the area around the 90 degree turn.


More to come.

 

[Birdjaguar]

That second picture has a few good size foot prints.

Yes it does. Bigfoot? or Really Bigfoot?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Ok a couple more images.

The first shows where the outcropping is relative to the the main road. The second shows the area where the road makes its two 90 degree turns. The yellow line shows the direction to the Great Gallery.

 

[Berzerker]

Thanks for your help... I found a map that narrows down its location

http://climb-utah.com/Roost/Maps/HSlocate.jpg

Maximize the magnification and look at the junction (in red) of the trail head road running south and the lower san rafael road (1010) heading southwest. Look just below the junction and you'll see a small blue line. I think thats the wash I followed to park at the rock. The san rafael road crosses that wash just west of the county line, I remember when I followed the wash I was further south of the san rafael road and it gradually brought me back close to the road as I headed west from the trail head road.

Judging by that map its just a little west of the Wayne county line and whatever county is the next one to the west. There's another line (grey) just below the blue line but I think thats an elevation line. I dont remember an actual river or even a stream, it was dry when I was there but it did look like water flowed during rains so I figure that blue line is the wash, but I could be wrong. The distances seem about right and the road does appear to have a slight bend to the west close to where it crosses the wash, so I'd say the rock is just across the county line west of Wayne County and just before where the wash crosses 1010.

I think that map is good enough to locate the rock for archaeologists and the rock was maybe 50 yards south of 1010. That map combined with the actual photos I have of the rock and turquoise skull at the site should be good enough. Unfortunately it doesn't look like google earth will provide the needed resolution. Again, thanks for the help...

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I forget simple things I just had in my head like why I went into a room but I can remember the rock and surroundings with a vivid accuracy. I understand thats how dementia works

People can be in that situation at any age. It doesn't mean a person has dementia, but of course it's one of the symptoms that should be investigated if there are other symptoms besides.

When that happens to me, I just return to the room I left, so my memory is jogged as to why I went to the room in the first place.