This message is from: pedfjo...@aol.com
In a message dated 9/27/2009 3:57:36 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
owner-fjordhorse-dig...@angus.mystery.com writes:
>
> Lisa, your trip report is very interesting, a fun read. You shared a
> little
> bit of American history with your friend's sheep ranch visit and the old
> buildings they have. It doesn't sound like the climate's too great there
> though. I'm looking forward to part 3.
>
>
>
>
Linda and list,
Our weather is great here Linda ! 4 nice seperate seasons. A blast of hot
in the Aug. Sep. months, a big chill in Jan and Feb. Otherwise beautiful
long springs and fall, which we are enjoying right now. Warm days, cold nights.
Its supposed to drop almost 30+ degrees between Tues and Wed. this week, so
for sure we are headed up to get firewood on Tues.
Part 3.
Another trip up to the ranch in Straight Canyon, this time to spend the
night. Laura went riding on one of the ranch horses, Colton and had a good ride
dispite the hills and creeks they jumped. A far cry from her WI flat, but
Laura is a brave rider. Spent the night chit chatting and star gazing at the
Milky Way and a zillion stars with a fire in the wood stove. We headed out
with Catherine the next morning for the jaunt down North Fork Road to the
back gate of Zion National Park. This entrance brings you to the upper part of
the park and as you travel down to the valley floor, the climate and
terraine changes are amazing. You go from huge sandstone " checkerboard "
mesa's
and desert look to deep water filled valleys, dripping moss and tropical
flowers and wildlife.
Before the first tunnel there is a spot that we stopped and hiked down some
slick rock to a dry creek bed. Being a total petroglyph nut, it is one of
my favorite spots on earth. I had a great friend ( Celia died a few years ago
now ) who turned me onto all of the rock art in the area, and we used to
make day trips out of finding known and unknown ( the best ones ) glyphs
around where we live. We also did some artwork, just for fun, entered a judged
contest, then had a booth at the Native American Art Festival with some of our
rock art stones, gourds, pottery, jewelry ect. Did so well that we started
showing some of our pieces in local gallerys and shops.
Once, while in Springdale, just outside of Zion NP, we were visiting the
crystal shop there. Celia mentioned to the owner that we had sold some stuff
in the Manzanita Trading Co. with our rock art designs.The crazy lady crystal
shop owner started telling us about the huge panels of petroglyphs inside
of Zion. NO WAY. It is pretty well known that the park was not visited much
by the ancient Anasazi or Fremont people. It is thought that they only
entered the park on special occasions, and the Hopi and Navajo people now,
think
it was because it was " too beautiful for man, and must be for their
ceremonys " only, sort of like today. Regardless, there are no glyphs mentioned
in
99 % of my rock art book collection and only in passing in 2 others. Even
Casiltons 2 huge volumes of every squiggle in the State does not detail it. The
NPS rangers will look at you like you are stupid, none of the shuttle
drivers will talk about it......shhhhhhh ! Big no no. Well....
SO. I listened with only 1/2 of an ear to her rantings about directions to
see these 2 panels of rock art. Oh yeah, ok, see ya crazy crystal lady,
whatever. Only after some prodding by my friend, did we try and find it the
following spring. Not sure why I remembered so well her explanations about "
park where there is a pull out with a tiny sign, " NO BUS's " ....hike down to
the creek bed, Rurn RIGHT, keep going back under the highway. Go through a
tunnel, stay RIGHT when it forks......climb over the fallen log.....look to
the LEFT, Heavy brush....blah blah. "
Guess what ? The crazy crystal lady was right. 2 amazing panels of
petroglyphs are located at the bottom of a huge red rock below eye level behind
some
scrub oak and maples. There are shamen, big horn sheep followed by rare
dogs, space age looking weird things with feelers, snakes, humpback men with
backpacks on.....lots of unusual etchings on 2 large panels.
Laura, Catherine and I spent about an hour looking at the glyphs, taking
pictures. The leaves were just thinking about changing and spots of red and
orange were starting to peek.
Back into the lower part of the park, Catherine saw black rain clouds, so
headed back to her ranch. Laura and I hiked a bit down the River Walk towards
the Narrows. Very few people left in the park after Labor day and esp. at
7-8 PM, made it seem almost a private tour. We hit a few of the book and gift
shops inside of the park, and watched deer grazing on the lawn of the old
Lodge there. Wild turkeys were all over and as the sun sets early inside of
Zion, and the light bounces off of the huge red cliffs, making it a beautiful
way to end the day. Of course, as we drove out of the park on the main
entrance this time, we had to stop at " Oscars " for the worlds best Blue
Cheese
Bacon Burger and sweet potatoe frys. No time for the IMAX movie,
" Treasure Of The Gods " about Zion, or even to visit another favorite spot
of mine, the Grafon Cemetary just outside of Rockville.
Remember the movie, " Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid " ? Filmed there,
it is the old pioneer town of Grafton with its unreal views of Zion. The old
social hall and church there are one of the most painted and photographed
places in the old West, but you have to know where to turn off the road to
find it. We like to keep these spots secret here, hee hee, but with over 2
million people visiting Zion NP every year, I can see why they dont want
mainstream visitors ( or vandalism ) to visit the unprotected site.
The cemetary there is filled with old adobe gravestones, tiny marble baby
graves, interesting pioneers and assorted characters. Lots of men with their
wife(s) <g>
lined up next to them. 2 little girls who died together, best friends,
together in a single grave. " Cedar Pete " an Indian who had befriended the
settlers and helped do trading, healing, and mending alot of fences along the
way, is buried there, along with his pony who they killed and placed
alongside. My book on Grafton shows a photograph with over 200 Native American
riders
on their horses lineing the hill tops when they buried him in a white mans
cemetary, unheard of before then. They traveled as far away as SLC to attend
this important Indians funeral.
A rickety pine fence surrounds a tall white marble marker with 3 sides
having ornate writing. " KILLED BY INDIANS " it says, the Berry party, 2
brothers and one of their wifes, only in their early 20's, overtaken in their
wagon
not far from Grafton, by local Navajo, who robbed and killed them and
pushed the wagon over a cliff, 1860 something. Anyway.
Another visit for another day.
Part 4 for the very bored later.
Lisa
Important FjordHorse List Links:
Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e
FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
