Continued from the previous page.
PETROGLYPH CANYON AKA MOUSE'S TANK
After hiking the
White Domes Trail loop, I went back south on White Domes Rd. and stopped at
Petroglyph Canyon. That was the first of two places where I saw
numerous petroglyphs today.
By late morning, I
encountered more people on this trail than the first two. They were
spread out enough, however, that I was able to take most of my photos
without any people in them. The next picture is at the beginning of the
oath, where the pavement ends and soft sand begins:
Instead of the variety of pastel hues in the rocks along the White Domes
Trail, most of the rock formations and walls in this canyon are red or
reddish orange and many of them have some dark "desert varnish" on
them:
The canyon has a second name -- Mouse's Tank
-- that recognizes an outlaw named Mouse who used the area for a
hideout in the 1890s.
The "tank" is a natural basin in a slot canyon at the end of the
developed trail, about 4/10ths mile from the road. Water collects there after
rainfalls. In the Mojave Desert, water is a precious commodity so people
and animals tend to live near any source of water they can find.
I could see some water in the rank today but it wouldn't be real easy to
reach:
I was more fascinated by the prehistoric petroglyphs I saw all
along the canyon on the walls to the north (left, outbound).
Various tribes from
the Basket Maker People to Anasazi Pueblo farmers lived in this area
from approximately 300 B.C.E. to 1150 C.E. Paiutes were living here when
the Mormons settled nearby in 1865. You can read a lot more about the
history of Valley of Fire at this
link on the park's official website.
Excellent examples of rock
art left by the Basket Makers from 2,500 years ago can be seen in this
canyon. They scratched out numerous pictures in the large splotches of dark
slate blue or black colors called "desert varnish" on the tan and
reddish walls:
I used extra saturation and contrast when editing
this group of petroglyphs so
they can be seen better in this entry; the colors
are more faded in person.
It's a miracle that
so many of the pictures are still visible.
Some of the petroglyphs
along this path have obviously disappeared over the years
either because the varnish has worn off (weathering) or pieces of rock
have fallen off the walls, such as in the next two pictures.
I marked
the petroglyphs with a little red dot in the first picture and show a
close-up of some of them in the second photo:
I was on high alert
during this hike because I didn't want to miss any petroglyphs! I had to
go very slowly and keep looking up to find the pictures but I think I
found all of the ones visible from the trail on the way in. I double-checked
coming back out and didn't see any more from that direction.
I didn't use binoculars. I did take high-resolution photos (57.7M)
that I could enlarge in great detail while editing on my computer, and
found even more petroglyphs in that process than I did with my naked
eyes during the hike.
I can't show all of
them here so I'm presenting some of the most interesting rock formations
and rock art. Not all of the formations shown here have rock art on
them.
Above and below: I showed two more photos of
this petroglyph grouping at the top of this entry. I put
a red dot above the varnish; the man looking
up at the rock art gives the formation some perspective.
I didn't see any petroglyphs on the rocks to the
right (above) . . .
but there are some on the formation to the left
(below).
Side of the formation facing the trail
The petroglyphs on that formation are higher up than some of the
others so I had to zoom in on them. They are also more weathered than
other clusters of rock art in this canyon.
Note the tiny hands at the top right in the picture above. A board at
the trailhead that has possible meanings for some of the symbols
indicates hands mean either a personal signature -- or death.
Here are a few more pictures from several other groups of petroglyphs
along this trail:
This one has several animals on the side and top,
most likely bighorn sheep.
It is significantly harder to find the petroglyphs in this
canyon than at Atlatl Rock, which has a large wall covered with numerous pictures.
If you have very limited time in the park and can go to only one of the
petroglyph sites, I'd recommend going to Atlatl Rock instead of Petroglyph
Canyon.
With more time, do both sites.
Hunting the petroglyphs in this canyon was fun! Kids would love it, too, especially
if they're competitive with each other and want to find the most petroglyphs.
I mentioned to one couple that for all I knew, I was looking at
more recent graffiti but they said no, they'd been on a guided tour of
the canyon previously and what I was looking at was the real deal.
That's good to know.
Here are some other
photos from this interesting trail:
Two people are climbing the rocks, lower right.
Brittlebush
Curiosity
Above and below: This spot near the end of
the trail
looks almost haunted with several skull-like rocks.
One of many arches and windows I noticed in the park
today; this one is near the trailhead.
The trail through this canyon was all deep sand and slow-going. I went
through a lot of soft sand in the first two trails, also. The sand is sometimes
almost white, sometimes more pink or orange, depending on the types of
nearby rocks. Very cool.
I recorded 1.05 miles at Mouse's Tank, which included exploring a
slot running off the main trail. This trail has less than 100 feet of
total elevation gain and loss.
I wonder if Mouse
ever noticed the petroglyphs?
VISITOR CENTER
I continued south on White Domes Road and descended the long hill to the
visitor center, which was open by now. The building is set against the
base of a long ridge of red rock that would be fun to explore if someone
has time:
I wandered through the displays and checked out the small gift shop,
which has books, postcards, and souvenirs for sale.
I was hoping for a cool "fire wave" design on a shirt but was disappointed
they didn't have anything like that.
Windows face south across the valley toward a long ridge of gray
mountains called the Muddy Mountains that are composed of the oldest exposed rocks in
the Valley of Fire.
Interpretive panels in the visitor center say that fossils of ancient
plants and animals in these rocks place them in the Paleozoic Era between 250-550
million years ago:
.
Water covered this whole area starting about 600 million years ago.
The gray rocks are primarily composed of limestone and dolomite from the
remains of all the plants and animals that once lived in that warm,
shallow sea. Deposits were laid down over several hundred million years.
The red rocks in the park are younger, laid down in the Mesozoic Era between
66-250 million years ago.
VALLEY OF FIRE, EAST: ELEPHANT ROCK
After leaving the visitor center I continued a short distance south to
the end of White Domes Road and turned left on Valley of Fire Road/SR
169.
Then I drove several miles through the park to the east gate, which I
marked with a red dot on the second picture below, and parked at the Elephant Rock
trailhead just inside the gate:
There are restrooms, a large stone shelter, and interpretive panels at
this parking area.
I hiked a short distance over rolling terrain to Elephant Rock, not
knowing you can see it right from the road until I was driving back past it
and on the wrong side of the car to take a picture. There is no parking
along the road in front of the elephant and signs warn drivers not to
park there.
Above and below: trail to Elephant Rock
There are several caves and niches along the trail.
The "elephant" formation at an angle (under red dot
in picture above; a closer shot below)
There are better perspectives than this but I didn't realize it at the
time. You can see other angles that look more like an elephant if you do
an internet search for "elephant rock nevada."
STONE CCC CABINS
On the way back west I turned off on a short paved road to three tiny stone cabins
built by the CCC in the 1930s to house travelers on the Arrowhead Trail,
which used to run through the park between Salt Lake City and Los
Angeles:
Westbound on Valley of Fire Rd. from the east gate
Narrow road to the cabins; there are restrooms and
a shelter here, too.
The cabins blend in so well with the rocks because
they are made from the same kind of rock!
Above and below: There are two buildings with three separate spaces
inside.
View past the cabins
The cabins are no longer used but they are historically significant
-- and photogenic.
As I continued west
on Valley of Fire Road
I took photos of the Seven Sisters -- a line of seven big red
rocks -- as I drove past them . . .
. . . then I headed for the Scenic Loop Rd.
Continued on the next (and final) page: more petroglyphs
at Atlatl Rock, scenes from two campgrounds, and views of arches and
other interesting rock formations
Happy trails,
Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil,
Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup
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© 2016 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil