Settler's Cove Petroglyphs

Continuing our search for petroglyphs in the cliffs above our RV at Settler's Cove outside of Kanab, I have made several hikes up the steep rocky hillside to find and document what was there. I have been amazed by what we found; at least six sites of petroglyphs.  At Settler's Cove, there are three distinct levels of sandstone cliffs, the lowest level being dark red, the middle a pinkish, and the top a white. All of the petroglyph sites are in the middle pink range of cliffs on the south facing side of the cove.

Shown below are the petroglyph sites found. The majority of the pottery and arrowheads we have observed are at the lowest level of the hillside at the western end.

August 5-8

Monday, August 5

After our shift on Monday, Sheila, the restaurant manager, had a birthday party for Fred since we'll be off on the actual day.  Everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' before enjoying her homemade peach-raspberry cobbler with ice cream.  The kitchen staff's present was a take-out box of their signature bread pudding.

Clear skies and calm winds enticed us to return to the Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Tracksite in the late afternoon.  Even with GPS co-ordinates, some tracks were difficult to locate and to identify with certainty.   Although we enjoyed the challenge, it felt good to cross that item off the to-do list. 

 Four-toed track of  prosauropod

(20-25' long, four-legged, long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur)

 

 

Three-toed track of  Grallator

(6-9' long, meat-eating dinosaur)

 



The wash is a downward-sloping u-shaped sandstone channel of sandstone that pushes wind in the upstream direction.  As we walked to the Jeep, we heard a sustained roar growing louder and louder behind us.  When we turned around, a dense cloud of sand was sweeping up the wash toward us.  Fortunately, we were high enough on the sides not to be engulfed.

Moccasin Dinosaur Tracksite,

looking downstream toward Arizona

Tuesday, August 6

Deciding to hike in Zion was easy; deciding between Many Pools and Cockeye Falls was harder.  Since Many Pools was the shorter trail, we had time to find the trailhead for Cockeye Falls first.  The description mentioned Hidden Garden slot canyon, only 3/10 mile from the parking pull-out--too tantalizing to pass up!  Hidden Garden isn't particularly narrow (until the absolute end), colorful or twisty but climbing over and around numerous rockfalls is just plain fun!  Visitors earlier in the summer would have seen solomon's seal, coral bells, violets, Oregon grape, ferns, rock mat and Rocky Mountain plantain.  Cockeye Trail remains on the to-do list but has been postponed until cooler weather.

 

Entrance to Hidden Garden is behind that tall Ponderosa Pine

 

 

 End of Hidden Garden slot canyon 

 

Retracing our way through the short tunnel then less than a mile east for Many Pools, we saw a juvenile or female bighorn sheep standing on a narrow shoulder at a sharp bend in the road.  The creature was so still and uniformly gray, it could have been a life-sized scultpture!  We stopped at the pull-over a few yards further on, got out of the car* and saw the rest of the herd, including the large ram-in-charge.  (*You see a lot more if you leave your vehicle.  The drive-thru works perfectly well at McDonald's but no one brings the sights and experiences to you in national parks.)

 

 

The Many Pools route ascends a slickrock wash in a wide sandstone canyon where desert 'tanks' have been carved into the soft stone by eons of rushing rainwater and snowmelt.  From above, the dozens of pools, ranging in size from puddles to hot-tubs, must look like a connect-the-dots puzzle. 
 

 

About ten minutes into the hike, a group of bighorn sheep ran up a small hill to our left.  They watched us as closely as we watched them but they lost interest before we did.  A frisky young male tried to mount several of his companions, who quickly sidled away from him.  Two large males with impressive horns joined the herd and monitored junior's behavior.  I was surprised that he continued his amorous pursuits in their presence and expected to see a mature male challenge him.  Evidently, he wasn't a threat the elders took seriously and the group slowly moved down the canyon.

 

 

 

Hard rains during the past two weeks have completely filled some tanks with sand and deposited debris in the others.  On a hot day like this, a pool of clear water to cool off hot tootsies would be welcome; greenish-brown water dotted with soggy leaves, pine cones, twigs and mud just wasn't appealing. 

 

We had a shady lunch inside the alcove before scrambling above it to a series of long, narrow pools creating the thin, constant sheen of water on the left side of alcove's opening.  Bushwacking beyond this point, reported to be difficult, leads to Deer Trap Mountain Trail.  We turned around and returned the way we came.

 

 

 

The tree in the center was our turn-around point.

 

 



 

View up the Many Pools wash

 

We wanted to stop at Zion's visitor center but were unable to because both the regular parking lot and the overflow area were full; drivers cruised the aisles following people who looked like they might be leaving.  Springdale, Zion's gateway town, was bursting with tourists as well. 

 

A night in St. George allowed us some of life's little luxuries:  a large, cool motel room with two comfy beds, a big shower and a TV that showed local news.  For his birthday observance, Fred selected Don Pedro's, a favorite Mexican restaurant, and 'World War Z.'   Neither the meal or the movie lived up to expectations but we enjoyed our night out on the town.

 

 

 

Wednesday, August 7

 

 

Past experience taught us to be on Anasazi Ridge, outside Santa Clara, before sun and heat made the long uphill trek uncomfortable and photographing the petroglyphs impossible.  We stayed about two hours, until the sun rose high enough to cast glare on rock surfaces. 

 

 St. George's Red Hills from Anasazi Ridge

 

Petroglyph Panel

 Another petroglyph panel

 



Intrepid petroglyph hunter

 



Another sort of rock art

 

Mother Nature sculpted this eagle





 

After dinner at home, we went into town for an outdoor concert by the Symphony of the Canyons.  The weather was lovely and the music entertaining.  Free ice cream and cookies!  A nice change of pace and a bit of culture--perfect ending to our 'weekend.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navajo Lake Bike Ride

August 2
Day Off #2

The drive to Navajo Lake took little more than an hour.  Because it was chilly and breezy as we unloaded the bikes, we decided to tackle the in-the-woods portion of the route first and let the day warm up before we rode out in the open near the lake.  Great plan except it didn't take into account two important factors:  #1.  the first leg is a steep uphill filled with roots and loose rocks; and #2. Navajo Lake is 9000' above sea level and we're used to Kanab's elevation of 4500'.

At about 3.5 miles, we intersected the Lodge Trail, one we hadn't ridden before, and took it--giving up all the elevation we'd struggled to gain.  It dropped us at the little camp store--well-timed for a rest and a snack.  I knew better than to ask my quads to do any more serious climbing so we took the flat-to-rolling section of the trail for an exhilarating ride.

Navajo Lake Trail Along the Lake

We stopped at Aspen Mirror Lake, a popular fishing spot, for a quick, easy walk.  Our neighbor recommended circling the lake but weaving through the many groups picnicking or fishing along the shore wasn't too appealing.

Red Hollow and Moccasin Mountain

August 1
Day Off #1

A question from our friend Linda led us to research Red Cave and Red Hollow, both near Orderville.  Red Hollow sounded more in line with our limited canyoneering skills so it went on the agenda for this week's days off.  

The directions to the trailhead, less than 40 minutes from Kanab, are straight-forward and the final, unpaved stretch is a short, easy drive.  A half-mile walk up the wash toward the Elkheart Cliffs east of Zion leads to the mouth of the slot and a lot of fun crammed into six-tenths of a mile.  Small puddles remaining from the recent storms marked the halfway point then came several obstacles to climb over, slither around or stem above.  At the next to last blockage, a family of four caught up with us.  The dad grew up in the area and remembered the slot from 30 years ago.  A rope which used to help hikers ascend the 25' dryfall broke years ago and now only a frayed, two-foot long tail hangs from the top.  Exploring mini-slots and tributary washes on the way back to the Jeep was almost as enjoyable as doing the main passage so we vowed  to return to investigate even more of the area.

First Obstacle

 A Little Rock Hopping

Some Squirming

Three Point Contact Required

End of Slot



Small Side Slot Canyon

 



We stopped at Soup Town in Orderville for a wonderful lunch--soup, sandwich and yummy berry pie a la mode--with a side of history.  The building had been the tiny town's general store.  After standing vacant for several decades, half is now the café and the other side is the town's museum.  The waitress recommended Spring Hollow slot canyon, a few miles north on Highway 89, and provided a contact for permission to cross the intervening private property.

The second destination for today was the Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Tracksite near Pink Coral Sands State Park.  Warnings about the road's deep sand and steep slopes are somewhat exaggerated although a high-clearance 4WD vehicle is necessary.  The BLM's brochure isn't as helpful as it could be and we went about a quarter mile in the wrong wash.  By the time we found the right one, the clouds had darkened and the wind turned grains of sand into tiny, stinging missiles.  The walls and floor of the wash are Navajo sandstone, a dangerous place to be when lightning is a possibility.  We decided to postpone looking for the tracks until we had clear weather and better information about the location of the individual tracks.

 

Entrance to Dinosaur Track Protected Area



Transformers (not a movie review)

Wednesday, July 31st

When I drove into the RV park at 10:30 this morning, dark gray smoke was billowing from the transformer atop a telephone pole on the southeastern corner of the property.  911 promised to send the electric company right away.  Before they arrived, a loud noise rocked the RV.  A peek outside revealed our 78-year old neighbor aiming a too-short hose at ten-foot high flames leaping from sagebrush bushes at the base of the pole.  His wife called 911 as I filled a bucket from our site's spigot.  Just then, four electric company trucks pulled up and the men tackled the fire.  They speculated that lightning accompanying the violent weekend storms had damaged the transformer but didn't know what triggered it to blow up today. 

All in all, we're fortunate that the incident occurred while some of us were home because most of the time, all five residents are gone.  And we're lucky that the electric company responded quickly cause the fire department never showed up.

Burned area

(elderly neighbor's RV on left, ours on the right)

 

New transformer



This Ain't Disney World, People!

It has been a deadly week in this area:

-two people were killed and a third injured by a lightning strike at LeFevre overlook on Route 89A about halfway between Kanab and Jacob Lake.

-a hiker died at The Wave, the third fatality there in July.

-a passenger in a Model T was killed and three others were hurt when the vehicle overturned on Route 9 east of Zion National Park.

-a Colorado River guide was evacuated by emergency personnel from a campsite at the bottom of the Grand Canyon after being struck by lightning.  No information is available on his condition.

Model T At Kanab Show

 

After Accident

Above Kanab

Thursday, July 25
Day #3

One nearby trail that we hadn't hiked this summer was the Squaw Trail, winding up the cliff behind Kanab.  It's a 4-mile up-and-back but the ambitious can connect to
Tom's Canyon trail for a longer excursion requiring a shuttle.  From a brief attempt six years ago we surmised an early start would make the ascent more pleasant than that mid-day outing in 2007. The summit gave views of the town and south toward  Arizona, west toward Zion and north to the next step on the Grand Staircase, the White Cliffs.