HORSESHOE CANYON - JULY 2009

This adventure was undertaken by Greg Grub and Angel Grub in early July, 2009.

After years of reading about it, we finally made the trip into the MAZE area of Canyonlands National Park in hopes of locating the legendary petroglyphs of Horseshoe Canyon. This area is due east of Goblin Valley, about an hour off Hwy 24.

We found ourselves way off the beaten path in the full heat of the desert summer. It was over 107 degrees when we left the car. We took plenty of water and so should you! The photo above shows the entry area of the canyon, which gets deeper and steep on the way to the ancient art.

We followed cairns and cloud shadows through the desert heat, keeping an eye to the cliffsides in search of prehistory. The petroglyphs we were looking for were pre-anasazi, meaning they were drawn by humans in the remote past, from 2,000-4,000 years ago.

Each of the three panels featured in Horseshoe Canyon were phenomenal. Each one contained several dozen figures. I photographed each figure several times. Here I am sharing some of those that really spoke to me.

This image seems to tell of a strange being that visited the tribe in the ancient past, showing the tribe members going out to greet this very unusual person. Does it repesent a shaman? An alien? A spirit? There is something other-worldly or supernatural about that taller, decorated form...

Here is a close-up of what appears to be another mysterious, supernatural being. Again these forms speak to me from moments in dream, from realms just beyond those we normally see. At least this one appears to be happy.

This adventure lasted all day- 4 hours in and 4 hours out. After reaching the canyon floor we only encountered one other person - a young female ranger out making notes on the area. It was extremely hot in July and I'd warn others to wait until cooler weather before making the trip.

Bring sunblock and more water than you think you'll need!

Had there not been partial cloud cover this trip would have been impossible.