Nine Mile Canyon, Utah

This was more than road repair.  The road was missing for over 5 miles. Funny thing is we wouldn't drive the motorhome down a road like this to camp.

You can see the pilot car didn't wait for us.

This volcanic uplift of rocks is known as Fortification Rocks.   It is believed that several American Indian tribes used these formations for fortification before battles.  Today, this area is better known as home to a large number of rattlesnakes.

The 46 Mile drive of Nine Mile Canyon 

Nine Mile Canyon is known as the world's longest art gallery. The canyon is about 46 miles long but became named Nine Mile Canyon when F. M. Bishop on Powell’s expedition to the area did a nine-mile triangulation drawing he named Nine Mile Creek. For rock art enthusiasts, this is an absolute top of the list place to visit. The canyon is home to hundreds of rock art panels, as well as granaries, and other Native American sites. It is an astonishing place to visit.  There are at least an estimated 1,000 rock art sites in the canyon, with more than 10,000 individual images.  The true figures may be ten times as high, but there is no question that rock art is more concentrated here than anywhere else in North America. Much is in the form of pecked petroglyphs, and there are many painted pictographs as well.  Hundreds of pit-houses, rock shelters, and granaries have also been found.

You'll travel approximately 22 miles before you reach "First Site", however the drive through the back country byway is beautiful.

Barney Sawmill Shack

You don't want miss the locations before First Site.

There are pictographs and petroglyphs of both Ute and Fremont era figures.  It is believed most bison figures located in Nine Mile Canyon were created by early Utes who used the canyon as a thoroughfare as they traveled from the Price area to the Uintah Basin.

The Cottonwood Glen picnic site began life in the latter 1800's when the south side of the old cabin was built as part of a ranching homestead.  The North side of the cabin was added sometime in the early 1900's.

Remnants of the old homestead

Johnstun pioneer homestead barn

Long necked petroglyphs

The figure to the upper left has been referred as "Balloon Man" and "The Juggler."

 Balanced Rock 

Coyote Placing the Stars

This petroglyph seems to reflect a story common to Pueblo and Navajo tribes.  The stories relate how the Creator had created the world and was carefully taking the stars out of a bag to create the constellations.  Coyote was watching and when the Creator turned his back, coyote ran up, took the bag and threw the remaining stars in the sky creating the milky way.  This may not be a true representation of the story, however it does seem to fit the petroglyph. 

Hidden away in a short side canyon is the fantastic petroglyph panel of owls which requires a short hike.

A short hike up, these walls were covered.

Granary

Cowboy glyphs

Rasmussen Cave

Probably the most important archaeological site in Nine Mile Canyon.  It is also a really good, bad example of how not to treat prehistoric rock art. 

This was destroyed by the landowner.

The Great Hunt Panel

The Great Hunt panel is one of the most recognizable petroglyph panels.  It has appeared in National Geographic magazine.  This is believed to be an actual bighorn sheep hunt scene in late November or early December when herds meet for the fall mating season.  It is the only time of year when the rams, ewes and lambs are all together in the same place.

This is where we said good-bye to our new friend, Melissa.  We enjoyed spending the day with her while searching out the petroglyphs.

Dinner at Sherald's Drive-In

Rock Asphalt Mining 1890-1898

Whitmore Canyon

We rarely see buckets still hanging on tramways

As we rounded the corner we were so surprised to see 8 buckets.

Someone house out in the middle of nowhere.

Dry Canyon Road

The hills have eyes

Wild horses on Cotton Ridge

Bummer, our map showed this went through.  Guess we are going the long way back.

Granary

McDonalds may have Golden Arches but Price Walmart has a rainbow.

Today is Stewardship Day in the Canyon

They had a few venders and archaeologists on hand to answer any questions.

We met Ed & Janice Helmick with Absolutely Yellow Jeep, authors of Discover Nine Mile Canyon and San Rafael Swell Off Road books.  We bought one of each because our next stop is San Rafael Swell.

Dave throwing a dart (arrow) using an atlatl.

In 1886 the US 9th Cavalry Troop, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers, was assigned the responsibility for improving the trail through Nine Mile Canyon and Gate Canyon to serve as a wagon road.  This was the best route for bringing supplies from the railroad in Price to Fort Duchesne.

Army Log cabin

Military Telegraph office

Pioneer inscriptions on canyon walls

Gave this little guy some of my lunch so he would leave me alone.

Explorer - Trapper

We spent at least an hour here.  Somewhere close to this panel is another petroglyph called Santa Claus.  We have often seen petroglyphs that we thought looked like Santa and his reindeer so we wanted to see this one.  It was hot and after an hour we decided to move on.

Hideout from across the roadway

Remains of a Fremont Pit House

A trail leads you up to the hideout

Sometime in June they had a flash flood at the East end of the canyon.

Big Buffalo Site with the largest buffalo petroglyph.

Continuing along the trail to the left from Big Buffalo you will find another rock art panel which includes a pregnant buffalo. 

We decided to go back and look for the Santa Claus petroglyph one last time.

I found it.  We just weren't looking high enough. 

Santa Claus and his reindeer.  If this isn't proof that Santa is real I don't know what is.

Daddy Canyon is a great place to spend a little time.  The site contains a trail that will lead you along the cliff faces that contain both Fremont and Ute era rock art.