Santa Clara River Reserve, Utah
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Anasazi Ridge Petroglyphs Santa Clara River Reserve, Utah |
October 19, 2015
Gary and I are on a whirlwind five-day hiking tour of some less
well-publicized places, including two petroglyph sites that I
didn't even know about until just three days ago. One is a
tiny little park within the St. George city limits.
Bloomington Petroglyph Park is comprised of just two big rocks
A few miles west of town on Old Highway-91, we pass by the Jacob Hamblin Home, to which I referred on last year's trek to Coyote Gulch (Hike #235). A principal attraction over there was Jacob Hamblin Arch. Our next destination is three miles farther north.
Last night, we watched a great lightning storm from the deck of a friend's home in nearby Mesquite, Nevada. One result of that squall is a muddy parking lot at this trailhead.
Our dirty shoes will be left on top of the car to dry
Sandstone mud seems not to be particularly sticky, though; it's a lot easier to deal with than the treacherous red clay that dominates the Sierra foothills and other places.
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Starting up the trail
I like this no-nonsense admonishment not to cut the switchbacks
Atop the first rise is an interesting archeological site:
Rocks mark the outline of one of the rooms
The lighting is good this morning
A few more switchbacks, designed to accommodate walkers of all ages and abilities, get us to the top of a basalt cliff where the goodies are.
Cliff-top artwork
Immediately we spot an ornate glyph that is so unlike the others that it clearly is a fake, but I'll not validate that abomination by displaying it here.
There is artwork all over the place; and I know from experience that many of the best panels will be located not at the top, but down on the cliff face itself. It is easy enough to scramble down about fifteen feet and traverse the steep slope.
Yep. All the best pics are down here
An Anasazi, or an alien?
Excepting my beloved Lagomarsino Canyon, this is the most extensive site that I have visited.
Near the southern end of the 'library' is one of the finest panels I ever have seen:
This is why I go hiking
Searching for more glyphs...
There they are
The suburbs of St. George are but a few miles away
Is that a scorpion on the right?
Opting for a back way down the mountain enables us to visit with the resident caretaker:
Jack, what big ears you have!
§: Superlative petroglyph-viewing doesn't get any easier than
on this trail. As always is the case in southern Utah, however,
do plan any trip so as to avoid the debilitating heat of summer.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Solitude | |
| Petroglyphs |  |
