This rugged terrain of red, orange, and brown is a utopia for hikers, bikers, climbers, and outdoorsmen in general, but one thing to keep at the forefront of your mind is who this land belonged to. We know Moab as a bustling tourist destination. In the 1950's it was a uranium miners' jackpot. In the late 1800's it became a cowboy's open pasture. But the story of this land goes far beyond these last 140 years. Archaeological evidence supports people living in this area for 10,000 years, while Native histories will tell of people occupying this land for time immemorial. While each time period is different, all of them left their mark on the land. Quite literally. From Lava Beds NM in California to Kanab, Utah to Sedona, Arizona to the Four Corners area, petroglyphs (carvings in rock) and pictographs (paintings on rock) are everywhere! Even two thousand years ago, people had the urge to create--whether to say "I was here," tell a story, give direction, or celebrate a rite of passage, no one really knows. But thankfully, in many places, the artwork still stands. All of my life I've been fascinated by ancient artwork, but never in a million years would I have imagined traveling out west and getting to witness the prevalence of these historical fingerprints. On our last day in Moab, the weather did a complete 180. It had been sunny and warm, but before we left a front rolled in, leaving the desert soaked with rain and covered in a slight blanket of slush and snow. It was cold outside, but not cold enough to stay inside all day! Our interest was piqued by a campground brochure titled Moab Area Rock Art Auto Tour, distributed by the Moab Information Center, so we took off in the late afternoon for a scavenger hunt around Moab, searching for native cliff art. To our surprise, most of the artwork could be found on the side of roads. Some of it was protected by low fences in hopes to deter disrespectful vandals from leaving their own marks, but for the most part, it's just "out there." Artwork is usually found on desert varnish. According to the National Parks Service, desert varnish is thin red-to-black coating found on exposed rock surfaces in arid regions. It's predominantly composed of clay minerals, oxides and hydroxides of manganese and/or iron. Bacteria take manganese out of the environment, oxidize it, and cement it onto rock surfaces. (How's that for some fun chemistry?) A complete coat of manganese-rich desert varnish takes thousands of years, so it is rarely found on easily eroded surfaces. When these ancient humans chose this dark desert varnish to draw on, they, likely unknowingly, ensured the survival of their work for centuries to come.
This adventure was one of our favorites during our time in Moab. Getting off the main thoroughfare gave us a little taste of what local life was like, and was a great testament to how much there really is to see and do in the area. We felt blessed to be in the desert after the storm. Rain doesn't come often, but snow in October was certainly unexpected! It was neat to see the waterfalls sliding off the slick rock cliff faces and snow hugging the prickly pear cactuses. Most importantly, I loved living out my childhood dream of finding ancient rock art and sharing the experience with my favorite husband and kids.
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