Day 3

Legacy Inn and RV Resort Price, Utah

We were at the Price Jeep dealer at 8 am. There we were met by kind people and excellent customer service. By 9 am, the oil change had been completed. The front axle seal on the driver’s side needed to be replaced and the dealer decided that they would prefer to replace both seals, under warranty! The Jeep also needs new rear brakes. Initially, they asked us to return next Monday for our repairs to be completed, but when they learned that we were traveling, they agreed to get us in tomorrow! They also wanted us to be able to use the Jeep today. So we are to return tomorrow at 9 am.

What a gift!! Now we had the whole day to enjoy! By 9:30 this morning we had our picnic packed and we were on our way to explore Nine Mile Canyon. When we were there earlier this week, we had no idea what riches were hidden on the rock-faces in this beautiful canyon! Today we were in search of petroglyphs and pictographs, ancient artwork spanning the last 8,000 years of human existence. That this artwork has survived is nothing short of miraculous. The rock panels that were chosen by the Native American people needed to be soft enough to carve…that they were also hard enough to last the ages is amazing! Of course, there are many places where more recent generations have vandalized these sites. I suppose that this is part of the story.

Today was a glorious fall day with a chill in the air and a brilliant blue sky. The sunshine was warm as we hiked the short distances to see the art.

There were lots of remnants of ranches and other small cabins.

First Site is one of the few marked sites. I think that this is purposeful. If the sites are unmarked…and as we found out…difficult to find, then they are better protected from graffiti. The artwork at First Site is thought to have been created by both the Fremont Culture and the Ute Indians. Much of the art depicts bighorn sheep, buffalo,and deer. The bighorn sheep and the buffalo no longer live here.

We continued to follow some rather rudimentary directions to find more petroglyphs along the road.

This cowboy must have been a later addition.

This canyon is composed of layers and layers of rock. I had thought of it kind of like a Smith Island Cake…but these layers represent the measure of time…eons really!

This bull was in the road…we waited for him to be ready to cross.

The Great Hunt site is the most recognized of all of the rock art in Utah. Scholars believe that this panel represents a bighorn sheep hunt. Biologists though, believe that this is a picture of the late autumn mating season…because this is the only time of the year that rams, ewes, and lambs are all together and all 3 groups are seen in the carving.

We stopped in Daddy Canyon for our picnic lunch. This place was a neat surprise…a treasure trove of ancient art. We hiked about 1/2 mile around the canyon checking all of the rock-faces for pictures.

I am thinking that his house might be more recent work.

One of the few pictographs we saw. Pictographs were painted art. The paint was made from pigment in plants or rocks and mixed with animal fat or sap.

A lizard.

I know that I took a lot of pictures today…but I just loved it here!

The Balanced Rock of Nine Mile Canyon.

We stopped at the post office and the carwash. We got back to the RV and paid bills and posted the blog…such a productive and wonderful day!

As I was working on the blog this evening and listening to music…the Zac Brown Band song “Just as Free” played…Tim and I have never been this free. The business and children and working took lots of our time and energy. It was what we needed to do when we needed to be doing it…but now it feels like our turn. The boys are good, the grandchildren are happy and thriving, my mom is young and spry, we are healthy, and we are having the time of our lives! Every single day we are thankful for this chance to be free…