Imagine Four-Wheeling with the Ancient Ones (Part I)

A Jeeping into History Lifestyle Story

The sun glared off the Jeep windshield as I tried to negotiate some ugly volcanic rocks in the Nevada desert, just outside Virginia City.  As I could not see the trail all that well (maybe the 2 inches of trail dust on the windshield had something to do with it), my shotgunner had her head hanging out the passenger window, spotting for me.

I was busy feeling the BFG All Terrains tires take turns doing unnatural things on the slippery, lava rocks, when all of a sudden, I heard, “Stop!” from my rider.  Naturally I did; but why is it that whenever your spotter or shotgunner wants you to stop, you are always in the middle of some predicament you would rather not be in?

Because one of the first rules of jeeping is to listen to your spotter, I obeyed and queried as to why I was halted with one tire the air and the Jeep somewhat off camber.  “Look at the rocks next to your front tire,” she politely answered.  Oops.  Not two feet in from my front tires were ancient petroglyphs (rock art).

I had been so busy watching the trail (when I could see through the dust) that I hadn’t noticed I had found what I was looking for but had wandered much too close.  Had I continued on, I might have done damage to the very thing I came to see.  Can you imagine four-wheeling into history with the ancient ones?

When you go wheeling to find the tracks of ancient ones, make sure your Jeep is fully trail ready with survival gear and good tires.

Many modern jeepers today enjoy the fun of backcountry exploring and finding interesting parts of our nation’s history to see.  My running mates love to wheel into old mining sites to explore the remnants of turn-of-the century mankind.  I’ve noticed that rock art also holds a fascination for a lot of my wheeling friends.

Rock art like these petroglyphs lie on the ground in a rock fall that one could easily and accidentally drive over. The protection of our cultural, historical and natural resources should be a first priority with all modern jeepers.

Jeeping with the ancient ones who came before us is an adventure that is not well understood.  In fact, a lot of folks don’t know where to look, or what they’re seeing; but it’s certainly worth checking out as part of our lifestyle in jeeps.  The rocks can tell stories from eras gone by.

The stories told in stone like these rock carvings in Utah, 9-Mile Canyon, truly amaze you.

History Captured in Stone

The etchings mentioned above are now known as petroglyphs – designs carved or etched on the face of rocks. Petroglyphs are only one of three types of writings, or rock art, that our predecessors left for us modern day wheelers to read and enjoy.

Besides petroglyphs, the ancient ones left behind two other forms of rock art: Pictographs, which are paintings on rock; and geoglyphs, which are rock outlines and forms on the ground.  And while you’re at it, you might come across dinosaur tracks or petrified bones.

A pictograph is a painting on the rock, rather than an etching like a petroglyph. Unless protected from the weather, these rock art forms may not last too many centuries.

Many areas of the southwest have formations where dinosaur tracks have been preserved. Please obey all travel and use rules when enjoying our cultural and historic resources.

Nicely for us, many of the greatest archaeological finds (rock art, dinosaur tracks, bones, etc.) are on public lands.  As long we keep those public lands open to the public, we should be able to enjoy these sites for years to come.

History captured in stone can be seen in many places of our great country. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should be one of your first stops for those who explore the West.  The 270 million acres administered by the BLM have been called the “Jurassic Playground.”

If you remember from the famous dinosaur movies, Jurassic is a period of time when dinosaurs roamed the earth.  But you should take the time to explain to your kids that no matter what the movies say dinosaurs and humans did not coexist.  We came after the big guys.  So, when you find dinosaur tracks or bones, and rock art nearby, it doesn’t mean our ancestors were throwing spears at Brontosaurus.

 How Do I Find Rock Art?

Finding rock art is not that hard; but certainly, you can find yourself driving right past it if you don’t know where to look, or how to go about finding secret places that not many folks have visited.  I suggest a five-step process.

1. Do some homework. Check out one of the 300 museums of natural history and science scattered across our great country or visit your library or online search engine.  Find out just a little about who/what existed in the area you explore.  For example, if you were going to visit the historical features around Moab, Utah or Death Valley, California, you would have no trouble finding plenty to read at the county museum or local bookstore.  In fact, the Moab Information Center (Center and Main) hands out a free brochure entitled “Moab Area Rock Art Tour.”

Logically, you would also pick up a good topo map that covers the area you’re going to explore.  Further, it goes without saying that you can do a search of the Internet using key words like “rock art” and “petroglyph.”  You’ll find tons of sites to check out.

Searching for key words like petroglyph will bring up pics of signs and famous panels of rock art. You can then narrow your search with words describing your area of exploring.

2. Contact the land management agency. If you wheel on BLM or US Forest Service lands, you have an automatic contact.  They have resource specialists and interpretive naturalists that can point you in the right direction.  Usually they have handouts that specifically cover pre-historic sites, rock art, dinosaur tracks, etc.  Round up all the maps, handouts and brochures you can.  Hey, if nothing else, these make for great reading for the kids while you’re out fixing the jeep!
3. Do a map recon. Here is a secret for you.  There’s always more to see than most government bureaucrats will tell you.  First, all three of our big land management agencies, the BLM, USFS, and National Park Service, are faced with outlaws who vandalize our nation’s heritage.  Thus, our public officials can be reluctant to divulge all the neat spots to see.  They don’t want them torn up.  Neither do I.  It’s a catch 22 you might say; on one hand we deserve access to our public lands; but who wants to travel rough roads or hike for hours only to find your neighbors initials carved in an old rock?  I’ve experienced this first hand on more than one occasion.  Second, as we see current politics closing so many of our roads and public lands, it would be easy to think that some of our public officials would just as soon see us stay home and watch the Discovery Channel.  Again, I speak from first hand experience when I tell you that there are a few land management agency officials who are so environmentally oriented that they’d prefer we not do anything but hike the main trails on our public lands.  You may have to use your map to pinpoint where likely rock art sites could be – or at least sometimes rely on someone other than your public servant to tell you where to look.

Please don’t think the above comments are directed at all our public land managers.  I’ve known some good ones who more than openly describe where great rock art sites lay.  Unfortunately, in my experience, they are not in the majority.  So be persistent for information when doing your homework.

4. Put yourself in the shoes of ancient ones. Once you’ve done some homework, narrowed down your search, and studied the map a bit, you’re ready to hit the ground.  If you have a site pinpointed, be sure to take the time to visualize just why that site is there.  Put yourself in the shoes of the ancient ones and take a new look at the terrain around you.  Where would you camp?  Where would you get water and food?  Where would you want to peck on the rocks for days on end?  Then use your map and common sense to explore beyond what seems obvious.

I found a pictograph (rock art painting) of what appears to be a Spanish Conquistador on a horse, well above and out of the way of a known cave site near Death Valley, California.  I had stopped for a lunch break in the shade of a rock, while trying to find a different hiking trail back to my Jeep, when I realized the pictograph soldier was looking down at me.  I had no idea he (and several other pictographs) was in the area.  Further map and terrain study (plus a few inches of shoe leather) resulted in more finds – both petroglyphs and pictographs.

The author sees a Spanish Conquistador sitting a horse. What do you see?

5. Be prepared. Some basic things you should consider having with you to really enjoy rock art exploring include (besides a detailed topo map): good binoculars or even a spotting scope; GPS unit; walking stick (to poke for snakes and give you balance on the rocks); camera and film (take extra pictures to make sure you get a good one); water; a partner with a 4wd; and your reference material for interpreting what you’re seeing.

Jeeping the backcountry in search of the tracks of ancient ones is just another way to love the passion we all share for our jeeping lifestyle.

Part II will bring you more of this story in stone –