Petroglyphs, Parowan Gap, Paragonah, Utah

Check out these ancient Native American petroglyphs at Parowan Gap, near Parowan, Utah! No one knows who made them or what they mean, but there are hypotheses aplenty.

Ute Chief Walker described Parowan Gap as “God’s Own House” to the 1849 Pratt Expedition. Indeed, Utes, Hopis, Paiutes, and other Native American peoples living Southwestern Utah in the area in the 19th century consider the place sacred and a bond to their ancestors. Yet at the same time, the petroglyphs were chiselled by more ancient cultures, possibly several, and modern Native Americans can’t translate them. But to quote an anonymous Native American, “a person doesn't work for hours and days deeply inscribing figures in solid rock just to doodle."

One hypothesis interests the heck out of me. Archaeologist V. Garth Norman claims in "The Parowan Gap" that the gap and the Zipper Glyph (I think that one that looks like a roach head with giant antennas) acted as an ancient solar observatory by the Fremont culture. The gap faces west and is narrow, so I could definitely see it being used to track the sun’s latitudinal path.

One thing that concerns my about Norman is that he’s "President of the Ancient America Foundation (AAF) for professional and scriptural archaeology research, and is Director of Archaeological Research Consultants (ARCON Inc.)." He also taught seminary I question whether his devotion to the Bible and the Book of Mormon outweighs his devotion to evidence. I know there’s a bunch of guys like him who’ve been proven time and again to be publishing garbage about Egyptian and Israeli “archaeology.” Mind you, that doesn’t mean he isn’t doing solid work; I’m just biased against him. But I’d like to read "The Parowan Gap" anyway and more fairly judge his work.

By the way: Shout out to Freecampsites.net, where I found out about the Parowan Gap Petroglyphs. It wasn’t my favorite free campsite because of traffic, but the petroglyphs are definitely worth a look-see.

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Lehman Creek, Great Basin National Park, Baker, Nevada

Most of Great Basin National Park was closed due to winter snow, but I found this little spot by historic Lehman Creek to leave a milkweed seed ball. I think Liz would have appreciated the scenery.

Lehman Creek is named for one of Baker, Nev., earliest American settlers, Absalom Lehman. (I say “American” settlers because Shoshone were already here, as well as the Fremont culture before them.) NPS’ Great Basin National Park subsite has a great bio about Lehman, a failed ‘49er who struck gold in Australia, then wound up a Nevada rancher.

What fascinates me the most about Lehman is his orchard, which he irrigated with the creek. At its height, the orchard had hundreds of apple, peach, and other trees in a region with about 8 inches of rainfall per year. A handful of the trees still live to this day, and park visitors can sample them in season.

When Liz and I visited Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in the Chihuahuan Desert, there was a historical orchard at Frijole Ranch. Like Lehman’s place, the orchard is irrigated by a creek coming out of the mountains. There, too, the orchard survives, and visitors can take a bite. In olden days, the family also produced and sold eggs and dairy.

I find it intriguing – yet obvious when you think about it – that what today we’d call truck or market farms were an important part of settler economies. They couldn’t ship in Chilean grapes, now could they? Yes, wagons, mule trains, or early railroads could bring in dry goods, but if you wanted fresh eggs, dairy, vegetables, or fruit, someone had to farm them locally. Or else you’d have to do it yourself.

We may get back to localizing our produce someday as petroleum becomes more scarce, unless we can find an alternative fuel to cheaply move goods long distances.

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Bike Wheels Pyramid, ‘Post Impression Art’ Piece, Baker, Nevada

Residents of Baker, Nev. (pop. 68), like to outdo one another in “Post Impression Art,” a whimsical hobby started by the Permanent Wave Society in 1997. All around the area, locals and visitors create art installations on fence posts, pretty much just for the hell of it.

My favorite was a simple pink flamingo nailed to the top of a fence post. Why? Because it’s a pink flamingo, dammit, in the middle of nowhere in the Great Basin’s sagebrush desert. The only thing better would have been a garden gnome. The flamingo wasn’t photogenic, though, so I only have memories.

This Sunday, Feb. 28, was something of a catch-up day for me. I hung around the Whispering Elms Motel and Campground, finished a few blog posts, and wrote my semi-monthly letter to my list subscribers. (Sign up at top right!) Basically, other than lunch out at T&D’s grocery store/lounge/restaurant, I was chained to my laptop. No, actually, I was even chained to the laptop while eating lunch.

Still, Baker is a lovely town to take a rest in, especially out of tourist season. I asked the grocer lady when folks start rolling into town to visit Great Basin National Park. Oh, forgot to mention: Baker, Nev., is the gateway to Great Basin National Park! Anyway, she said people start showing up in April, but things really kick off Memorial Day Weekend.

That makes sense. The mountains are still snowed in, and even down in Baker, it’s below freezing at night. In fact, much of Great Basin National Park is inaccessible, except by snowshoes, as I discovered Monday ...

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