Petroglyphs

Metropolis of Thermopolis: LAPC & RDP

/ SoyBend / 28 Comments

What’s so special about the metropolis of Thermopolis? It’s a great place to stay to see several amazing attractions nearby.

Thermopolis is a small city located in central Wyoming. In 2020, its population was 2,725. Its name means “hot city” in Greek. Here’s a view of it in the distance from Hot Springs State Park. Though I didn’t take pictures of the downtown, the sights within and near the city are very photogenic.

metropolis of Thermopolis

As you can see in the photo below, they proudly advertise their hot springs. “World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring” is spelled out in big white lettering. Visitors can pay to soak in two commercial hot springs or soak for free in the state-owned State Bath House.

Hillside hotspring sign


We stayed in our campervan for much of our recent multi-state trip, but our driver needed a break, so we stayed in a Thermopolis hotel for a couple of nights.

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Dinosaur National Monument: LAPC

/ SoyBend / 26 Comments

Visitors can enjoy unique attractions at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado. While visiting here, I found myself constantly shifting my field of view to things above and below me. Colorful tilting rocks in vast landscapes showed geology in action. Petroglyphs and pictographs told stories of Indigenous people from long ago. An amazing collection of dinosaur fossils took me even further back in time.

Fossil

The Monument also includes places to hike, fish, river raft, picnic, and camp. There’s a visitor center in Utah, and another in Colorado.

Stegosaurus sculpture


The small Visitor Center in Utah features informational exhibits and a store.

Visitor Center
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Legend Rock petroglyphs: LAPC

/ SoyBend / 32 Comments

In June, I visited Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site near Thermopolis, Wyoming. The quarter-mile-long sandstone cliff at an isolated site is adorned with hundreds of Legend Rock petroglyphs. When you walk the trail beside these images, it is truly a step back in time.

Seeing Legend Rock petroglyphs up close

Legend Rock petroglyphs

More than 300 petroglyphs have been identified on 92 rock panels. The oldest are at least 10,000 years old. The petroglyphs were carved by “ancestors of today’s Numic-speaking Eastern Shoshone tribe.” 

Due to the fantastical nature of the images carved here, this site is thought to have been used by individuals on vision quests. The images were carved so long ago, their exact meanings are unknown.

Legend Rock petroglyphs

In 1973, the state acquired the site and later that year, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites. The site included sections owned by the state and federal government, and private landowners. In 2015, local landowner Richard Wagner donated the last part needing protection.

Cliff face
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Petroglyphs & pictographs in Harney County, Oregon

/ SoyBend / 4 Comments

In April 2019, I went on a field trip to see petroglyphs & pictographs in Harney County, in eastern Oregon. This is one of the many trips offered as a part of the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival. Our guides that day were Bureau of Land Management archaeologists, Scott Thomas and Carolyn Temple.

One of the first things we learned was the difference between petroglyphs and pictographs.

Pictographs

Pictographs, like the images shown below, are painted onto rocks. These works are generally drawn with red, black, white, or yellow paint.

Pictographs frequently include depictions of animals. For example, the drawing at the top of the picture below appears to be a lizard.

petroglyphs & pictographs, Harney county, OR
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