This week I get to do my walks in the petroglyphs capital of the world! I've never seen so many in one spot. I carried my good camera on a walk with me, the one with the zoom lens, and took some close-up, high resolution photos of the petroglyphs so you can see the details. There are way, way too many to include here, so if you like these and want more, you may like the album I posted at the following address: https://photos.app.goo.gl/g7jaD6wTLFfBX4A98
Photo Captions:
1 - 9) These are a few of the thousands of petroglyphs etched in the walls of the Parowan Gap in Utah. They accumulated here over a thousand years as generation after generation of Native Americans passed through and left their marks. Apologists debate what they mean, but they are considered an important cultural treasure. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and protected by law.
10) There are other things to see here besides petroglyphs. Have you ever seen a furry beetle bug? I hadn't until I saw this hairy beetle (Paracotalpa granicollis).
11) Utah Prairie Dogs (Cynomys parvidens) are the smallest species of true prairie dogs. They're also a threatened species.
12) These are the fruit of the whipple cholla (Cylindropuntia whipplei). The Zuni Native Americans used to eat them. They would eat whipple cholla fruit raw, but also had a few recipes that included them.
13) There are also etchings that are obviously not from Native Americans.
14) The Zuni Native Americans used Stork's Bill (Erodium cicutarium) to relive stomachache. No wonder they're Pepto-Bismol pink!
15) All kinds of people have been passing through this Gap for eons.
16) Another unidentified bone in the desert.
