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| We arrived in Thermopolis, WY on
July 25 and settled into the Eagle RV Park - not a destination, but
adequate to allow us time to explore the area. Our first excursion
was to view the Legend Rock State Archaeology Site where a large number of
petroglyphs can be found. Legend Rock is located about 30 miles out
of town IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE as you can see by this photo.
Interestingly, we had to pick up a key at the Thermopolis Chamber of
Commerce to get into the area, as the visitor center was not staffed. |
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| Once we arrived, we were greeted
with this sign. Hmmmmmm. Maybe we don't want to see the
petroglyphs, after all! But, this site is said to be one of the
oldest and best examples of rock art in the world . . . so off we go! |
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| You can rest assured that we
stayed alert and on the trail. The area has nearly 300 petroglyphs,
some thousands of years old. |
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| Most of the petroglyphs at
Legend Rock are classified as the "Dinwoody" tradition.
Dinwoody petroglyphs are located only in the Big Horn and Wind River
Basins west of the Big Horn River. Dinwoody petroglyphs are always
pecked, that is, incised or etched into the stone. Another type of
rock art that is not found at Legend Rock is the pictograph, which is
actually painted onto the rock. |
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| Dinwoody petroglyphs are often
of large humanlike figures with headdresses, an unusual number of toes or
fingers, upside down figures, and/or a pattern of interior lines in the
torso. Some of the petroglyphs here may be older than Dinwoody and
are age-dated to be as old as 11,000 years. There are others that
have been made since the appearance of euro-americans in the area.
In other words, the petroglyphs were not made at any one time, but over a
period of thousands of years. |
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| The high plains deserts are
quite different from the deserts we normally think of. It is not
unusual to see creeks with ample water flowing such as this one called
Cottonwood Creek. |
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| Lots of pronghorn antelope can
be seen in the area, always a treat for us Southerners. Sorta makes
you want to break into a chorus of "Oh, give me a home, where the
buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope plaaaaaaaaaay . . . ." |
