I needed a break today. A good break. I woke up early and headed out. Cheri was going to a writer's conference so she couldn't come. My goal was two fold. One, I wanted to see some Indian rock art in a certain location of Utah. I also wanted to geocache in a few counties that I haven't been to before. I was gone before 7:00, a little later then I hoped but still at a descent hour. At 7:30 or so I passed the new wind farm in the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. These things are huge. Actually amazingly huge. They weren't moving that fast this morning. I would like to see them when the wind is really blowing.8:00 AM found me close to the next county line and I started caching. Finding a couple in Utah County and then a couple in Sanpete County.
9:00 AM and a few more caches under my belt, a few travel bugs of my own dropped off in distance lands and I found myself in Fairview. Stopped to get something to drink, make a few phone calls. Work never seems to end even when you take the day off. I should get my own personal phone so I don't have to use the company one when I'm suppose to be off for the day. After about 30 minutes going around town, shooting a few pictures, doing a few caches, I headed up Highway 31 towards Hunington.The road up the canyon was gorgeous and the road topped out near the summit just over 9500 feet. It was a little cold and there was still some snow in the shadows. I stopped and took a quick panoramic shot of the area below. Of course, like the rest of these photos, click on it for my flickr page and a bigger image.
It somewhat amazed me how quickly you end up going from a gorgeous lush canyon in the dry desert on the west side. It's hard to explain. There is a also a beauty in desert that is hard to describe, hard to explain. I'm sure it helps to be enjoying it from the comfort of a car instead of the back of a horse or on foot.....but there is still a beauty that can't be beat. After hitting Huntington I headed south. Stopped in Castle Dale for some gas and water and made a few quick calls. 
A little farther down the road I found the turn off for Moore and headed out. The road eventually turned to dirt but was so hard and free of dust it was like driving on pavement. A short while longer I came across the first piece of rock art for the day. This piece was a large snake on one rock and a few other pieces on another rock. As an extra bonus there is also a geocache at this same spot. The one thing I missed was a few dinosaur prints in the rocks.
From here I headed east and then took another minor dirt road north towards Short canyon. Eventually I found the turn off towards Short canyon. It was certainly a 4wd drive road. Nothing at first that required 4wd but it was certainly nice to have a high clearance vehicle. After get a fair distance up the canyon I almost got stuck in some deep sand. Not the smartest move since I was alone....so I backed up and parked it. I walked a little farther up the canyon looking for rock art and two caches in the area. Nats were flying every where and would rush me the moment I stopped.....which caused me to end the walk a little sooner and head back towards the main road.
Back past the snake art I found the road to the Rochester Creek Art Panel. My goal was to see if my Dad could make the hike to the panel. I really would like to bring him down this way and let him enjoy it. Unfortunately the hike, while only .5 of a mile from the parking area, is rather rocky with a descent change in elevation. While ruling this little hike out for my Dad, I still found the visit fun and enjoyable. A Monday afternoon found the spot deserted and I had it to myself. I spent a good time looking around, shooting pictures and enjoying the art. There is a side of me that wonders if some of this art was simply Indian graffiti. The panel itself is huge. It's been somewhat damaged over the years but is still very impressive in it's own right.
After the hike back to the car I got in and took off. A quick drive down to I70, a cache or a two and a stop at the rest stop to wash off the dust and grime from the drive up short canyon and the hike to and from the panel. It was getting late, it was already 4 or so in the afternoon and I sort of wanted to get back to the Provo/Orem area and have dinner with the wife.
Finally around 6:00 ish or so I pulled into Outback for a quick dinner with the wife. We haven't been to Outback for a long time and it was a nice change. She had been at her Writer's Conference the entire day and had a good time. Hopefully something will come out of it for her.
For more pictures - - Just the Rock Art or all the posted pictures of June 16th
My GPS batteries died just outside of Payson - - but up to that point I had driven 335 miles for the day. Average speed was 23 - but that includes some hiking and walking around. Max speed was 87 at one point. Not bad for an old jeep.
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