Showing posts with label rock art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rock art. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Grand County Council Plans to Desecrate Sego Canyon Ancient Indian Heritage Site - 2014

 


Tar sands in the Book Cliffs are evident in this photo taken on U.S. Highway 191 North, near Crescent Junction, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)

Grand County Council Plans to Desecrate Sego Canyon Ancient Indian Heritage Site

Years ago, I asked several Moab, Utah natives where to see the best of local Indian rock art. More than one suggested that I visit Sego Canyon, near Thompson Springs. From Moab, it was an easy drive north on U.S. Highway 191 North and then to Interstate I-70 East. Soon, I exited at the Thompson Springs off-ramp. From there, it was a short jaunt north via Utah Highway 94 to what remains of the town once called Thompson.

View of the Union Pacific Mainline and the Book Cliffs, looking east from Brendel toward Thompson Springs - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)Blessed with adequate water in a desert environment, old Thompson was a natural gathering place. From the time of the Ancients until now, the wells at Thompson have supported human, animal and spiritual life. Water was so important in the region that the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway laid its mainline tracks through Thompson in the 1880s. From then until the advent of diesel trains in the mid twentieth century, every steam engine that plied those tracks stopped in Thompson for water. In his seminal book on desert ecology, Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey once traveled from Moab to the whistle-stop at Thompson to catch an eastbound passenger train.

In the 1890s, Harry Ballard discovered and mined coal in the upper reaches of Sego Canyon. For a few years, the town of Ballard flourished. In 1914, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad built a spur line from Thompson to the
coal camp, which crossed the stream thirteen times in its five mile journey. In a Signage for the Old U.S. Highway 6 & 50 near the Book Cliffs in Grand County Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)precursor to what may soon reoccur in Thompson Springs, the watercourse at Ballard dried up and investors soon abandoned the enterprise. Today, Ballard is a ghost town, crumbling back into the floor of Sego Canyon.

In the early 1970s, when contractors finished Interstate I-70, its route paralleled both the railroad tracks and old U.S. Highway 6 & 50. As a remote highway construction camp, Thompson bloomed briefly in the desert. To this day, the Utah Transportation Department maintenance shed and yard serve the lonely stretch of I-70 between Green River, Utah and the western border of Colorado.

Sometime after I-70 opened, Thompson became the “Thompson Springs” that we know today. When the interstate highway bypassed Thompson Springs and steam trains no longer stopped, the town became an afterthought to the world Lone Tree Hill on Old U.S. Highway 6 & 50 near Crescent Junction, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)of transportation. Old mobile home parks now stand empty of dwellings. During my visits, I found no overnight lodging available there. A motel and restaurant across from the old rail depot stood gutted and forgotten. Even so, a few hardy souls still live in Thompson Springs. Other than the trains that rumble through town, the people of Thompson Springs live with the luxury of a quiet existence.

Continuing north through Thompson Springs on Utah Highway 94, the road changes designations, becoming Sego Canyon Road and Thompson Canyon Road. Farther north, as it begins its ascent into the Book Cliffs, the road becomes BLM 159. With Thompson Wash winding alongside, signs of contemporary civilization quickly fall away.

Barrier Canyon Style Indian rock art in Sego Canyon could be 5000 or more years old - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)About half way up to the border of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, there are a few wooden signs and a gravel parking area. From the parking area, it is a short walk to a series of Indian Rock Art Panels. Spanning several millennia, the panels include one in the ancient Barrier Canyon Style, several in intermediate Fremont Style and more art in Ute Historical Style. No other place that I know has such a concentration of high quality rock art from so many different eras.

After my first visit to the rock art panels at Sego Canyon, I dubbed them the “Sanctuary of the Ancients”. With so few visitors in the canyon, I found a solitude that one rarely finds in the High Southwest. The loudest sounds I heard were birdcalls and the rustling of sagebrush in the wind. My only living companions were cottontail rabbits and an occasional lizard, doing pushups on the rocks. As I watched, the changing light of afternoon brought life to the different figures carved, etched or painted upon the walls of Sego Canyon.

Hooded and robed figure is among the most ancient of the Sego Canyon rock art images, soon to be in peril by a paved road and tar sands development above Sego Canyon, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)Not knowing ancient from recent Indian rock art, I formed my own creation myths from the figures that I saw. Some figures appeared to me as time travelers, perhaps from ancient realms or alternate dimensions. Others looked like families, holding tools and welcoming visitors to their land. If one were looking for ancient, mysterious or extraterrestrial characters to populate a play or novel, this would be their meeting place.

Upon my second visit, I had gained a bit more knowledge of Indian rock art. Even so, I experienced the same awe as on my first visit. Pausing, I looked up from the ancient Barrier Style rock art panel to see two godlike or perhaps human images imposed upon the stone surface above. Not until I returned to Moab and studied the photos from that day did I decipher the interwoven countenances that held court above that sacred site in Sego Canyon.

There, the faces I call Father Time and Mother Nature nestle in relief, cheek to cheek in loving ecstasy. Her countenance faces right, featuring voluptuous lips and nose. To her right and nestling with her face is a gray haired and bearded
"Skull Rock", seen in afternoon light, dominates the area of ancient rock art panels in Sego Canyon, Grand County, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)man, eyes closed in ecstasy. For millions of years they have occupied the canyon wall. A scant five thousand years ago, humans found this sheltered spot and carved or etched their sacred images upon the lower portion of the canyon wall.

Starting with the earliest of human civilizations, each generation seeks to leave its mark upon the land. From the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, to the Mayan temples in Central America, or the sheltered cliffs of Redrocks Country, humans have left their enduring mark. I often wonder how such stone edifices and drawings remain visible, even in our time. To me, they are the gifts from the Ancients to the people of today. In Sego Canyon, each succeeding culture revered the artwork laid down before,
A paved "Hydrocarbon Highway" will soon dominate the solitude of Sego Canyon, providing access to tar sands mining above the canyon rim - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)then added to the sacred artistry.

In the year 2014, the sanctity, solitude and ancient reverence of Sego Canyon may well end. After five or ten thousand years of respectful treatment by the humans who have visited Sego Canyon, the Grand County Council plans to put a stop to all of that. At present, all three options in the long-term usage plan for Grand County Public Lands dictate Sego Canyon’s demise. Without exception, all three plan options call for a fifteen mile long, one or two mile wide transportation corridor straight up Sego Canyon. Commonly called the “Hydrocarbon Highway”, this newly paved and widened road will serve a Mecca of tar sands mines planned beyond the rim of the Book Cliffs.

Unsafe single-wall railroad tank cars like these parked on a siding in Brendel, Utah will soon transport toxic and dangerous tar sands oil from Thompson Springs to refineries as far away as Houston, Texas - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)With their undifferentiated planning options, the Old Energy extractionists and their Grand County Council cronies have stacked the deck against antiquity and environmental preservation. Taking a shortsighted look at Grand County resources, council members and their Old Energy backers assume that there is no value in prehistoric and historic continuity at Sego Canyon. In the land beyond the Book Cliffs, there are tar sands to mine, hydrocarbons to extract and clean air to foul. As if there are no consequences for mining, transporting, refining and burning the dirtiest of fossil fuels ever discovered, the Grand County Council plans to help extract and transport as much dirty fuel as possible.

If a duly elected council proposed a hydrocarbon highway across Temple Square
Historic Ute rock art dating to as late as the 1880s features a man and woman greeting visitors to the sacred rock art panels at Sego Canyon, Grand County, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)in Salt Lake City, Utah, St. Peter’s Square in Rome or between the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, what would we think? No one in the civilized societies on this Earth would agree to such desecration of a religious site. Yet, Sego Canyon, as a sacred site, is older than Temple Square or St. Peter’s Square, and nearly as old as the Pyramids at Giza. If British Petroleum proposed a road and pipeline through the middle of Stonehenge, might the citizens of England raise their voices? By what right do seven council members in Grand County, Utah plan to desecrate and destroy one of the oldest sacred sites in the United States? We, the citizens of Gaia, this living Earth must raise our voices against the greedy desecration of the holy sites and sacred art at Sego Canyon.

If the seven council members have their way, they will end over five thousand years of human reverence for Sego Canyon. Instead, a paved highway will
Naturally occurring images of Mother Nature (in profile on the left) and Father Time (on the right, nestling his face into hers)  shelter and protect the oldest Barrier Canyon Style rock art panel at Sego Canyon, Grand County, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)replace the winding dirt road and solitude will vanish from the land. When the last ancient rock art panel crumbles to the floor of Sego Canyon, will Father Time and Mother Nature still reside upon the brow of that canyon, or will they too fall in a heap on the canyon floor? Unless Grand County stops this folly now, we will have the human geniuses of its elected council to thank for the whole show.

In Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey rafts down a section of the Colorado River through Glen Canyon. By the time he could publish that book, the sacred sites in Glen Canyon lay beneath one hundred feet of Lake Powell water. For the rest of his life, Edward Abbey wrote about, made speeches about and generally railed against the travesty of Glen Canyon Dam and the huge evaporation pond we call Lake Powell. Sixty years later, will we stand by, ringing our hands about the imminent loss of Sego Canyon? Alternatively, will we inform the Grand County Council regarding the error of their ways?

If you care about preserving the “Sanctuary of the Ancients” at Sego Canyon, Utah, please send a letter to:
The view downstream from Sego Canyon toward Thompson Springs will soon feature a "Hydrocarbon Highway", servicing tar sands mines above the canyon rim - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)Grand County Council
125 E. Center Street
Moab, UT 84532.
Telephone (435) 259-1342
Email council@grandcountyutah.net.

Also, send a copy of your letter to:
Mr. Fred Ferguson
Legislative Director, Rep. Rob Bishop
123 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515


By James McGillis at 05:53 PM | Environment | Comments (0) | Link

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Rock Art & Live Webcams at Moab, Utah - 2009

 


Kokopelli, the ancient and ever-changing Spirit of Moab and the High Southwest (http://jamesmcgillis.com)

Rock Art & Live Webcams at Moab, Utah

 
I just finished a new website devoted to the Indian Rock Art found near Moab, Utah. The Home Page at MoabRockart.com includes a story about author and naturalist Craig Childs, as he leads a writers group up Seven Mile Canyon during the Confluence Celebration 2008.
 
·    The website also includes a two-part article about Native American rock art along Mill Creek, in Moab, Utah.
Two prototype webcams at Moab Rim CamPark - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
During my August 2009 visit to Moab, I repaired or replaced several of our old webcams with higher quality Logitech, International. units. Currently, we have three live webcam feeds from Highway 191 South, at the Moab Rim CamPark. Additionally, Moab Ranch has a live webcam feed from the Pueblo Verde Tract in the Spanish Valley. To review all of our webcam feeds, go to the MoabLive.com Webcam Page. There you will see live webcams from Downtown Moab to the Spanish Valley.
 The original webcam at Moab Rim Campark on a summer afternoon - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)
Currently, we have two webcam systems that are tested and ready for deployment in Moab. If you live in the area and have a business and a great view; let us talk about a shared feed through MoabLive.com. We are actively looking for business partners and will lease an entire system on an annual basis or barter our webcam placement for your services in return.
 
While in discussion with Michele Hill, newly appointed Facility and Event Promoter at the Moab Area Travel Council, (developing conference and event planning for Moab), we mentioned how fun it was travel throughout the West and always be able to see four live views of Moab. Apparently, we made it sound like the sole purpose of the Moab webcams was for personal pleasure. In explaining that we sometimes succumb to hyperbole, we told Michelle that our writer hero is Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Known during his lifetime as an American prophet and a humor writer, Mark Twain enjoyed making up his own version of any facts that were not readily at hand.
Sunset over the Moab Rim, at the CamPark - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
Then it struck us; what would Mark Twain have to say about webcams and streaming video? Clemens lived from 1835 until 1910. Imagine meeting the spirit of Mark Twain that less than one century after his death. There, you would describe a worldwide viewing-port, capable of producing live images of his favorite places on Earth. Might he think you were telling a story as tall as his own, "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". According to his biography, Clemens met with Alexander Graham Bell regarding investing in the fledgling Bell Telephone Company. Bell offered Clemens as many shares of stock in the new company as he might want, at any price he was willing to pay. Although Clemens spent his fortune and over a decade of time funding an ill-fated typesetting machine, he did not see the value of Bell’s telephonic device. Maybe if Bell had a working webcam at the time…
The view from Moab Ranch toward the La Sal Range, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://moabranch.com) 
From our place of understanding, one of the most popular searches on the internet is for webcams that are local to the searcher’s point of interest. Believing in that theory and believing in the beauty of the land, sky and weather around Moab, we launched our first webcam in October 2008, at the Moab Rim RV CamPark. There, it stands today.
 
Over the past year, we had our share of webcam failures. From power failures to hardware and software glitches, we experienced it all. Since early August The Colorado River at Red Cliffs Lodge - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)2009, all four webcam systems have operated flawlessly. In our case, “flawlessly” means that from time to time, individual frames may drop out. Using a cable modem or DSL at the head-end of our systems, available bandwidth does not allow for an infallible feed. More costly, dedicated bandwidth would solve that issue.
 
As of August 2009, we are proud to say that no other organization has more live webcams streaming from Moab and the Spanish Valley. Here, we tip our hat to Red Cliffs Lodge for their pioneering webcam work along the Colorado River. Although their Colorado River webcam is reliable, the MoabLive webcams refresh every three seconds, rather than every three minutes.
 
We see a future in which almost every business in Moab will have at least CasaCarrieCam, Simi Valley, CA - Click image for live webcam (http://jamesmcgillis.com)one webcam. By offering MoabLive, and in color to the world, interest in tourism surely would grow. How could any distant viewer resist the beauty that we see each day, around Moab and the Spanish Valley?
   
Currently we are in Simi Valley, California, writing and developing new webcam systems. To view our current test, look at CasaCarrieCam, live from Simi Valley. In early October 2009, we will return to Moab, for both business and pleasure. While there, we will cover the 24-Hours of Moab Bicycle Race. While the race is on, we will post an updated article on our blog.
Dax & Dean of Team Shake & Bake enjoy their 2008 24-Hours of Moab race victory - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
If you go to Moab24Live.com, you will see our coverage of last year’s race. In October 2008, we followed Dax & Dean of Team Shake & Bake. From prerace to podium, we covered their first-in-class victory. This year, we have agreed to cooperate further, reporting their story through the written word, still images and video. Dax has assured me that he and partner, Dean will win their class again in 2009.
 
With proper exposure, this race could have enormous TV appeal. Couch potatoes all over the country would like to be riding free in the wind, as Dax & Dean shall for the 24 Hours at Moab. The race starts at Noon, local time on Saturday, October 10. The race will conclude at Noon on Sunday, October 11, 2009, with award ceremonies to follow.


By James McGillis at 04:52 PM | | Comments (0) | Link