Can You Say; "Ancient Alien"?

 

In between our trip into Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park we took care of some routine chores such as grocery shopping (an hour away in Grand Junction, CO) and fueling up both vehicles (15 miles away in Green River, UT). 

On a return trip from getting fuel Cyndee, on a whim, said: "Keep driving down the road past the campground and let's see what the canyon looks like."

If one follows this road on past the campground you find 
yourself in Sego Canyon.

So down Thompson Canyon Road we went.  Compared to the scenic wonders we had been experiencing for several weeks we didn't really have any high expectations for this seemingly mundane little canyon.  Boy were we surprised.

Sego Canyon, UT

May 5, 2023

The paved road narrows to barely one lane as we enter the canyon and the canyon itself narrows.  It is very nice scenery, although it can't compare to the grandeur of the national parks of previous weeks.  But the wind that had been howling for the past few days has abated and it was making for a really nice evening drive.  As we got deeper into the canyon the road had short stretches where the asphalt was gone and it was just a sandy track.  

As we approached the first of a couple of dry creek crossings we noticed well-worn foot paths leading up to the cliff faces and some of the gigantic boulders that had calved off the cliffs many centuries ago.  Curiosity got the best of us when we came upon a dirt parking area, we pulled in to see what was what.

Much to our surprise there were petroglyphs....lots of them.  We learned from the storyboards (erected by The Bureau of Land Management) that these glyphs were created by the Freemont People.  The Freemont were indigenous to this part of world well before the Uinta or Shoshone, they are often referred to as "The Ancients" because they first appeared on the scene as the last glacial ice sheets receded from North America.

The first rock panels were adorned with very recognizable, traditional images of bison, bighorn sheep, horses and such.  Plus some occasional graffiti from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

But then it got weird.  I don't know your TV viewing habits but I am an occasional watcher of the series Ancient Aliens.  I instantly recognized these next panels of glyphs as those that are frequently referenced on the TV series.

I'll leave these next images to you to interpret as you see fit.  Click on any image to enlarge.

Well, this was a different kind of post.  No weirdness in the next post I promise.