Madi

Mingalaba everybody, wishing you all the very best.

I know that it has been several years since I posted any of our wild wander adventures.

Having heard from so many of you over this time that you really enjoyed the brief escape that my posts offer, I am encouraged to once again share a few more travel posts.

In a recent effort to visit many of the Western States National Parks and monuments, some previously visited, several as first times, we embarked upon a roaming wander around 11 Western United States, an area of approximately 445K sq. miles. 
This journey took us on a driving adventure of over 6k sightseeing road miles with intermittent miles of hiking sometimes at peaks over 10k feet.  At days end, tired and hungry were constant companions.

Though the wonder of travel remains alive and well, I will admit that being home also has it's splendid treasures.
The geology encompassed in this region is remarkable with magnificent glacial mountains and valleys, dense forests, wide open grassland plains, lakes and rivers, animals great and small, volcanoes calderas and hot springs...and the archeology artifacts of humans past and present.  
One type of artifact that exists throughout this land is the rock carving work of the Ancestral People.  Science calls these petroglyphs.
The groups of humans that existed and exist are themselves distinct tribes of people, much like those in Myanmar.  These indigenous people, Native Americans in the US, First Nations in Canada, "The People" to themselves carry on with their own cultures and individual languages. 
Archaeologists inform us that evidence found suggests these first peoples may have arrived in what is now the United States approximately 30,000 or more years ago. 

Among these are the Ancestral Puebloans who lived in the US South West by hunting, gathering, and planting corps. Their handiwork of daily lives include their pottery, baskets, spears and arrows and of course artwork of petroglyphs much of which still remains in the earth, in protected monuments and is proudly displayed in many museums.

Archaeologists believe that these rock symbols, such as those in my photos, were created between 450-1300 AD. 
Take a look.  How many forms of rain, sun, snow, humans, animals, aliens, etc.. do you see? 
A few of my favorites are the ram with its large, curved horns and some images of what I gather are strange types of humans as they depicted them.
I wonder how they would see me as a rock art form? What wonderful stories are being told? Is it sign language, is it secret code? 

Here in the US, it is said there are living trees thousands of years old making these 1500 year old human created artifacts comparative teenagers. 
Undoubtedly there are countless specimens of human existence as yet uncovered in the vast expanse of North America.

And in our journey through some of the loneliest places in the SW these days, seeing all these wonderful art symbols created by humans allows me to stop and wonder what their world may have looked like way back then....in the olden days.  Unfortunately, too many humans today do not value this art as perhaps they should with looters and vandals often requiring the Park staff to create and enforce regulations.
Thank you to all these wonderful and valuable Park employees and volunteers.

Such artifacts of people all around the world are discovered, protected and studied....perhaps there are ancient lessons that we should learn and practice today? 
Our journey continues in future posts, and as we near Halloween, stayed tuned…