McKee Springs Petroglyphs
McKee Springs – the most famous panel in Dinosaur National Monument
After three months of looking at the replica of this famous Fremont culture petroglyph panel in the visitor center, I finally got to see it in person. We can only make educated guesses as to what these figures represent. Someone told me that this largest figure is of a woman. If the figures are solid in color, they are male. This one is “hollow” and the three stripes on the bottom of the torso supposedly represent the number of children she had. I am not sure if this is true, but it’s the only story I have. These figures are done in the Classic Vernal Style representing a culture that ranged widely in the Southwest 800 to 1000 years ago. They are likely ancestors of today’s Utes and other modern Native tribes. Read the rest of this entry »
All the Pretty Horses
I spent an evening and a morning in late June in the Sand Wash Basin near Maybell, Colorado watching the beautiful wild horses. I made three videos, and I have some stills yet to edit, so hold your horses (hee hee). In the meantime, enjoy these videos showing these gorgeous mustangs going about their morning, as well as the sunset from Lookout Mountain.
Text and photographs copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
Feel free to reblog or share
Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery: Smugmug and Fine Art America
Gallery of Sand Wash Basin horses images
Original hand-painted BW photographs for sale: Etsy
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Contact: cindy at cindymcintyre.com
My New Favorite Place
Rainbow over Rainbow Park
I had my weekend (Mon-Tues) all planned out: get my aging minivan serviced at the Ford place in Vernal, Utah, visit the nearby McConkie Ranch’s petroglyphs, then swing south through Nine Mile Canyon (really 70 miles long) to see more rock art. Car muffler repaired, check. Car engine problems – still ongoing. (Sigh!) Drive up Dry Fork Canyon Road north of Vernal, Utah to McConkie Ranch. Scramble up to see a handful of unimpressive petroglyphs. Climb a ladder over a fence to follow a trail that mysteriously ends at a gate to see the more impressive Three Kings petroglyphs. Give up on that idea since there’s nobody to ask. See a magnificent peregrine falcon. Then head west and south through several miles of oil/gas fields with muscular turbo-charged diesel trucks impatient to pass on these tight turns. Feliciana (my 2000 Ford Windstar) has already whined and complained about going down this road, and my gut instinct tells me I don’t really want to do this. When the road turns to gravel I realize I don’t have the heart to deal with the oil field traffic for who-knows-how-many-dirt-miles. I turn around and pick another destination from my long list of places I want to see before my job at Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado ends in six weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
Stars 1, Satellite 1, Meteors 0
Satellite streaking through the stars in 15 second exposure
I went to the High Uintas in Utah (north of Vernal) to watch the Perseid meteor shower. The moon rose an hour after sunset so I thought I might have a chance before its brilliant light washed out the visibility. I did several hours’ worth of time lapse photographs to capture any that might streak by. Zip. Nada. I did catch a satellite though.
See the stars move through the sky – 50 minutes in 22 seconds
Dusk settles on Spirit Lake, the stars appear, then the moonlight tints the lake and trees onshore.
Text and photographs copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
Feel free to reblog or share
Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery: Smugmug and Fine Art America
Original hand-painted BW photographs for sale: Etsy
Join my Facebook Page
Contact: cindy at cindymcintyre.com
Rain Showers and Sunbeams
Monsoon season in the Southwest brings an ever-changing skyscape as pop-up storms build, wring themselves dry, and scoot off into the sunset. The light after a desert storm is brilliant and clean, and it enticed me to an east-facing overlook on the side of Plug Hat Butte in Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. Read the rest of this entry »
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbirds – a mating pair, or dueling males?
When I heard what sounded like a hummingbird singing, I went to the back porch with my camera and found two rufous hummingbirds locked in an aerial battle. Although some of these photographs aren’t sharp, it shows the Ninja-like dance before they dropped to the ground, still locked together. Read the rest of this entry »
Lightning, Stars, and a Meteor
Lightning, stars, and a meteor
I’m one of those people that generally wakes once in the night and can’t fall immediately back asleep. I also like to check the night sky while I’m up, and when I saw that there were several lightning storms in the distance, I drove 8 miles north to a good viewpoint.
