Sirens Trip, Days 3-4

[coraa]

Last Wednesday, we got up at a leisurely hour and drove on to the petroglyphs at Sego Canyon, near Thompson Springs.

First, though, we drove through Thompson Springs. Thompson Springs is sort of a ghost town: it still has some current residents (distinguishable by their houses, which have intact windows and have not fallen down), but their residences are sprinkled in amidst dilapidated and falling-down houses from a variety of periods. I believe the history is that the town was originally a coal mining town, and had a series of revivals and then collapses: the coal mining ended, but the local highway remained; then the local highway was replaced by I-70 some miles away, but the Amtrak station remained; then the Amtrak station closed, and the town faded almost entirely—except for a handful of residents who continue to hang on, and a gas station nearer I-70. There was an old brick motel, with doors standing dark and open; the weathered railroad station, its white-painted paneling going gray from the bottom up; the old schoolhouse leaning over but not, quite, toppling. The house with sunbleached cattle pelvises hanging from the chainlink fence appeared to be inhabited still, though.

From there we drove on a bit to the petroglyphs. For which I have pictures!



The handy explanatory signs indicated that there are three distinct periods of petroglyphs at the site: those of the Barrier Canyon culture (the oldest, 8000BCE-100BCE), the Fremont culture (600CE-1250CE), and the Ute Indians (1300CE-1880CE) (not that Ute don't still exist, that was just when they stopped making petroglyphs at this location at that time). There's also graffiti, mostly names and dates, dating back to the point at which Europeans started traveling through the area. (And lots of signs encouraging people to PLEASE not add to the graffiti.)

I've tried to match up the petroglyphs to the relevant period and culture, but I may screw up; I apologize in advance if I do, and mean no disrespect.

These are petroglyphs by members of the Barrier Canyon culture. I'm fascinated by the figures: the one with antennae, the one with enormous round eyes, the snakes—or perhaps it's lightning—in the figures' hands. The long triangular torsos without legs. The signage speculated that they were shamanic images; to me, of course, they looked positively science fictional:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

Same image, with a bit more of the surrounding cliff for context:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

A similar set, elsewhere:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

Here's an example from the Fremont culture. Triangular bodies with what look like collars? And I'm curious what the animals off to the side are&mdsah;sheep, dogs, something else?:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

Another, for context:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

Unfortunately, none of my shots of the Ute petroglyphs came out. Here, instead, are some images of the area:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

And then Rachel and I scrambled up a little rise, so here's a view of the canyon from slightly higher up:

From Petroglyphs and Green River, 2010-10-06

From there, it was an easy drive the rest of the way to Vail. As we drove higher and higher, the brush gave way to pine and aspen. The aspen was in mid-turn: many of the trees already bare, some still green, and some a truly gorgeous deep gold. The landscape around the hotel was—as with last year—really gorgeous. Actually, here, have some pictures!

From Sirens 2010

From Sirens 2010

From Sirens 2010

From Sirens 2010

Wednesday evening we had the Sirens Supper, the supper for the Sirens staff and anyone who wants to come a day early and attend. We discussed the books that had changed our lives, which lead into great conversations on such diverse topics as Cimmorene, archaeology, the influence of books you read at a very young age, and things that happen in real life that you'd never believe in fiction. It was a lovely way to start the conference.

The next day there was nothing really going on until evening, so I spent the day reading and writing (always a good thing). Then there was the official start of the conference: the dessert reception and the first Guest of Honor keynote, in which Holly Black talked about growing up in a creepy old Victorian house with a mother who, e.g., warned her not to astral project lest something else get inside her body while she was 'gone;' living in Jersey and how that inspired her to begin her Modern Faerie Tale series; urban legends and how they come about; and a hilarious retelling the fairy tale "The White Cat," on which her newest series is based.

The next day was the start of programming, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Oh, gorgeous gorgeous pictures!

[babarnett.livejournal.com]

Ooo, you got much better balcony pics then I managed to get from my room.