After a hearty breakfast (More Monkey-Bread, please!) we
headed out for a morning of exploring some of the petroglyphs of the Ring Lake
region nearby. These ancient rock
'drawings' are very much still a matter of speculation. Some of the things archeologists are
willing to say. They are old! You will get a range of dates when you
attempt to research them from 3,500 to 1,000 years old. This, of course, is crazy. But could also be referring to any of
the various sites across Wyoming where similar ancient art exists (I discovered
at least 6 other locations hundreds of miles apart. I wondered why no one has bothered to carbon date them. They were made by the forbearers of the
present incumbent Shoshone Indian People--which most recently would have been
the Sheep Eater Indian People, but if they reach back for 2 or 3 millennia,
then certainly their ancestors, or ancestors ancestors! They are enigmatic--there is no
consensus as to what they represent.
Your guess is as good as any!
Enjoy.
Heading up Trail Lake Road into the Wind River Mountains,
you'll drive along a trio of Lakes.
This is the first lake: Torrey Lake.
The petroglyphs are everywhere, anywhere, and nowhere--which
is to say, they could be all around you, but it certainly helps to have along
someone with the experience to know where!
Our chosen goal was to arrive at Ring Lake Ranch and through
my friend's expertise in relationship-building persuade the Ranch's manager to
allow us a tour of their particularly exquisite array of petroglyphs. The ranch is a spiritual retreat center
and Sundays are usually slow days with weekly guests just starting to arrive
for the follow 6 days of activities, lectures and reflection. If you find this sort of thing
appealing, by all means, check out their website by searching Ring Lake
Ranch.
The ranch is also built along side of the third and final
lake in the trio: Trail Lake .
To our utter delight, we were granted unfettered access to
these magnificent petroglyphs with Pamela's care, of course. And they truly are stunning.
Do you see it?
There are no dull colors in the landscape.
Some still remain lichen encrusted. Makes you consider every rock face
carefully and with a heightened level of curiosity.
Doesn't the mountain on the left look like the silhouette of a baboon?
Everything you need to know about the guests who come to Ring Lake Ranch!
The Ranch from the opposite side of Trail Lake. Can you still the socks?
More glyphs on this side of the lake, too.
We drove on up into the valley until the forest service
stopped us at this point. The
problem? Too many vehicles had
already gone up to set up camp for tomorrow's Total Eclipse. This valley and these mountains are on
the line of Totality--this is among the most sought after locales on the
continent. And still, I got this
view, right?!
Sometimes the petroglyphs are right in front of your face.
I think this one was my favorite.
Down off the mountain pass and on to Dubois for lunch.
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