Thursday, September 22, 2022

Painted Nodule Pictograph Site

 OK, so yes, "Painted Nodule Pictograph Site" is not the official name. If I use the official name, it will give away the location. Plus, I like my name better. But let me back up and start at the beginning...

Mitch, Roger and I agreed to meet mid-afternoon to look for a pictograph site in Joshua Tree National Park. I knew the approximate location, but I also know the pictograph site was one boulder in a field of hundreds (thousands?) of boulders. Certainly no guarantee we would find it. Also, weather was working against us. We had to be careful not to overexert, and to carry plenty of water. When I left my house in 29 Palms, it was 106 degrees.
The hike itself wasn't particularly strenuous, and I was carrying a lot of water (which made my pack heavy). Not comfortable hiking weather, but hiking within our ability level. 

Interesting rock formations in this area. The one above reminded me of a sandwich with deli meet in the middle... turkey club sandwich, perhaps??

Ground level rock formation with concentric rings. I think Mitch named it Cinnabon Rock. Why are we always thinking about food while out hiking??

The rocks in this area are remarkable for having these rocky nodules that are harder, and erode slower, than the surrounding granite. They end up sticking out of the rock surface. This one looks like... a dog? A lizard?
 
In this area, quartz was littering the ground. Who knew geology could be so interesting? I certainly had little interest until I started hiking in the desert.
 
I knew we had to be getting close to the pictograph site, but there were boulders everywhere, and any one of them could be the site! Before finding the actual site, I spotted this grinding stone. It looked like it was broken in half, but easy to see the smooth area on the rock from years of grinding by Native Americans in an earlier time. A wonderful find!
 
Finally, we find that one boulder in 1000 that has pictographs inside. That's Roger taking a look. This boulder looks like all the others, and 99 hikers out of 100 would walk right by without noticing the pictos.
 
What an interesting site! I've never seen an arrow pictograph before (center of the photo, pointing up). I have no idea what its significance is. Of even more interest is the way the rocky nodules within this alcove are covered in pictographs. Let's take a look at a few.





Almost every rocky nodule has a pictograph on it. What significance could this possibly have? Certainly one of the more interesting picto sites I've come across!
 
A closer view of the red arrow, red lines, and what is either white pictographs or bird guano. They look a little too straight and deliberate to be bird guano, and also seem to run both vertically and horizontally. My vote is for white pictos.
 
A closer look at the red lines (and with a little help from dStretch) reveals that they aren't lines at all but are actually dashes. Each line is made up of four dashes. How unusual!
 
We search the area for more pictographs. Finding none, we decide to move on. There's a large impressive rock formation we want to check out.
It's hard to get a size perspective on how large this rock formation is, so I'll just say it's huge. The rocky walls are nearly straight up and down, and we were curious to see if it's a dryfall, with the rocky shute formed by water. Keep an eye on the large boulder in the bottom center of the photo above. We need to get over or around that somehow to check out the rocky shute.
 
Here's Roger sitting on that same boulder, with Mitch taking his picture. I have my back to the rocky shute.
 
The view looking straight up the rocky shute. I don't think this is a dryfall because the rocks are not worn smooth. Looking closely, I spot some climbing bolts in the wall (not visible in the photo). Evidently this is a climbing destination! I would estimate this rock wall goes straight up for 30' or more. 
 
Photo taken at 7:44PM, and finally starting to cool off!

Moon was keeping us company while hiking back to the car!
 
By the time we had our gear packed and socialized for a bit, it was dark. Here's the windshield view as we drove away from the trailhead... Joshua trees illuminated by car headlights, and a magical moment frozen in time!
 
Thanks for joining me on this hiking adventure. Hope you enjoyed seeing the pictographs!
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

36 comments:

  1. ...I'm thankful to enjoy your beautiful images without being in the hot! Stay cool.

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  2. I agree with Tom; I love your photos but can enjoy them in air conditioning.

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  3. Sweet, amazing photos as usual, nodule to me looked a little like a bear face that had been elongated. The rock formation looking up a sitting giant, feet, knees, hands and a small head. The pictographs are somthing we could never seen here in the UK so you are privilaged to see so many

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  4. Another great adventure. Very interesting pictos and double interesting with pictos on the inclusions. Be nice if we had a Rosetta stone type thing to help explain everything to us.

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  5. This whole thing was magical! Clever use of your lens cap and I join your wonder object itself. So much here. I appreciate that you bring us along. Now. I want a cinnabon

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  6. Those are some amazing photos and sites :-D Wow :-D I think the heat would kill me, we aren't used to such heat here in Scotland!

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  7. Wow! ~ What an intriguing hike for you guys, rock formations, pictographs, moon following you
    Fantastic photos ! Thanks for sharing this fascinating hike ~ nature's creations ~ double wow!
    How do you put up with such hot temps??? 90's in MA is hot enough. ~

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days ~ Xo

    A ShutterBu Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)
    ~

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  8. Your photography is always an epic. These boulder shapes and variation of arid landscape are non-stopping. You really create a masterpiece of desert landscape series.

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  9. 106!?! How were you not a puddle of sweat? I am amazed at what you get up to in the desert heat. Great pictographs.

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  10. Love the view after the one of the 4 dashes/ I want the white and red so much to represent birds ! Good I saw you at Jim's blog, because somehow I overlooked your thumbnail at sky watch/ Hope for a cooler weekend!

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  11. Dearest Peter,
    You are greatly rewarded with so many special pictographs!
    If ONLY those rocks could talk... how very interesting their stories would be.
    You made me smile with the wording 'deli meet' of course you mean meat.
    What spectacular vistas and photos that come from such beauty.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  12. Very interesting pictographs in that area! I am always fascinated by them. The size of those rocks was also interesting as well as the nodules. I often wish I knew more about geology.

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  13. I’m waiting for you to find one signed by Banksy! But wow, I can see why the rock walls would be a climbing destination.

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  14. 107F? Holy moly. I believe that there´s not been temperature like that in Finland. Like ever. I don´t know how you cope.

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  15. I'm glad that you explained the pictographs--- the red on them at first made me think they had been vandalized. Fabulous pictures. I'm glad you were there with others for your safety. Too damn hot!

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  16. I wish somebody could decipher those pictographs. It is so intriguing. Lovely pics as always.

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  17. Another wonderful exploration off the desert. Looks great as always. Keep them coming.

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  18. I love the rock formations and your moon shot. It is certainly a lot hotter where you are than where I am. I can't imagine hiking in that kind of weather but you get some beautiful shots to share with us.

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  19. Some of the markings on the hard rock protuberances seem to stop some distance away from the granite wall, suggesting that the wall has since receded.. Might they have been an attempt to monitor the erosion over time? Just a thought.

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  20. Love the pictographs, just imagining that at some time there were actual people there drawing those. If only rocks could talk!

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  21. Love the photos, as always. Two weeks back during our infamous heat wave, my little town by the bay registered 107F.

    Worth a Thousand Words

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  22. Amazing shots! What a beautiful photo of the moon! I don't know what it is but it looks like some kind of animal.

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  23. Awesome trail hike for the three of you. Safety is in numbers. I loved the night shot of eerie Joshua Trees.

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  24. Amazing pictures and in 106 degree heat. Although that sounds kind of nice after the cold and windy day I experienced where I live in New York State, I know it wouldn't have been nice. What finds! And that last picture. Eerie and beautiful at the same time.

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  25. Your photos are amazing, the rock formations are spectacular! I've never hiked through a desert.

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  26. What a great adventure, despite the hot weather. Great of you to keep hydrated all the time. That huge rock formation is a sight to behold

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  27. My first thought was that I couldn't believe you went out when it was 106 degrees. You are way tougher than I am. However, when I was a lot younger I did some of the same things. You found some interesting pictographs on this hike and some very interesting terrain. That does look like an interesting project for the rock climbers.

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  28. It's always a great pleasure to enjoy your newest post and feels a bit like a well-needed break. Thanks for that!

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  29. Wonderful photos, Have a nice week ahead

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  30. Y'all find so many different sites to visit and so much variety in the environment. I'm not sure why I find the variety surprising...

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  31. Another Brilliant Installment Brother Parts - Also, Dig That Banner Photo As Well - Stay Adventurous And Enjoy The Family Time

    Cheers

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  32. OMG! The heat. Smart to take a screen shot. The sun shape is common in glyphs. I can see why!

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  33. Those pictographs are fascinating. Great job finding that one rock out of all of them. I assume the people who made them didn't do all of them at once (and probably even wanted others to see them for whatever reason) so now I wonder what they knew that marked this very particular spot for when they wanted to come back or (maybe) direct others.

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