FLASHBACK FRIDAY - MCCONKIE RANCH

This is an edited rerun post with enlarged and enhanced pictures so that the drawings are more visible than they were in the original post.  We visited this ranch in the summer of 2004.  I did a Google search today to see if I could get more current information about this fascinating place and there isn't much out there at all.  If anyone has any new information about the ranch or the family, please leave a comment!    

Jean McConkie McKenzie is a woman of about our age, who has lived all her life on the McConkie Ranch in Dry Fork Canyon near Vernal Utah.  The Ranch, besides being the family home and livelihood, also just happens to contain hundreds of panels of Fremont Culture rock art.   It is listed on the Utah Historical Register.  The drawings are on a sandstone “Navajo Formation” cliff.  There are petroglyphs (chiseled) and pictographs (painted) figures.  Some are a combination.

Jean and her mother, Sadie McConkie, have always done everything they could to honor and preserve the drawings, while still making them available to the public.  They ask only that visitors respect their property and do no damage to the panels. There is no admission charge and only a small old-fashioned refrigerator with pop and water available on the honor system.  The family has made trails up to the panels and placed a few explanatory and directional signs.

 The trails take you up very close to the drawings and some of the figures are very large.  One drawing, called the three kings, is nine feet tall, but we could not get far enough away to get a picture of that one. 

 

 

The paths are not especially difficult to navigate, except that the day we were there it was a very warm summer day. It was nice to cool down by sitting in this overhang (where, we decided, the people who carved these drawings certainly rested centuries ago).

 

We loved this one, which must be a family portrait. 

 
The number by this successful hunter was put there by an archeological class years ago for research purposes.  Of course, now they would know better.

The Fremont Culture flourished in this area from 1 to 1200 AD.  They were farmers, but apparently not so domesticated that they lost their fighting and hunting abilities, because some of the panels show them carrying weapons.

When we returned from our hike, we were fortunate to run into Mrs. McKenzie, who was replenishing the refrigerator after a trip to town.  She told us that her family has not tried to translate the art but that they've had fun speculating. She said ten people can arrive at ten different explanations and definitions as to the true meanings.  

We told her that we hoped our pictures would turn out and thanked her for allowing us to roam about her property. 

 

   

Jean McConkie McKenzie is a woman of about our age, who has lived all her life on the McConkie Ranch in Dry Fork Canyon near Vernal Utah.  The Ranch, besides being the family home and livelihood, also just happens to contain hundreds of panels of Fremont Culture rock art.   It is listed on the Utah Historical Register.  The drawings are on a sandstone “Navajo Formation” cliff.  There are petroglyphs (chiseled) and pictographs (painted) figures.  Some are a combination.

Jean and her mother, Sadie McConkie, have always done everything they could to honor and preserve the drawings, while still making them available to the public.  They ask only that visitors respect their property and do no damage to the panels. There is no admission charge and only a small old-fashioned refrigerator with pop and water available on the honor system.  The family has made trails up to the panels and placed a few explanatory and directional signs.

 The trails take you up very close to the drawings and some of the figures are very large.  One drawing, called the three kings, is nine feet tall, but we could not get far enough away to get a picture of that one. 

 

 

The paths are not especially difficult to navigate, except that the day we were there it was a very warm summer day. It was nice to cool down by sitting in this overhang (where, we decided, the people who carved these drawings certainly rested centuries ago).

 

We loved this one, which must be a family portrait. 

 
The number by this successful hunter was put there by an archeological class years ago for research purposes.  Of course, now they would know better.

The Fremont Culture flourished in this area from 1 to 1200 AD.  They were farmers, but apparently not so domesticated that they lost their fighting and hunting abilities, because some of the panels show them carrying weapons.

When we returned from our hike, we were fortunate to run into Mrs. McKenzie, who was replenishing the refrigerator after a trip to town.  She told us that her family has not tried to translate the art but that they've had fun speculating. She said ten people can arrive at ten different explanations and definitions as to the true meanings.  

We told her that we hoped our pictures would turn out and thanked her for allowing us to roam about her property. 

 

   

Comments

[Hazel]

Hello again

Your Blog all makes fascinating reading. Congratulations on "following your dream" and travelling on!

Hazel

[Margot]

I'm so sorry we missed this last fall when we were in Utah. Your post has given us good reason to head that way again. All of this is so interesting.

[Joe Beke aka Waterdog]

We visited in 2000, directed there by the local museum. We spent the afternoon and were immensely impressed. I hope this cultural evidence remains for all to see, and respected so it remains open to the public.

[diane]

Wow that is interesting. It is good that she lets people visit the drawings.

[REGINA]

These are amazing captures Sallie.
Thank you for tour.
Happy weekend dear.

[Pam]

A very exciting post, Sallie. I certainly hope these historic drawings are preserved for future generations to see. Your photos are terrific.

[Lady Fi]

Wow - I can feel the ancient stones and all their history in those drawings. What an amazing place!