Petroglyphs and Sunstones

… both found in Oregon, way in the back of beyond.

 

Behind where our trailer was parked in Adel

Far away from the population centers of the State of Oregon, we spent four nights in the town of Adel.    Not so sure you could even call it a small town -- the population is only 201.  There's a restaurant/bar with a post office next door .  We parked in one of the four or five RV sites behind those buildings.    There is really nothing much else there except sagebrush and cows.    (This is where we were staying when we woke up to the cattle drive passing right behind us.) 

Eighteen miles away on a secondary highway is the even smaller "unincorporated rural area" of Plush.  Around 50 hearty souls live there.  We had already driven through Plush on that fairly decent highway  as we were out exploring.    But  the travel planner/driver was tired of good roads.  After all, we were on vacation -- why drive roads as good as those at home?  (Normal people would answer that differently from dyed-in-the-wool road warriors.)   Our maps showed a  country road that would eventually also emerge at Plush.    

So we took "the road less traveled."    And that road was unpaved and narrow and winding with very little to see along most of it but sagebrush and the remnants of abandoned dreams.   And we loved it!      

 

 

 Before too many miles, the road got narrower and more winding with rocks and boulders to navigate around.    Bill knows how to drive them and I trust him -- mostly.   There was the one time I had to get out  to direct us around a huge boulder in the middle of the road.  It was on a rise that we couldn't see over.   We rocked over that one, but the road gradually got worse and worse.  We talked about finding a turn-around place, but there really wasn't a good one.   It was then that we came to a fence and rusty wire cattle gate that looked like it hadn't been opened for years.   But "we" managed to open and then shut it behind us. The road continued to deteriorate and shortly our car was straddling two-foot deep ruts that we were afraid we'd slide into.  (Did I mention that we hadn't seen another living soul all day?)   It was definitely time to give up.    But at least there was a good place to turn around.  

One of us thinks that a reason to use four-wheel drive makes any trip worthwhile.  And the other one of us likes to take pictures of abandoned buildings and big skies.   But before we realized we would need to turn around we had already made a wonderful discovery (new to us anyway) that would have made the trip worthwhile in itself.     We found petroglyphs!   

 

Greaser Canyon Petroglyph Site

(Click to enlarge, but there are close-up shots below)

There was no sign along the road pointing to this historical site which is quite a ways back from the road.  And, in fact, we had  driven past by the time I really realized what I'd seen from the window.  After the well-known "STOP" screech,  Bill was able to back up (a good trick, because see above).   This  site is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) property and there is a small sign at the base of the rock wall. It said there had been some archeological reconstruction due to vandalism.   I assume the rocks were moved from the ground to protect them somehow although they were not fenced at all.   The sign also warns that altering the designs in any way is a violation of federal law.  It is horrible to think that anyone could take time to get to this remote place and then try to destroy  such treasures from our past.   (But it is very remote -- once  again on this whole day of exploration we  did not see another person or car.  I don't know if that makes it good or bad for the  safety of this site.)

    

These photos are enhanced.   I don't have a fancy editing tool, but I used Picassa  Boost  to bring out   the shapes of the petroglyphs.  

 We didn't know a single thing about these petroglyphs before stumbling on them and had seen nothing in any of the visitor guides we looked at, but later found  a bit of information on the web.  The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Archeologists believe the designs were scraped into the boulders around 12,000 years ago.   Back then lakes filled many of the high desert basins and the people who occupied the land camped and hunted near those waters.  The meaning  of the marks they left behind has been lost over time.  As with most petroglyphs and pictographs, no one knows exactly why they were made or what they represented.    It is poignant and almost incomprehensible to think about the people from so long ago who once walked right where we were walking.  And to wonder ...   

 

 

People have disappeared from this area in more recent  times too for reasons it is easier to comprehend.   Here's an illustration just waiting for a sad story to be written.   We saw this abandoned home before we turned around to back-track to our home away from home.   The picture is zoomed in -- the house was pretty far from the (very poor) road!    It felt so remote and  lonely.      

The next picture was taken on a a different day, along the highway between Adel and Plush (the good road).  

 

 

We saw these sweet babies run to the fence every time we drove that road.  It seemed almost like whenever they heard a car these donkeys thought they would be getting a treat.    We didn't stop  but I  hope their owners did so frequently.

 

And here's a sign at the gas station letting us know  that Plush is "a small quiet drinking town with a cattle problem."   I wouldn't doubt any of that except that I'm pretty sure that a  population of around 50 doesn't actually make it a town at all.   And then we saw this other sign on the fence around the station:

 

We had read that sunstones could be found somewhere in this area -- and this sign told us that a dig was located 24 miles from Plush.  Just past a Dust Devil?  Plush itself is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and now you can drive 24 more miles to see some stones you know nothing about?  And the collection area might be hard to find because who knows exactly where the dust devil would be!  We thought the sign was a joke (dust devils are what we here in the West call those little mini-storms of soil  that the wind sometimes whirls  on arid lands and fallow farm fields).      But the trip even further into the back of beyond sounded like just the kind of thing we loved.  So off we went -- and when we got there we learned that the sign wasn't a joke after all.  Dust Devil is actually the name of a commercial Sunstone Mine.

 

And this is it!  The Dust Devil Mine.   It's open to the public to sort through the conveyor belt  (for a fee)  and there is also a free BLM dig area where people can camp and dig for the stones.    It  looked like paying for a lot of hot and dusty work!  So we decided  to  collect information, but not gems.  After seeing so few people while we'd been exploring the area, it was amazing to see quite a few campers and gem hunters at this commercial mine and at the other campground.  

 

from the Web public domain

 

I was still a little freaked out talking to people and didn't take many pictures because this was back in early June and we seemed to be about  the only people there still wearing Covid masks.  But everyone we spoke with was friendly and we did learn  quite a bit about the sunstone  which is the official Oregon state gem.   (I didn't even know we had one.)  One lady showed us a few she had found and some jewelry she had made earlier.  And people who helped out at the mine told us a bit about the operation.    For anyone who is more of a jewelry person that I am, there are several websites and people sell their sunstone creations on Etsy.     But we were just happy to have found the site and to learn something new about our home State.

 

 

We saw a pair of sandhill cranes along the road on the way back to Adel after that interesting day.  Every day really was an adventure during our time in Southeastern Oregon -- we were happy and grateful to get to travel again and to see and learn all we did.    

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing sites:  

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS; and  SATURDAY CRITTERS;

Comments

[Michelle Nature notes]

Oh no on the road, but what discoveries...Michelle

[Gaelyn]

I love this kind of road trip! Have heard of sunstones but not Dust Devil.

[Little Wandering Wren]

Hello Sallie, I have to say that the road less travelled appeals to me more and more these days, especially with your rock paintings spotted. Those donkeys reminded me of my youth when Mum would always pack a picnic with leftover carrot sticks. We usually found some nag to feed them too - probs highly inappropriate these days! But I'm sure those donkeys wouldn't say no!
Have a great week
Wren x

[Michelle Banks]

I am so afraid with my grandson going back to school this month after being kept home from kindergarten and my granddaughter is still so prone to illness...why can't be mask and prevent this from becoming so much worse...I don't understand at all..

[John's Island]

Hi, Sallie. This is my favorite kind of post … lots of neat photos and some good information/description to go with. The back roads journey sounds great. The Greaser Petroglyph Site caused me to do a Google and find interesting info on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_Petroglyph_Site

The way photos can be enlarged on typepad.com is a little different than blogspot. It seems like you can get a bigger image (with better resolution) on there but it isn’t quite as easy as clicking through all the photos the way Blogger does it. I think I might prefer the typepad way simply because I like big photos with great resolution. Anyway, it is fascinating that humans were in that area 12,000 years ago and left the drawings on the rocks. The Wikipedia article (as does your post) says the meaning of the marks has been lost. I’ll do a little more research to see if I can find some archeologists speculating about the meanings. Thanks for sharing this post, it is truly interesting. Best regards to you from Seattle. John

[Betty Crow]

Awesome trip. Oregon is on my bucket list. Maybe I'll make it one of these days. Nice looking donkeys and the sandhill crane is a beauty.

[Rain Frances]

That was a great post Sallie! How neat to see the petroglyphs! There was a ghostly feel about some of those photos of the abandoned homesteads, a real shame and I'm sure broken dreams and broken hearts. I've never seen cattle crossing the road, though I live in cow country! A drinking town with a cattle problem lol I LOVE that!! That sunstone is beautiful! I would have been gem hunting myself!!

[Eileen]

Hello Sallie,
What an exciting trip, I love the old windmill, the petroglyphs and old buildings. Of course being an animal and bird lover, the cute donkeys and the crane are favorites. Great sightings and photos.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your post! Take care, enjoy your weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

[Shiju Sugunan]

What an adventure! I would have turned back much earlier on that deserted road. But glad you persisted and captured all those abandoned dreams and fascinating petroglyphs. I liked the donkey episode, they are always the cutest.

[Lorrie]

Hello Sallie,
Your roads less traveled always take you to interesting places. I had never heard of a sunstone, but how pretty it is.

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Another blogger I know post petroglyphs in New Mexico ~ they are fascinating and to think they lived and wrote on the rocks so long ago is intriguing ~ You go the best place and post the best photos ~ thanks ~

Thanks also for the Happy Birthday wishes ~ Xo

Living in the moment,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[riitta k]

Well, you had quite an adventure Sallie! I would feel frightened in such solitary areas :) So amazing you found these petroglyphs, what a great find. Thank you also for telling about sunstones. It looks beautiful and makes beautiful jewellery for sure.

[JM Illinois U.S.A.]

Greetings and Salutations! Petroglyphs find, cute donkeys, great signs, impressive abandoned building and the back roads are less travelled but far more interesting. Enjoyed the cyber tour so much! Have a great week end.

[Peter B.]

What an incredible find! There is nothing more satisfying than discovering something like that on your own. I would love to know the story behind that old, abandoned house. It's fascinating!

[My Corner of the World]

These are some awesome finds, Sallie! Who would have thought you'd find such wonders in Oregon.

I find it interesting that no seeing other people is a concern to you, yet when we see others when we are out and about, we comment how crowded the place is!

Thanks for sharing your link at 'My Corner of the World' this week!

[NatureFootstep]

wow, that was quite an adventure. I can understand you loved it. But for me it would have been a bit scary as I am totally lost when it comes to unknown areas. I doubt I would have trusted the map when the road became too narrow. :)
Loved your story today. :)

[Suzan Batz]

Hi Sallie...this is absolutely fascinating. I love how you explore on the "road less traveled". Hubby and I used to do that all the time, but now our car just wouldn't get us where we would like to go.
Thanks for visiting my blog and I will now put you on my list of people to visit.
My younger son, daughter in love and family live in Kaizer, Or.
He loves to explore so I will ask him if he's ever been to Plush and points beyond.
Take care and I look forward to the next post.
Sue of photowannabe
https://allredmop.blogspot.com

[Iris Flavia]

Great trip! Reminds me of ours in the Australian Outback. It´s so much fun! Oh, you sure made me "homesick" - in a good way of course, thank you for sharing this!

[soma @ InkTorrents.com]

Of course I meant to say - "You" I can see so much more of the country when you leave the good road behind. So sorry about the typo.

-Soma

[soma @ InkTorrents.com]

I can see so much more of the country when you leave the good road behind. Your road trip sounds just like ours. I had fun reading about it and loved the photos. Thank you so much for sharing.

-Soma

[ellen b.]

The two of you sure have the adventurous spirit! I was getting a little tense as you narrated your trip on that dirt road with no or very few turnarounds. Yikes! Glad you discovered some treasures along the way.

[eileen]

Hello, Sallie

What an adventure but a great find with the Petroglyphs site. I like the cute donkeys and the Sandhill Crane, they are both great sights to see. The sunstones are pretty gems, I have never heard of them before. Take care, have a happy day!

[Veronica Lee]

That was some adventure on those backroads, Sallie.

How cool to stumble upon a petroglyph site!!

Amazing captures!

[Linda]

How interesting! I like the back roads but they make my spouse very nervous.

[Heidrun]

Wow... what an interesting Post, Sallie. I loved reading. Thank you for sharing.

Happy MosaicMonday

[Sharon Wagner]

That sounds like my knd of adventure. Especially love that it ended with gemstones and petroglyphs. We've been on roads like that in Costa Rica. We've been driving in Central America for 13 years. Fingers crossed.

[Fun60]

You are real adventurers travelling along that unused road. The petroglyphs are very interesting and as you said they stir the imagination of life thousands of years ago.

[DeniseinVA]

I love the sight of an old windmill. Great image, as are your other photos. I always enjoy getting into rural areas like these. Navigating those roads sounded like quite an adventure, and how amazing to find those petroglyphs! I also don’t understand the vandalism. Thank you for finding out about them. 12,000 years? Mind boggling! The old abandoned house, what a history it could tell. The donkeys, adorable! Loved those signs too. The Dust Devil Mine sounds a fun place to visit. I have never heard of a sunstone before. And to cap it all off, the sandhill cranes. Great post Sallie, thoroughly enjoyed!

[Beatrice]

That was quite an adventure on those backroads, Sallie. It reminded me of a time on our cross country trip when we were driving someplace in ND. There was not another car on the road, which admittedly, was in better shape then the one you described in this post. Like yourselves, we looked for a turnaround and went back on a road more travelled, but the less travelled road was an adventure. The photos of the abandoned homesteads and vehicles included here show that some folks did manage to live in the area, or maybe their car gave up?

What wonderful finds you made in seeing those petroglyphs and that mining operation. I also would have only gathered information and not gemstones.

[Amy Franks]

At least you were both brave enough to try a different route, and btw I think back roads and roads less travelled by everyone else are way more fun.

[craftygreenpoet]

That's a real adventure and the petroglyphs are such an amazing thing to find, with such fascinating history connected to them.

Places that small in the UK would definitely be called villages or even hamlets. Not towns!

[Diane Bohlen]

You sure are brave and inquisitive travellers.

[Carol]

Great photos - looks like a wonderful place to visit.

[MaryBeth Schwartz]

Wow Sallie, what an adventure. You guys are like up---keep going until you can't and then try some more. LOL. The sunstone look pretty. I never heard of them and as a kid I lived in the outer Portland area for 4 years while my Dad went to college.
MB

[Alan]

What an adventure you had. Brave going down the bad roads but you some stuff you wouldn't have otherwise.
I had never heard of sun stones.
Where my parents lived in southeast Idaho one of the drives we would take on dirt roads would go by the dismal town of Bone. There was a Bone Bait Shop that had been closed for years. I always told Heather we should move there and she could open up Heather's Kountry Kooking or Kountry Kurl. She never that was as funny as I did.

[Debbie]

ooooh sallie, i did get a few good chuckles, and a few sullen looks as i read this wonderful entry!! the backroads, and in this case, the back - back - back roads always prove to be the road "best" traveled!! look at all the fun you had!!

and i could not help put wonder, who named these towns, was "plush", "plush" in the past?!

i have never heard of sunstone either, it's so pretty!!

ps...i'm fine, recovering well, doing great at home but i have missed you!! this was an awesome story!! i shout stop all the time too!!

[Sondra]

How cool it is to stumble upon an petroglyph site!! I am like you and take roads that I sometimes can't even turn around, sometimes there is reward for being adventurous and stubborn.
I've never heard of a Sunstone, so I looked it up, a feldspar crystal...def reminds me of Rose Quartz. Lovely!
Have a great week!!

[Lavender Dreams]

That is my kind of adventure. It makes me excited to think of doing that and how astonishing that you saw the petroglyphs! That just blows my mind. What a wonderful day and amazing photos. I wanna go!

[Lisa]

You really have visited some remote places! Glad you turned around when it really got tough. I have also been known to yell "Stop" when I want to see something :)

[Angie]

Sallie - I absolutely love this post! "Remnants of abandoned dreams" - that evoked so many images and thoughts in my mind. Congrats to both of you for taking the road less traveled - just look at all you discovered! I have never heard of a sunstone - a beautiful gem! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!

[Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie]

Oh, this sounds like the kind of road trip I would love! Amazing to find the petroglyphs and it does make you wonder about the ancient people and how they lived. A little bit harrowing to hear about the road and trying to find a turn-around. Glad you were able. The mine in the middle of no-where is amazing and the sunstones are so pretty. I do hope the donkeys have someone to look after them, poor babies. The sandhill cranes are wonderful. x Karen