Nine Mile Canyon Road and Pictographs

​Just to get to the start of the canyon was a 35 mile drive from our campground.  So the total drive is 88 miles but it was worth it.

​The road is known for all of the pictographs along the canyon walls all along the drive.  It is also claimed to be the world's longest art gallery.  This canyon was a passage for the native tribes to migrate with the weather changes and was used for thousands  of years.  Even though many if not most of the pictographs have deteriorated over time, destroyed by rock walls falling, or from very stupid people who have defaced them, there were so many we could not have seen them all in one day.  Some are low to the ground while others are high on the canyon wall that would involve a difficult climb to reach.

Just as we reached the start of the canyon, we had a cow roadblock.  It cleared quickly.  Cows are nowhere near as stubborn as buffalo.

The state has produced several mile marker based guides that are very descriptive and helpful. Locations are marked to the tenth of a mile and the road has mile posts all along the way.

There are pictures of all sorts like bears, bighorn sheep, horses, buffalo, coyotes, deer, owls, snakes, turtles, insects or aliens (it is hard to tell which), and people hunting.

We also found some of the counting patterns. Some people think they were counting trips, others the number in the tribe, and some just think they were decoration. No one really knows.

Of course, selfish idiots sometimes feel the need to destroy and leave their own names behind.  I only took one picture of vandalism.

The drive was spectacular. It really is driving at the bottom of a canyon.

You have to plan your bathroom breaks because there are only two locations with pit toilets along the entire canyon.