July 17 - Nine Mile Canyon

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Nine Mile Canyon Road starts just south of Price, Utah, and follows Minnie Maude Creek for about 40 miles (not 9!). The canyon itself is beautiful, and there are many petroglyphs, pictographs, and ancient dwellings and granaries hidden in the cliffs. Unfortunately, many of the images have been vandalized. Sections of rock have been chiseled away, chipped by bullet holes and modern graffiti. Even this blatant "No Tresspassing" (sic) sign was painted right over one pictograph.

Nine Mile Canyon Road - pavement ends sign (7/17 10:09 AM)"No Tresspassing" (sic) painted over pictograph & evidence of circular piece of rock chiseled away (7/17 1:33 PM)many petroglyphs (7/17 1:34 PM)more petroglyphs (7/18 12:45 PM)

About 40 miles into Nine Mile Canyon, the road is blocked by a gate (private property), so I backtracked a bit and went south and then east onto Horse Bench, where I camped at the top of the cliffs on the very east end, overlooking the Green River 350m below. See in Google Maps See on a USGS topographic map See in Google Earth 39.804, -109.928 

road following the ridge to Horse Bench (7/17 3:57 PM)Horse Bench - on edge (7/17 4:51 PM)Horse Bench - Green River below (7/17 5:26 PM)self portrait from tent pole (7/17 6:39 PM)lizard (7/18 6:48 AM)Horse Bench (panorama), looking northeast (7/17 7:13 PM)