Red Dye Number Two... End Of The Road In The Waterpocket Fold

There is a great canyon wash at the end of the road in Capital Reef National Park. It runs dry as a bone, carved nowadays by intermittent flash floods. It's a great slot canyon to wander, but not so narrow that it produces heebie jeebies in anxiety prone hikers. In fact, Capital Gorge is just wide enough that early pioneers used it as a scenic route into the park before it was a "park," first in wagons, and later on in Model T Fords. One particular wall is called the Pioneer Registry. It's graffitied with names and dates going back to the 1800's. We thought that pretty cool, until we discovered pictograph "graffiti" that predated the "pioneers" by a couple thousand years :)). How easy (and convenient) it is to forget that we are "the immigrants." 

Any guesses on what the real "pioneers" were trying to say? Was it simply "art," or was it "language?"

Then we found petroglyphs... etchings, if you will. It's not likely you will find this handiwork on your own, as they are not marked with a sign and not easily seen from the wash. So here's a hint. Hike downstream until you get to what's left of the second of two dams, stop, look up and to your left. Binoculars will help. Then hike up and have a look. The best panel is on the same wall, but upstream a few hundred yards. You're welcome :))

The veins of red are Nature's "art," like Somebody spilled a bucket of paint up top.

The "Pioneer Registry." BTW, you are not allowed to "sign in" anymore...