UT San Rafael Swell and Tavaputs Plateau

Silent Sentinel Petroglyphs

Late in the spring of 2011, we were off exploring in the backcountry of Utah’s San Rafael Swell. We spent a week or so off of paved roads and camping out. One of the spots we stopped at was the Silent Sentinel.

It was the end of a long day and I wasn’t sure if I knew where it was. We were hunting around for it and my expectations were pretty low on finding it. On our last stop, we walked back into this canyon and we were very happily surprised!

There aren’t very many of these Fremont petroglyphs here but the ones that are here are quite interesting and give the place a very spiritual feel. As always, respect and enjoy.

Lone Warrior Pictograph

Swasey’s Cabin

Swasey’s cabin was built in 1921 by the locally well-known Swasey brothers as a line cabin. They would stay out here to watch over their cattle. Out behind the cabin, in one of the canyons, they had an icebox setup where they would store meats and any other foodstuffs.

Robidoux Inscription and Pictographs

On a late autumn day in 1837, a fur trapper from Santa Fe, Antoine Robidoux, stopped along a narrow canyon in the Territorio de Alta California (what is present-day Utah). Beaver pelts were surprisingly lucrative at the time and, as hard as it is to believe today, the Uinta River

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