There is so much to see in the Four Corners region. For example, choose Highway 191 and it will be difficult to keep your eyes on the road. I've traversed that blacktop so many times and yet I missed the obvious: the sign for the Sand Island campground and petroglyphs.
This campground is a great base for exploring the region and the adjacent boat launch area that hugs the San Juan River makes it even more pleasant.
Of course, what lured me here is the large 300-foot long sandstone panel of petroglyphs that overlooks the campground. Thankfully protected by a fence, the images here are in very good condition with none of the bullet holes and routine vandalism that too often affects other sites. Over 1,000 images here date from 3000 BCE to AD 300 and are the result of many peoples: Ute, Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, Pueblo, and European ancestry, too.
Some of the etched images no longer contrast well against the surface because desert varnish -- the dark mineral coating that coats stone over time -- has seeped into the crevices of the rock art. The nuanced surface simply attests to the age of these petroglyphs.
Spend a night camping at Sand Island and you'll literally have a front row seat to ancient history. read more