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As I indicated in the Guide to Newspaper Rock, we attempt to schedule our trips so we can stay at the Recapture Lodge in Bluff, UT.  This rustic motel is a throwback to the 50's but for any small sacrifice in other amenities you are rewarded by the voluminous material in the motel's library and by the nightly (almost) presentations given by local artists, photographers, guides or the lodge's owners.  It's more than fun!  During my last stay at the lodge, I found directions to the Sand Island and Butler Wash petroglyphs in the lodge's library.

Since the information the lodge's library makes those directions accessible to anyone who cares to look, and after some soul-searching, I have included the directions in this forum.  The Sand Island petroglyphs are just across the road from a camping/picnic area - certainly their location is not terribly secret.  But the Butler Wash petroglyphs are a little more remote and, other than a few bullet marks from poor marksmen, they are free from noticeable graffiti - let's keep it that way.  

I first learned of the two petroglyph sites on a previous trip from a presentation by a local guide.  Even though the petroglyphs are separated by only a few miles, the style and forms are worlds apart.  I was enchanted by the presentation and while the guide was understandably vague about their location, I was determined to visit the sites.  I was not disappointed!

I arrived at the Sand Island site very early in the morning while the rising sun was still low on the Eastern horizon, causing the sunlight to strike the panels at a low angle and from the right side.  This light angle causes the some of the petroglyphs to appear to stand out in relief in some photographs.  The effect is an interesting illusion caused by the shadows cast by the low light angle.

Enjoy,

Trekker