City of Rocks, cousin of the Devils Playground

 I have to admit that I am a week late in posting this entry. We actually went on this adventure last weekend but due to work and finally getting my video program to produce a good film, I ran out of time. City of Rocks is located in south-west Idaho just a few miles from the Utah Border. It is a National Park but there are no entrance fees to browse through it. This park is on the Old California Trail and there are interesting things located in the park that deal specifically with this trail. The foto above shows the formation known as the Twin Sisters. It was the first noted thing we came to. We took the back way in from the west just because we could. Most go in on the east side from highway 84.

 The next interesting stop was Register Rock. During the time that the pioneers were crossing the valley on their way west to California, it appears that a sort of tradition was begun. Many of the travelers began to write their names in axle grease all over this big rock formation. 

 Above you can see that A Freeman was there on June 12, 1850. He or she was traveling with D Tickner and I would assume on their way to California for the gold rush. My guess is that we will never know who they were and where they were going. 

 Time plays havoc with the things from the past. As I have mentioned before, buildings from old ghost towns are disappearing, nature is reclaiming old trails and the snow and rain are washing away this old graffiti. They used the grease from their wagons to write their names and considering  how long ago it was, some are still well preserved. Others like the ones above are fading fast into oblivion. Hopefully, someone years ago took fotos of all this so they will still have records.  

 The park is also about recreation. This is Elephant Rock. If you zoom in on it you can see a bunch of crazy people climbing this rock. I know that I wouldn't try to do it. But, that doesn't stop others from participating. There are several areas throughout the park where crazy people can climb up on top of these big rock formations. We saw a lot of people doing it all over the park. The way I see it is if I cant climb it in the Jeep, I am not supposed to be there. Just sayin'.......

 As I mentioned in the title, the City of Rocks is a relative to the Devils Playground. The City isn't quite as full of the wild rock formations as the Playground, but it does have a few. Above you see some mini-arches and weird rock erosion. This stuff is quite fascinating to look at.  

 Again we see more odd formations. Now I can't say how many there are in City of Rock, but the few I did see and up close looks at  the stone itself show that this area is related to the Devils Playground. The Playground appears to have been subject to more weather conditions because there are far more rock sculptures, for lack of a better name. And I never really saw the cobblestone inlays in any of the rocks here. But, the rock makeup is the same so I am calling them cousins!

Above sits Camp Rock. It has a natural lean-to built into it on 2 sides. This is another place that suffered from the early pioneer graffiti. Like Register Rock, Camp Rock has the fading issue going on too.

J V Attabough is pretty much the only one left discernible on this particular spot. I have zoomed in and tried to let some of the foto editors see if they can make more out of it but nothing worked. It's really kind of sad. You all know I am a history major, and someday I might graduate, but to see losses like this is heartbreaking. I see these names and wonder who were they? Where were they going? Could I now know a relative of this person? Did they even make it to their destination? I guess what I am trying to say is that if you have any history interest inside you, get out and see some of this stuff before its all gone. Between the government, vandals and nature itself, a lot of old historic places are disappearing. Prime example is Jacob City in the Oquirrh mountains. When I first started going there things were still upright. Now only one small mine chute is up and the rest have fallen. If you wanna see this stuff, the time is now. If you want any suggestions on places to go and see, just ask in the comments or visit my website at www.mtnmad.com and I will give you as much info as I can. Jeep on my friends!