Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Hello there, and thanks so much for joining us here! You are probably wondering what this podcast is all about? In this podcast, we will talk about all sorts of outdoor adventures, but primarily, for now, we will focus on hiking and backpacking. No other outdoor adventure is so accessible to so many people! So please join us as we talk about how to hike/backpack and learn how to hike any length trail from your local neighborhood parks to those long trails such as the Appalachian and others worldwide! Remember... "in every walk with nature; one receives far more than he seeks... - John Muir " See you on the trail!
Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Ancient Petroglyphs, Mormon Orchards, And A Desert Valley That Sustained Two Worlds
We follow the petroglyphs of Capitol Reef to explore how Native families and later Mormon settlers used the same fertile valley to live, farm, and make meaning. From lost panels to living orchards, we connect tools, water, and story across centuries.
• petroglyph overview and 1952 rockfall context
• identity, naming, and Hisatsinom lineage
• Fruta settlement and the river’s fertile corridor
• comparison of traditional and pioneer tools
• reading figures, animals, and possible symbols
• orchard cycles and a freeze that stopped fruit
• reflections on continuity between cultures
• travel teaser for Bryce Canyon and Kodachrome
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Hey, this is Craig the Natural Medic and welcome to another episode of the Natural Medic Adventures. In particular episode, we were talking about these petroglyphs here in Capitol Reef National Monument. You'll see there's a crack over here, and that was what a natural rockfall occurred in 1952, and there was more petroglyphs and they fell off. Just a totally natural freak occurrence. But you can see some figures up there. Archaeologists and anthropologists called them the Fremont people, which is a term that they reject. They're the ancestors of the Hopi tribe, the Pueblo of Zuni, and the Ute and the Paiute. They call themselves the Hisatom. Hisatanomi. Probably mispronouncing that, but that's what it has here on the sign. Definitely a cool deal for sure. Is it art? Is it writing? Is it something else? Let's find out. Now one thing you might notice across the street is grass, orchards, farming of different kinds. That was from the Mormon settlement of Fruta. That was a very remote settlement. And they settled in here amongst where native tribes had been for centuries. Not only did these tribes hunter-gather, like most native tribes, they also were able to sustain themselves pretty well in this valley, considering that the river provides a lot of things for them. Now on this end piece here, let's try to zoom in a little bit if we can. So like I said, this is a fertile valley, considering the desert terrain around here. Not only for the Native Americans, but for the Mormon settlers that came along later. And if you look, they have different yet similar implements. We have a Fremont Indian woman here with digging tools. A native shovel, digging stick, matate and mono, which is used for grounding corn. A sickle made out of a bighorn, sheep horn. Compared to the modern implements of the corn planter, the hoe, the shovel, the haysith. Similar, but improvements on the technology definitely with the Mormons. The Mormons did plant orchards here. They didn't have fruit this year because of an early spring bloom and then a late freeze. Killed all of the bloom, so no fruit. But normally you can come here and pick. And someday I'd like to do that. But you have about 3,000 trees here in the orchards that were planted by the Mormons following after the Native Americans. That's pretty cool if they use the same or similar implements to live here and supplement their livestock. Now on this side, you have some petroglyphs in the rock. Not sure what we're looking at exactly. Maybe a necklace or headdress. Couple anthropomorphic figures. Pretty neat. Some additional glyphs right here on this rock face. Can't really tell exactly what they are. Looks like an anthropomorphic figure to the left here. Mixed in with some more zoomorphic figures. Like snakes and things like that. Pretty cool. We have just picked up a little bit, so I apologize if you can't hear me, but I'll speak up a little bit. Looks like bighorn sheep. Maybe a bear or something like that. On the left side of this kind of whitish, grayish boulder. And there's some more figures right over here. Pretty cool. And there's some figures to the right of those animals as well. Looks like some more right here, but it's really hard to tell with the shadows of the leaves. Well, pretty cool glimpse into the lives of the native people that were here. Interesting how both of them kind of follow similar ways, the native people, then the Mormons. They kind of realized this is a pretty good place to be. And that this area could support us. So they had time for more leisure-type activities by making these petroglyphs here on the cliffs, kind of telling their story. What do you think about this? If you liked it, give it a thumbs up. Think about subscribing to the channel for more content. For now, I'm gonna take off to my next destination on my week-long road trip to Utah's Big Five and head on to Penguich, Utah to visit Bryce Canyon and Kodachrome Basin state parks over the next couple of days. So if you don't want to miss that, make sure that you like and subscribe. Okay, talk to you later. See you on the trail. Bye.
