The man of the hour

Here he is: Moab Man. This is one of the more famous rock art images of the Moab area, often depicted on stickers, keychains, and coffee mugs in the numerous souvenir shops along Main Street. Can't blame him really; he's rather iconic-looking.

Moab thrives as the gateway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, but boasts many natural and cultural wonders of its very own. The hikes around here are beautiful, and the petroglyphs are everywhere, if your eyes are sharp enough. Also in this area: the birthing rock, which depicts a woman giving birth, and a controversial "mastadon" petroglyph (mastadons went extinct some 12,000 years ago, so that would make the image quite old indeed).

I scouted out Moab Man (southeast of town) and several sites along Kane Creek Blvd, where the birthing rock is lurking, but no such luck on the latter. Not today anyway.