Wind River Reservation, WY (5/13 & 14/2021)

 Before leaving Rawlins, I took a couple more scenic drives, but the scenery wasn't anything special.  I'll fast forward to the drive to Dubois, WY, which took me through the Wind River Reservation.  This 3.4 million acre reservation is shared by the Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe tribes, and is in the Upper Wind River Range.  (The Lower Wind River Range was featured in a September, 2018 travelogue.)  This reservation is one of the poorest communities in the U.S. and experiences one of the highest homicide rates.  It was the setting for the 2017 movie "Wind River", filmed mostly in Park City, Utah.  Only enough footage for backdrop was actually shot in the reservation.  

Here are a few "windshield" shots as I drove through the reservation on my way to Dubois.

One reason for coming here was to seek out two petroglyph sites in the area that I had heard about.  It turned out that one of them was on the reservation and was signed "no entry without permit...fines $100-$500".  Well, I didn't know where to get a permit so I decided to risk it.  The gravel road was in good condition and had nice scenery, including several lakes and the creek that fed them.  

There was even what appeared to be an old movie set, although I was unable to find what movie may have made use of it.

Near the head of the canyon was an idyllic setting with a few houses on a large grassy meadow.  I could visualize a similar scene from several hundred years ago, except there would be teepees rather than houses.

At the end of the road there was a steep cliff where the petroglyphs were located high on the wall, protected by a rocky climb  and a chain link fence.  I chose to stay below and use the telephoto lens for my pictures.  I'm sure I missed some of the art because of this.  These drawings are a different style than any I've seen before.  The humanoid figures seem to have bird characteristics, such as wings and faces like owls.  Unfortunately, there was some evidence of vandalism, which explains why the fence was installed.

There were also quite a few birds in the canyon, here are but a few.

Tree Sparrow

Common Merganser (Male)

Common Merganser (Female)

Tree Swallow

Osprey (with dinner)

Mountain Bluebird

So I managed a safe exit, avoiding yet another nasty experience on the reservation.