As you enter the visitor's center, you are greeted by this enchanting example of Native American rock art. According to Manfred Knaak's book "The Forgotten Artist" this is a replica made by archaeologist-artist Daniel McCarthy. The actual site is located in a small cave at the southwestern part of the park. One of the few sites you can still drive right up to in your vehicle.
At sunrise of the equinox, as you look from the cave to the east, you will see the sun come up though a peculiar rock arrangement about a half mile away.
The very first time I came to observe the alignment I had camped out the night before and I was sitting in front of the cave trying to figure out how it would look at sunrise the next morning. As I sat there the moon began to rise and came up though the very same place. As I came to find out over the years this was a rare event because the moon never came up exactly at this same place again.
Do to the arrangement of the mountaintop and other boulders in the foreground, there is a rectangular beam of light that illuminates the horseman in the cave.
This photo was taken at sunrise on March 21, 2002
