Summary: Granaries located in the high cliffs of Eastern Utah, notably Nine Mile Canyon and Range Creek, are defensively positioned. This granary faces what is not legally designated, but is,
a "wild and scenic river."
Literally this granary is a perfect piece of rock art. Notice the circular light on the ground adjacent to the granary. A round overhead stone is moved to allow visitors to enter this alcove through the roof.
Now, the sun shines through the hole. Once inside the alcove, we face the Green River winding through the twisted ravines of Desolation Canyon.
Outside the alcove, the noon sun glares. We sit in the cool shadows in perfect peace. Indeed, Desolation Perfection. I notice faint needle-thin zigzag lines carved on the edge of the alcove. Are these a possible tribute to rain?
Desolation Canyon was and is a formidable gorge to transverse. Yet, here, Fremont farmers built this granary to store their harvest. In nearby Range Creek and Nine Mile Canyon, granaries were placed in
locations which we now regard as inaccessible. The rock art in those canyons documents warfare between tribal people, fighting with every sort of primitive weapon. This perfect granary evidences the great
struggle to survive a thousand years ago in the midst of these vertical rock walls.
Today there is another struggle in Desolation Canyon, a struggle to preserve this river wilderness. A rush to develop natural gas resources on the Tavaputs plateau and in the Uintah basin may destroy what is undesignated but truly deserves to be a "wild and scenic river."