If you have ever tried to peck a picture, a word, or even a single letter into rock with another piece of stone, then you will appreciate the hours of labor and dedication that went in to creating this panel. While relatively soft in terms of mineral hardness, sandstone is still stone. It is very hard and requires equally hard work and a deft touch in order to carve into it recognizable lines and shapes.

I love these places. In addition to their mystery, they hold a significance that transcends time. The artist is unknown and the message conjecture at best. But these pictographs are drawings made by human hands, and like today's art, they reflect the culture of their day. It is hard to be in these places and not feel the connection between artist and society. This intimate relationship survives along with the images, and it reaches across centuries to remind us that we aren't that much different. We are fundamentally drawn to the creative process, either as a participant, a spectator, or both. It's at our core, and has been for a very long time.