Petroglyphs are less often seen in Joshua Tree National Park than pictographs are but this doesn’t mean they are not there, or are rarer. They’re just harder to find, out in the quiet nooks and crannies of the Park.
This companion site to the more well-known Red Lady or “Lone Woman of the Cave” site in Joshua Tree National Park is located in the same general vicinity.
It is also thought to depict the Chemehuevi legend of Tavapëtsi, the Sun, impregnating a woman with rays of sunlight ( specifically, the fan of light that can be seen shining down from the sun when the atmospheric conditions are just right ). The legend claims that the woman birthed twin sons for Tavapëtsi. In general, the legend is tied to the spring equinox and the period of fertility spring brings to nature.
One of the challenges of backcountry exploration is that you often don’t arrive at your destination during a good time of day for photography. Sometimes, the winter sun is kind of weak and everything appears washed out. Other times, the angle of the sun is such that every surface seems to shimmer with a bright glare , making it very hard to get good photos.
I found this site during a time of day that was certainly not conductive to good photography! Maybe I’ll head back at some point to try and capture better pictures since I think the area probably has more to offer!