Some of us think Utah was settled in 1847, but people lived here 12,000 years ago.

My love of history started in the 4th grade when teacher Earl Bowles spoke of his World War Two services. I was smitten with history. I went home and asked my parents if I could save the pioneer papers, journals and clothes that were brought to Nephi from both sides of my family in the 1850's. A few years later, my mother wanted the garage cleaned out, so I took historical things and hid them in World War Two sealed ammunition containers and they remained safe for 50 years and now opening them. History involves a lot of things, and I have been doing historical searches around the world. I became familiar with the people at the Natural History Museum of Utah who invited me to do a "dig" where the Anasazi Indians lived and then disappeared. I later called them "The Ancient Ones" as that was a description for those people. For two weeks, we dug and found evidence they lived there two thousand years ago. When the Antiquities Act changed, our findings had to be locked away for a future generation to examine. I then became familiar with Kevin Jones, who was the Utah Archaeologist at the time and he asked if I would assist at a dig on Antelope Island, as I was already there as a weekend volunteer. We could tell they were Fremont Indians and the bones and material unearthed were where the Indians came over on canoes to hunt. The last photo is my square at a dig at Martins Cove, where a lot of the Handcart pioneers perished. I later met a man named James Jenson, who was nick named "Dinosaur Jim" who became world famous for finding different Dinosaurs and putting them together. After he passed away, his family deeded a lot of his works to me and I then donated most of them to the University of Utah and to the Jim Jenson museum at BYU. I hope this brief introduction to discover the past, and to find the difference between Pictographs and Petroglyphs as they are all through Utah at McConkie Ranch; Parowan Gap; Fremont State Park, and yes right here in Juab County. I have discovered two places near Nephi, and a new one was shown to me a couple weeks ago and is circled in the blue. Even if you are not quarantined- read, study and discover the fun history right around us, but be careful not to touch or disturb. Oil from our hands will ruin them faster than mother nature. There are books written as to what each symbol may mean. We know if you see one with a horse, it had to be made after 1540, as that is when the Spanish Conquistadors invaded the American Continent to rob and ruin the culture and history of the people that were here. Let us protect their history and culture, as it may help us survive our future.