Long before vacationers and campers came to visit and experience the wonders of the Colorado Plateau, families of another kind called this place home. They left messages in the rocks of the canyons, visible to the world yet hidden to the casual observer. Every symbol that remains has survived the intense elements; against pounding wind, threatening rain, baking sun and greedy collectors, they continue to intrigue and inspire artists, scientists and travelers with their quiet existence.

Native Americans etched into the sandstone to communicate their messages and later the early pioneers felt the same human impulse to document, to triumphantly give testimony, of their passage through this severe landscape. What a sensation it must have been; to engrave a message into stone, the most permanent canvas at hand, not knowing if others eyes would ever look upon it. This is the focus of the fourth annual Powell Symposium in Page, Arizona. Travel with us as we gather to witness The Writing on the Walls.

              

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