Out in the Field with Ray
Ray, Enilse and Bogie in Hurricane, Utah
By: Enilse Sehuanes-Urbaniak, 9/3/25
It was magical. Going out exploring Solstices, Equinoxes, and Cross Quarter sites with Ray has been such a unique part of my life. It increased my respect for his enthusiasm for archaeology and the Pleistocene period's history. I would always feel the excitement before an outing. His creative process always started days or weeks before by making a careful calculation of the Sun’s position throughout the seasons, investigating Google Maps for precise site locations, and planning a timeframe for possible alignments. He kept a spiral notebook and computer files with numerical calculations of multiple sites, which most often were not too far from home.
Ray would be thinking about these sites all year long- sometimes for years- to understand what could possibly mark and what meaning this may have had for the Natives, including the Paiutes of this area. His research was intuitive yet scientific and analytical. Ray knew that what would start out as a gut feeling had to be backed up with documentation, recording the viewing in real time, as the shafts of light were marking the panels. This process of recording rock art (and depictions of Ice Age Animals and The Pleiades) eventually led to a way of digitally preserving these important sites since they were rapidly being destroyed due to growth and lack of respect for these sacred rocks.
Ray would often say that “somehow” he would be led to these sacred sites and informed when and where to go, in time for the solstices and equinoxes. Sometimes he would get a message in dreams… he’d get up at night and take notes so he wouldn’t forget.
The day of the exploration was always like a holy day. Ray would pack up the truck with a backpack containing a digital camera (sometimes a drone), compass, etc., a tripod, walking stick, snacks, water, then we’d load up our little terrier, Bogie, in the back seat of his pickup. I was always happy and honored to go explore (when he wasn’t going out with his hiking buddies or fellow colleagues). The drive would eventually lead to remote dirt roads, followed by a good hike to the rock panels, which weren’t always easy to get to.
Keep in mind that sometimes an outing would involve hours of waiting, keeping a watchful eye on the rockface to see where and when the light show would happen, as well as looking for pointers and Ogham writing on the rock surfaces. We’d keep alert to the shafts of light and shadows appearing right before us, touching the panels (the shaman, the spiral, etc.). Both of us would take pictures at different angles, in case one of us missed something. And we’d have fun just hanging out in this spectacular scenery- even in the heat or the cold...It didn’t get any better than this!
It was always a memorable experience witnessing something that was previously unknown to anyone else, except, maybe, the native peoples who created the markings and later the Paiutes who would add their own symbols on the rockfaces. Over the centuries, other native travelers passing through the area would leave their own unique mark on the landscape. This was a gift to our senses- a complete spiritual experience!
After an outing of exploring a site, Ray’s research would continue for days, weeks, or years. After we’d get back home, he would load all his digital photos and cellphone images on to his computer, create files, and carefully enlarge and study the images over time, “sleeping on them”, sometimes enhancing the pictographs and petroglyphs and markings to see what was below the surface level of the upper layer of the glyph… was there a story to be told by the Ancient One’s?
He also exchanged correspondence via email or Facebook with colleagues from across the world to find similarities of foreign panels or objects in other regions. His avid reading of archaeology and anthropology books and scientific articles on the web would expand his mind further, enriching his ideas.
Eventually, from the images in stone that he was studying, a “story” would unfold, or maybe it was back to the drawing board type of thing, when he felt he didn’t have enough data to support his ideas.
Around 15 years ago, Ray joined the Pleistocene Coalition News of independent archaeological thinkers and writers. With the support from the editors of PCN, he was able to refine his ideas further, with more clarity. Ray’s participation in this venue significantly enhanced the quality and impact of his research within the PCN community and its online readers.
His work in archaeology became the central focus of his life until his passing, which occurred after an unexpected illness that resulted in him spending the Summer Solstice of June 2024 in a hospital room rather than outdoors exploring, following his bliss.
“Seeing & documenting what had been overlooked” by mainstream archaeology was Ray’s approach. He liked to call it Intuitive Archeology. These personal insights uncover a look into his creative, beautiful mind.