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Craig — Early morning sunshine illuminates Hazel Holdridge's face and the line of photographs hanging above her.

At the other end of Mckey Chiropractic Clinic where Holdridge works, more photographs cover the walls - pictures of petroglyphs located in Moffat County.

The pictures are Holdridge's own, and they attest to her growing passion - not only for photography but also ancient Native American culture and art.

For her, as well as other members of the Colorado Archeological Society's Vermillion Chapter, the centuries-old rock drawings represent a connection with societies long past.

Holdridge's interest in petroglyphs began a year and a half ago when she toured Vermillion Canyon, located in Moffat County. She was hoping to find a petroglyph she saw in a photograph.

"It struck me so much (that) later I still talk about that picture," she said.

She never found that piece of rock art.

But she's seen many more since becoming vice president of the Vermillion Chapter, a local group that formed last year.

With the group, she's traveled from Pat's Hole in Brown Park to the area surrounding Rangely, searching for petroglyphs.

The appeal?

"It's kind of a connection to the past," said Bill Lawrence, the chapter's president, adding that some sites are 2,000 years old.

Still, that connection is fraught with mystery.

Debate surrounds the drawings' meanings. Some believe they are a form of ancient graffiti while others believe they mark religious sites or tell a story, the group president said.

Holdridge maintains the latter view.

A descendant of one of the state's first settlers, she was raised on stories relating individuals overcoming obstacles. In her opinion, ancient rock art fulfills the same function.

"I have a deep respect for the hardships they had," she said. "It's a very humbling experience for me to stand in front of petroglyphs : and know who walked before us."

She acknowledged that some drawings are obscure and their interpretation can vary among individuals.

"While we may never know exactly what the art means, we have vivid imaginations - we can guess," she said.

Other drawings are more direct.

Lawrence recalled seeing one petroglyph at the mouth of Irish Canyon - a drawing of a man holding a decapitated head in one hand and an axe in the other.

For him, the artist's message is clear: Back off.

Whether their message is ambiguous or not, time hasn't diminished Lawrence's interest in the drawings.

"It's sort of like painting in a way," he said. "You get a feel of what someone experienced in the past."

Lawrence began visiting local rock art sites more than five years ago.

What was once a personal interest became a group affair when he and other residents formed the Vermillion Chapter and began making day trips to rock art sites.

The group makes their trips approximately twice a month. When Holdridge leaves the sites, she takes nothing except photographs.

She and Lawrence hope other visitors will do the same.

Lawrence is working to secure a grant from the Colorado Historical Society that will equip group members to photograph local rock art sites and complete site reports.

The purpose: To prevent ancient Native American drawings from vandals and black market merchants, Lawrence said.

If the grant is accepted, the state Historical Society will use the Vermillion Chapter's work to monitor ancient rock art.

Petroglyphs can suffer various untimely fates, including becoming target practice for hunters and contraband archeological goods, Lawrence said.

"I'd like to emphasize that rock art is something from the past," he said. "It's something that needs to be preserved (and) cannot be vandalized."