Whoever did it wanted to send a message.
Someone painted letters next to the block "G" above Moab, forming the words "Go Away." It's visible from downtown Moab, although you have to look closely to see it.
The vandalism was first reported Wednesday in the weekly edition of the Moab Times-Independent newspaper. Editor and co-publisher Adrien Taylor said her paper received a tip about it. Their photographer stepped outside their downtown office and snapped a picture with a telephoto lens.
"If you look up there, you can see that there's something besides the big 'G', but you have to have either binoculars or a telephoto lens, or have better eyesight than I do," she said Thursday.
Since then, Taylor said the vandalism has become the buzz of the town. However, no one has claimed responsibility.
"We have a huge controversy down here about motorized versus non-motorized land users," Taylor said. "It could be the motorized faction telling the mountain bikers to go away. It could be an old family telling the tourists to go away."
Accessing the Grand County "G" is difficult. Whoever did it would have had to rappel down the side of the rock to paint the words, said Grand County School District Superintendent Ron Ferguson.
"You have to have rappelling equipment to do it, because it's on a cliff that's straight up and down," he said Thursday. "Basically all you're doing is painting on that."
Local alumni have cared for the "G." Several years ago, Ferguson said, someone made it disappear by painting over it with the same color as the red-rock cliff.
"Someone thought it was offensive to be on the mountain," he said. "The alumni — dyed in the wool, true Devils (the Moab High School mascot), they were very upset and painted it back."
Ferguson said he expects some local alumni will be on the cliff soon, painting out the added letters.
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com