©Bert Gildart: Oregon grape is now growing in profusion in our back yard, just as it is in areas all over the northwest.  It’s a harbinger of spring but also one of my favorite plants, a judgement that began years ago.

In a college botany class each student was required to create a plant collection then select one species from the collection and describe everything about it that might make it interesting.  I selected Majonia repens (Oregon grape) because it was not only beautiful but functional as well.

RECLASSIFICATION

As seen, the plant produces a cluster of small, bright yellow flowers, each of which contains six petals, nine sepals, six stamens.  Not too much prior to my college collection the plant was reclassified.

Previously the plant had been grouped with the genus Berberis, but because that genus also included 500 other plants botanists renamed Oregon grape and designated it Majonia.

Interestingly, come fall the plant produces a grape which is high in Vitamin C and was once used to treat scurvy. Many still collect the berry which is crushed and made into a jelly.  Indians crushed and dried the yellow roots to cure such maladies as heartburn, rheumatism, kidney problems, and some skin conditions.

PHOTO TECHNIQUES

With its yellow flowers the plant is a delight to photograph and to accentuate the vibrant yellow color I decided I wanted a black background.  As a result, I set my tripod mounted camera on manual, then set my two strobes to “slave.”  I went to the camera’s menu, found the appropriate window to designate my on-camera strobe to master, then chose an aperture of f32 to maximize depth of field.

Oregon grape, not only a harbinger of spring but one with an abundant number of uses.

Then, to completely overpower existing daylight, I set the shutter to 250^th of a second. Because I had no photo assistant I set the camera for a 15 second delayed exposure so I could step away from the camera and hand hold the strobes.  Recently fallen rain increased the plant’s color saturation.

It’s a technique that works well for me.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FOUR YEARS AGO:

*Arctic Grayling Now Spawning

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©Bert Gildart: Almost the moment we departed our truck parked along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, Janie shouted that we should stop.  “Stop,” she said.  “It’s a rattlesnake.”

Actually, that is what we were trying to find, but the observation was much sooner then we expected.  Several years ago our good friends, David and his wife VV, told us about a rattlesnake den they’d found while hiking. David said that subsequent to that time they’d often returned, for in the spring they had seen literally dozens of snakes near the mouth of the den.

Western Prairie Rattlesnake

OUT EARLY THIS YEAR

At this time of year, they were intertwined, still sharing the warmth of one another’s bodies.  But this year was different. Warm summer-like weather elevated temperatures and some snakes had apparently already left the den.  Still, we hoped some remained, and we continued our hike, passing a hole into which Janie’s snake had quickly disappeared.  “Snakes,” said David, “are generally defensive.  Given a chance, they’ll always scurry away.

Thirty minutes later we approached a rock-strewn slope.  It was located on the south side of a hill and so was warmed by the winter sun.  And, yes, we saw snakes, almost immediately.  They were the western prairie  rattlesnakes, and almost immediately they began to rattle.

L TO R: Rattlesnake country is beautiful country, highlighted by sedimentary rock often covered by colorful lichens; rattlesnake den in center of photo and at bottom; David surveying country from inside an eagle pit, once used by Native Americans for capturing eagles.

They were under rocks and in the crevasses of our sandstone hill.  But as we suspected, many had apparently departed, for last year at this time David had seen literally dozens of snake intertwined like so much spaghetti.

These snakes, however, were not happy about our presence. Simultaneously, one elevated its tail and head and we gave it a wide berth until it settled down.  Then with a long telephoto lens I approached it.  I wanted a close-up shot and because the close focusing distance of my lens was about eight feet I inserted an extension tube and was able to approach within about six feet.  David, who has made a study of snakes said they can’t strike more than about half their body length, and I was well beyond that distance.

PIT VIPERS

Rattlesnakes are classified as pit vipers, and the close-up images shown here reveal these pits just below their eyes.  They serve as heat sensors and when hunting, the pits inform snakes where they should strike their prey.  These pits have an effective range of approximately one foot, but they provide the rattlesnake with a distinct advantage in hunting for warm-blooded creatures at night.

One of the snakes posed nicely beside a translucent sheath and I realized it was a discarded skin, though probably not a recent one.  As snakes grow they shed their skins, and apparently do so several times a year.  Later I found a baby rattlesnake and David said to be careful.  “Before they can rattle,” said David, “they must have two rattles.”  This one had but a “button,” a single rattle.  Though it could shake its tail, there was nothing for the one rattle (the button) to rattle against.

L TO R:  Click pictures one and two for larger image and to easily see “pits” of snake located just below eyes.  Though rattlesnakes are defensive, when approached too close, they will assume aggressive posture, showing head elevated, tongue out and tail up.

Rattlesnakes travel with their rattles held up to protect them from damage, but in spite of this precaution, their day-to-day activities in the wild still cause them to regularly break off end segments. As a result there is no correlation between age and the number of rattles.

GIVE BIRTH TO LIVING YOUNG

Unlike many other snakes, rattlesnakes give birth to living young.  In other words, they are, according to an old college professor of mine, “viviperous.” Depending on size and age, females rattlesnakes produce from 10 to 20 young once every two to three years.  Most young don’t make it past their first year, and are preyed upon by a variety of different birds.

Rattlesnakes are also destroyed by people, and as we returned from our trip, a fellow drove up in a rundown truck and said he was out killing snakes.  “I’ve gotten two already,” said the fellow with a glazed look of one who had just stepped out of a bar. As snake defenders we said that without them the country would be overrun with rodents.  Realizing our opinions differed the man jammed his truck into gear and spun off in a cloud of dust and small rocks.

“So much for jerks,” we said, and recounted our day’s activities discussing the eagle pit (used by Native Americans to capture eagles) we’d seen and the beautiful country through which we hiked.  We were also fascinated by the incredible biology of snakes and concluded we’d had a most successful day.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Organ Pipe Restrospective

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©Bert Gildart: Upper Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona may offer opportunities to capture one of the most picturesque series of sandstone formations in the world – and the Navajo who own this land have learned how to capitalize on the opportunity.

Antelope Canyon Tours offers several excursions to the canyon, one for the general public and another tour for those who consider themselves to be professional photographers.  If you join the latter, the price doubles from $40 to $80, but then the opportunity is most likely a once-in-a-life-time event.

The photography tour is limited to 12 people though you will at times still be competing with individuals from the other tours for space.  Most are considerate, but they are trying to move along, so sometimes it helps to point your camera up rather than along the route others will follow.

Upper Antelope Canyon is only about 100 yards long, and access to the canyon does not insure that you will return with good images.  In fact, there are techniques which one should master if one really wants to do justice to the canyon.  It also helps if your guide works with you to insure that other visitors don’t walk in front of your camera during the long time exposures that are mandatory.

I lucked out with a good guide, whom I later tipped generously.  When others were about to enter the scene I was trying to record he’d ask them to please hold for just a minute.  “Photographer at work.”

Contrast in the canyon is intense so most of the images shown here are created from a blend of three separate images, each taken at different exposures from a tripod for about two minutes, and then later merged on my computer using a High Density Resolution (HDR) program known as PhotoMatrix.  Images of the people were made quickly cranking up my ISO to about 800, and from previous experience (see images from WEIO in Alaska) I know that Nikon can handle high ISO settings.   However, to make images of people work I had to avoid pointing my camera at scenes where contrast was great.

To accentuate the light streaming in from above, guides threw sand into the air.  In other words, they’d learned through the years what makes for a good image.  My guide also knew some of the best areas to set up.

Summer, meaning about now, starts to see overwhelming numbers, so winter could be a better time if you are bothered by large numbers of people.  Regardless, I’d recommend the tour for any simply wishing to see some of the world’s most incredible sandstone formations.  Upper Antelope Canyon has got it!  But then, so does Lower Antelope, which I described in my last post. In fact, I enjoyed Lower Antelope because the pace was more relaxed and there was time to set up without having to worry about people stepping into your picture.  With Janie, we were also able to develop a feeling for these works of natural art, and, again, I described all that in my last post.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FOUR YEARS AGO:

*Amargosa Opera House

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©Bert Gildart: Off and on over the past few days Janie and I have been visiting a number of areas formerly occupied by the Southern Sinagua Indians.  One of the most spectacular of these areas was Montezuma Well, a natural tank of water created when an unground cavern sunk.

Today, this natural limestone sinkhole near Rimrock, Arizona, sees the flow each day of over 1,400,000 US gallons all created by two underground springs. The well measures 368 feet across and is 55 feet deep.

Janie descending trail to Montezuma Well

Water from the well was used for irrigation, and trails maintained by the national park service provide bird’s eye views of the outlet in the side of a wall from which the waters pour from Montezuma Well.

CHALLENGING LIFE

The Sinagua once used the water for irrigation funneling it through a canal, just as it is done today.  Today, farmers still use portions of the water that yet  flows through the original Sinagua canal. Some Native Americans  believe they emerged into this world through the well, and remains a very sacred place to them.

L to R:  Small cliff dwelling near Montezuma Well; canal that directs water from outlet seen at middle right to agricultural fields; Montezuma Castle

Trail to the canal pass by several old cliff dwellings, and we stopped to examine several.  Another nearby visitor  said they’d just seen a scorpion scurrying across the rock floor.  Most likely, life for these people provided constant challenges.

THE NAME STUCK

One of the best preserved of all these cliff dwelling is Montezuma Castle, located about ten miles away and a ruin we wanted to see, because it had a reputation of being very well preserved.  The odd name came from the mistaken believe that the cliff dwelling was a castle Aztec refuges had built for their emperor.  Montezuma, however, never strayed this far north, but the name stuck.

Today, marks the end of a week-long stay at Dead Horse Ranch near Cottonwood, and from here we’re making a slight detour to hopefully take in the scenic wonders provided at Antelope Canyon near Page.  It is probably one of the most sought out places by professional photographers, which is probably a good reason now to avoid it.  But it is also our last chance to visit with Don and Nancy before we all go our separate ways, a couple we’ve grown very fond of.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Natchez Trace

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©Bert Gildart:  Among the red cliffs of Navajo sandstone  just south of Sedona and north of Cottonwood, AZ,  there is a rock panel that is perfectly aligned in a north-south orientation.  That orientation figures into creation of some of North America’s  most incredible Native American petroglyphs.

Standing before the fence intended to protect rare rock art from careless hands, one sees images of the sun, elk, deer, cranes and of many indescribable squiggly lines that until recently had meaning only to their ancient makers.  Amazingly, these lines influenced a culture, and Janie and I had arrived early to see them.

Wall of petroglyphs at V-Bar-V

But now it is afternoon and because I’ve come to realize the squiggly lines were so important and reacted with the sun so significantly, I’ve remained from the initial tour Janie and I joined to see the unfolding of a phenomena.  At almost 1:15 exactly, the sun slices between two boulders that have lodged high on the cliff overhead.  There are two dark  lines and as they lengthen they strike a path over one  of the 1,000-plus  petroglyphs on the wall, specifically one of the several etched out suns referred to as the “Sun Father.”  As well, the ray covers one of the squiggly lines, which our guide calls “steps.”

L to R: Details of images from the huge panel, noting suns in left image as well as pared turtles; paired cranes in middle and paired designs on right.

According to our guide, the actual sun will progress from one of the three suns created as petroglyphs.  As the month progresses it will move to eventually touch  the other two, simultaneously moving along the steps represented as interconnecting letter “w,”  our squiggly lines.  This movement requires 180 days, and it was once important to observe as it represents the vernal equinox and the beginning of planting season.  Finally, about three  months later, it represents the end of the planting season.  After that the various crops  would  no longer prosper. In other words, it preserves what some believe was a solar calendar.

The conclusion, of course, is inescapable:  The Southern Sinagua Indians who once occupied this site were a sophisticated group.  They understood the movements of the sun and the movements of the earth.  Fortunately, their way of life has all been preserved at the V-Bar-V Heritage site in a Forest Service preserved site located between Sedona and Cottonwood, Arizona.

Huge boulders and the chance alignment of the sun and wall combine with the drawings on the panel, which were not “chance” creations .  All this according to interpreters provided a calender that informed on appropriate time for planting.  Last image shows close up of sun (near edge of image toward bottom left) and again, interpreters explain the manner in which this lingers over the months to signify the end of the planting season. Look for the “squiggly” lines just above the turtles.

Most such sites are locked up tight (such as a solar dagger in Chaco), but this one is available for public tours and no one in the area should miss the opportunity.  The two end photos were taken about 1:15 and the streaks of light remained for about 30 minutes, lengthening and then finally fading until the wall was completely blocked up, once again, in shadows.  Low light works well and is the lighting I chose for all above images.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*The Natchez Trace and Two Centuries of Travel

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©Bert Gildart:  We have moved from our wonderful campground at the base of the Superstition Mountains to Deadhorse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood, Arizona.  Though noted for tourism we were attracted to the area because of the multitude of Native American ruins located nearby.

Yesterday, we visited Tuzigoot, a remnant of a Southern Sinagua village built between 1125 and 1400.

Tuzigoot, a pueblo of the Southern Sinagua

According to the park brochure, the village once consisted of a cluster of rooms which began with the work of about 50 persons, all of whom tilled the soil.  Refugee farmers fleeing from drought added to the population and the village swelled to about 200.

About 1400 villagers abandoned their pueblos and though no one knows exactly why, offer as possible reasons over population, depletion of natural resources, weather changes – and perhaps even changes in spiritual beliefs.

Any of this sound familiar?

HDR MAY WORK BEST

Photographing Tuzigoot in the intense and harsh Arizona sunlight can be a challenge and here is where I think High Density Resolution (HDR) may provide the perfect solution in the creation of pleasing images.

Tuzigoot, ruin left behind by the Southern Sinagua, a culture that once flourished in the Verde Valley.

To create images shown here I bracketed three stops and then used PhotoMatrix to merge those portions of each image where the exposure was correct.  That way shadows don’t go black and highlights don’t wash out.  HDR has a tendency to dramatize the colors and that can be modified, though I like a slight exaggeration, and believe there are times natural light might render the images as currently shown.  Some may also think the image appears to have been heavily  polarized.

The Cottonwood area contains many more Native structures and we will be visiting those over the next few days. I will also be reading the galleys of my book on Montana which Globe Pequot, my publisher, has pushed up to September.  It appears that work this next week will keep Janie and me jumping.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Natchez Mississippi and Its Spring Pilgramage

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©Bert Gildart: Today, we will take down our solar panels, pull up the huge outdoor mat (checking to make sure there are no scorpions underneath), crank up our stabilizing jacks, and unite the stinger on the Dodge with the Hensley Hitch on our Airstream and depart this beautiful campground.

Airstream at Lost Dutchman, back dropped by Flatiron Peak, just a little left of center.

We’ve been here 12 days and our next destination is Dead Horse Campground near the town of Cottonwood.  Seems, however, that we always regret leaving an area, and that is certainly true of Lost Dutchman nestled here at the base of the Arizona’s Superstition Mountains.  During our stay here our activities have been diverse, to include two nights now at Filly’s Bar, where they have a great country and western band.

But that’s been a diversion from our other activities which essentially have been exploring all the natural wonders this area has to offer. Back dropping the photo of our Airstream you can see Flatiron Mountain, which I struggled up.  It’s located about a third of the way in from the left.

L to R:  Beavertail cactus; Zebratail lizard, and Fishhook cactus, all seen along Hieroglyphics Trail.

As well, Janie and I hiked the Hieroglyphics Trail, and were astounded at all the short hike had to offer.  Cacti were in bloom and for me were climaxed by opportunities to photography the Fishhook and the Beavertail cacti in full bloom.  The end of the trail lived up to its promise with an amazing display of petroglyphs.  Joining us and scurrying around our feet was the  Zebratail Lizard shown just above.

Days here have been hot but the six solar panels we use for keeping us charged have insured that we can run our two Max-air fans, and they’ve kept a steady current flowing through our trailer that has provided comfort, despite afternoon temperatures near 90.

L to R: Birds surrounding our campground have been numerous, and include Gambel’s Quail and the Curved-billed Thrasher.  Center image shows a petroglyph panel from along Hieroglyphic Trail, also in the Superstition Mountains.

Mornings and evening, however, have been comfortable and we’ve invested our time studying all the birds attracted to the feed which we have scattered.  Interesting species include the Cactus wren, Curved-bill Thrasher, Gambel’s Quail, male and female Cardinals, and many others.

And so we leave Lost Dutchman with regrets, though we are nevertheless anticipating seeing the fascinating Native American  ruins that surround the Dead Horse Campground.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FROM THREE YEARS AGO:

*Why An Armed Escort in Organ Pipe

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©Bert Gildart:  We’ve been camped at Arizona’s Lost Dutchman State Park for almost 10 days and have particularly enjoyed learning about some of the uses of  plants once harvested by Native Americans. The campground hostess added relevancy when she said she’d been harvesting some of the Anderson’s Wolfberries, which now flourish.  We sampled them and agreed that they taste a bit like tomatoes.  In miniature they also look like tomatoes.

Anderson's Wolfberry, now growing in profusion just outside our Airstream.

Because they are so abundant we were not surprised to learn that Native Americans also made use of them, and research reveals the Navajo used parts of the plant as medicine and in ceremonials.

In times of famine various tribes ate the dried berries, which they mixed with saline clay to create a “food clay.”

COMPELLING PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIES

In addition to many other uses, they also make for compelling photographic studies, particularly for those interested in macro photography. The berries are tiny, perhaps a quarter inch in diameter, and their red color adds interest to the study.

Another species growing outside our Airstream is the jojoba, also used by Native Americans who ground the jojoba seeds to create an oil.

As such they used it to protect skin and hair against the desert sun.

(Jojoba shown at right.)

Oil from the jojoba seeds was also (among other things) used to treat skin irritations and burns.  Jojoba seeds were chewed as a dietary supplement.

Put in other words, life in this — the Sonoran Desert — was possible through the accumulation of knowledge subsequently handed down through the ages.

Such knowledge is still useful.

CONTEMPORARY USES

Today, the oil from the jojoba is used commercially and just as it was popular with Native Americans so it is also popular contemporaneously for hair and skin care, particularly in the USA. As well it is used in the treatment of psoriasis, eczema, sun burn, skin care.

Anderson's Wolfberry, fruit according to campground hostess tastes like tomatoe and makes good jelly, which is one of her winter projects.

Though its uniform color does not provide for the same dramatic photographic studies, pictures reveal an interesting species that had and still has many uses.  Because it is growing in abundance immediately outside our door, understanding the use of  both the jojoba and the  Wolfberry provides insights into the survival of land-based groups.

It shows how Janie and I might start to survive – if we had to.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Amargosa Opera House

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©Bert Gildart:  Here at the base of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, various species of cholla are now in full bloom and the flowers the species produces are absolutely gorgeous.  But it requires only the slightest of brushes against the plant to appreciate the names:  Staghorn cholla, Teddy bear – and Jumping Cholla.  The last of the names is applied because the spines literally seem to be jumping from the plant and then clinging to its victim.

The biology of the species is fascinating, but just as interesting are some of the ways in which various species of wildlife have managed to use the most irritating aspects of the plant to work for them.

This, then, is a brief portfolio picturing the plant’s biology as well as a few of the species of wildlife that have made the almost dangerous aspects of the cholla work for it.

L to R:  Jumping Cholla backdropped by Superstition Mountains, flower of cholla, fruit of cholla.

Cholla has evolved to produce both flowers and spines from the same location known as the areole (see middle image just below).  Spines, of course, are the structures used for one of two purposes.  They either protect or they are used to help in the process of dissemination.  Spines are of two types and if you look closely at the pad of this jumping cholla (again, middle below), you’ll see two types of spines, the central spine and the radials.  When touched, spines of this cholla break off in joints and it only takes the merest of touches and wham – you’ve got an unwanted passenger.

I carry needle nose pliers, and that’s generally what it takes to pull one off.  Obviously, the spines are painful.

Cholla also produces a fruit (above right) and I’ve back dropped its beauty (below right)  with a sunset.  Fruit of course is also associated with flowers, and the flowers of cholla are absolutely gorgeous.

L to R:  Pack rats use the joints, which contain those lethal looking spines to protect its nest, somehow dragging them by the hundreds to their sites; areole of cholla showing both central and radial spines; cholla bacdropped by setting sun, creating a deceptively inviting setting.

Some species of wildlife have somehow learned to use the cholla joints for protection and one is the packrat (above left).  Janie and I found this nest immediately outside our camper.  Not only had the packrat collected cholla, but it had also pulled in a corn husk and several different candy wrappers.

To me the most incredible adaptation is the one made by the Curved-billed Thrasher. Somehow it avoids the spines and creates a nest deep with a cactus plant, most typically, the Jumping Cholla, probably because it grows up to 12 feet tall.  Finding a nest (me that is)  meant carefully pushing aside cactus branches and then invariably using pliers to extract cholla joints.  In this manner I found four nests, only one of which was properly oriented for photography.

Though "everything cholla" is interesting, the most fascinating of associations is that of the Curved-billed Thrasher with an environment that seems almost lethal.

Curved-billed Thrasher emerges from nest to investigate the noise created by ravens flying overhead.  The bird quickly accepted my photo blind.

I set up a blind and then spent almost eight full hours waiting for the nesting Curved-billed Thrasher to assume the proper pose.  For me this provided one of my most exciting photographic challenges of the season and I was delighted with several of the results.  I’m hoping that before we leave the young will hatch and that I can see them perched on a thorn.

For me, the adaptation this Thrasher has made to almost lethal environment symbolizes one of the greatest challenges in this complex world of natural history, and I feel privileged to have seen it here at the base of the Superstition Mountains near our Lost Dutchman Campsite.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVEL FOUR YEARS:

*National Bison Range

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©Bert Gildart:  The cacti are blooming now in the hills that surround us here in Arizona’s Lost Dutchman State Park, allowing me to pursue my fascination with macro photography.  For me that means multiple strobe setups and a sturdy tripod to optimize composition.  Ideally, the tripod should be one that allows one to position the camera about a foot above the ground level.

Strobes enable one to arrest all motion and optimize depth of field.

To improve understanding of the flower’s components  requires that one increase depth of field, and so I stopped my Nikon 105mm macro lens  down to f-32.  As well I set the camera to manual and then the shutter speed to 250 of a second.  Those settings override ambient light meaning that all illumination is created by the proper  positioning of the strobes.  Such powerful light positioned up close  makes the background go black which seems to intensify the flower’s yellow color.  However, the brilliance of strobe light can create “hot” spots so I covered the domes with diffusers.

But the work pays off  for it dramatizes the color and it accentuates the spines of the cacti, which appear as tiny spears.  Touch them as you may think they are.  Hard to believe that  from an evolutionary point of view spines were actually  derived from leaves.

Because the thorns seem to leap onto a person’s clothing and lodge in their flesh, many call these yellow-flowered cacti “jumping cholla.”  Spend a day wandering around cacti and you’ll soon agree the term is appropriate.

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THIS TIME TWO YEARS AGO:

**Padre Island Pelican Patrol

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©Bert Gildart: I’ve reported before on some of the more repulsive traits of the turkey vulture, but today, I want to say that at times the species can appear magisterial, wise and aloof.

For over an hour the vultures preened and dried their wings.  Sinister in appearance the wire added to the thought.

For the next few days we’ll be camped along the Salt River, a river that derives part of its water from the Rio Verde and that flows through Tonto National Forest.  Early this morning, while on an early morning “bird walk, Janie and I saw this group, which was part of a smaller flock of about a dozen.  They had flown in from their patrols overhead, choosing an old fence loaded with barbed wire for a spot at which to roost.  At times they stretched out their wings presumably to dry them off.  Other times they preened, and they reminded us of vultures and other birds we had seen in Florida.

Three Wise old men

Quickly I ran back for my camera and tripod, mounting an 840mm lens to my Nikon7000.  Because the magnification is so extreme I used the mirror lock up to reduce all vibration – and this posting represents an edit I made from over 50 images taken during a two hour periods.

Vultures are fascinating and perform the valuable function of cleaning the landscape.  We’ll be camped here at Tonto for the next few days, and I hope to photograph the group some more.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FOUR YEARS AGO:

*Alligators on My Mind

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©Bert Gildart: About a week ago life-long friends Dave and V.V. Shea flew down from Montana and have been exploring parts of Anza Borrego Desert State Park with us. I think they are beginning to understand why we’ve become desert rats, and why we’ve been making winter visits each year to this part of the Sonoran.

Trail through Indian morteros and pictographs concludes at incredible overlook of Smugglers Canyon.

I met David in Glacier National Park (This link is about my new Glacier book, mentioned below. Lots of pictures.) back in 1966, where we both served as rangers.  We both were involved in the park’s first fatal grizzly bear maulings.  David was at Granite Park Chalet where I was at Trout Lake, and each of us shot the grizzly bears that were thought to have killed the two girls that one night in August of 1967.  David married V.V. 30 years ago and then he and his bride packed into Belly River Ranger Station.  The historic station is the park’s most remote station, which is according to David and me, another word for “the best.”

L to R:  Trail to Smugglers Canyon Overlook provides opportunities to study ancient Kumeyaay Indian pictographs and morteros.  Another outing took us through Split Mountain to a trailhead that lea to caves sculptured  by wind, called therefore, “Wind Cave.”

Both David and I say that it was in part because of our experiences in Glacier that our interest in natural history mushroomed, and appropriately, David eventually worked as a permanent botanist for the Forest Service.  He is also a first-class writer and editor and has published a book on Glacier’s Chief Mountain.  As well, he reviewed the manuscript on my new book Glacier Icons, so for a host of reasons we were delighted they wanted us to share Anza Borrego with us.

David and V.V. both enjoyed our camp at Pegleg in part because the nights are so clear and the stars so vivid.  One evening we saw five planets: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn.  Seems as though David knew every single one of the 88 constellations, and he says his interest in astronomy began when he was in high school.

During the day the four of us made a number of hikes several to old Indian ruins, the others to see desert vegetation and the park’s incredible geology.  While here, the four of us hiked to an overlook that peered down onto Smuggler’s Cave, to several Indian morteros, to a panel of Indian rock art, and to an area known as Wind Caves.  We also made the drive to Sonny Bono to see owls, the subject of my last posting.

So far our only disappointment is that we have not found bighorn sheep, but that’s OK, for people should always leave a place wanting more.

AND NOW A NOTE: David, you should be here now as huge flocks of Swainson’s Hawks are flying north from Argentina. We saw them last night flying over our campsite.

AND YET ANOTHER NOTE TO OUR READERS: Finally our book Glacier Icons has hit the Amazon books shelves, and is described as follows:

From the mountain goats who linger by the visitor’s center on Logan Pass to the crystal-clear glacier-fed lakes, from the magnificent views from the Many Glacier Hotel to the old-growth forest landscapes, visitors will find much to ponder and enjoy within these pages. In 1903 writer, editor, and naturalist George Bird Grinnell expressed his thoughts in Century Magazine about this land he had come to love, calling the area the “Crown of the Continent.” His image of and descriptive story about the magnificent glacier-carved landscape in the far reaches of Montana brought about the creation of Glacier National Park in 1910. Grinnell’s description is apt, but it is just one of the collective descriptions that evokes iconic images of Glacier, also called the “Land of Shining Mountains” and known by many millions of visitors for their own personal stories and connections to its magnificent vistas and small wonders.

Glacier Icons contains fifty chapters filled with thousands of facts and hundreds of full-color photographs of iconic people, places, events, foods, animals, traditions, and more from all parts of this great national park.

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THIS TIME FOUR YEARS AGO:

*Exploring Glacier’s Highline

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©Bert Gildart: Three years ago I visited the Sonny Bono Wildlife refuge, which is located about an hour drive from Borrego Springs in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  At the time, which was March first, I’d gone there specifically to see the burrowing owls, and yesterday, that was again my purpose.

Even near a wildlife refuge Burrowing Owls can not find natural nesting sites.

Essentially, I wanted to see if nesting conditions had changed, and to quickly summarize, little has changed, meaning that burrowing owls — at and around this refuge — survive only because of some help, and because the species is so incredibly tolerant.  Put in other words, nest sites are about as unusual as you can find.

Under natural conditions, burrowing owls select burrows created by ground nesting mammals such as prairie dogs and various ground squirrels.  But farmers have eliminated all species of mammals that create burrows, and as a result, burrowing owls  have to rely on something else.

Three years ago a nesting pair was making use of a discarded Goodyear tractor tire, and I was absolutely astounded to see that an owl was making use of it this year.  Only one owl, however, occupied the “nest” so I’m not sure if young had already fledged.  Perhaps they had.

Farmers have eliminated ground nesting mammals -- and consequently the burrows once used by burrowing owls. To help, mangers have substituted PVC pipes, which owls have accepted.

Though wildlife managers had set out PVC pipe several years ago, at that time I didn’t see any owls, but this year we saw dozens of pairs at these artificial nests, so help seems to be working.  Apparently there are a few owls that are nesting in the old fashion way, i.e. using burrows created by the various ground squirrels.

Burrowing owls are one of the smallest species of owls, standing but nine inches-tall. It has a short tail, very long legs, and weighs but 4 oz.  When the owl sees something approaching its home, it bobs up and down a few times, and then dives into its burrow. Here, the owls breed in late winter, and the females lay around 6-8 eggs. Eggs take one month to hatch, and young owls remain in the nest for about 42 days before leaving.

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THIS TIME FOUR YEARS AGO:

*Organ Pipe, Struggling to Keep Stories Alive

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©Bert Gildart: It’s been well over a week since last posting, but that should not imply a lack of activity on our part here in Anza Borrego State Park.  Fact of the matter I’ve been finalizing a manuscript due at my publisher March 1, so I’ve been under the gun, leaving little time for blog writing.

CLICK TO VIEW AS LARGER IMAGE.  L to R:  Barrel cactus, Dry Clark Lake,  desert vegetation to include new agave stalk back dropped by Dry Clark Lake.

But we just mailed the manuscript, and although I now have magazine stories to complete, I assume I’ll be able to squeeze in several blocks of uninterrupted time.  With that hope in mind, I’m also going to take time to post few images of the activities we’ve been enjoying the last ten days.

DRY CLARK LAKE

About five days ago, friends and I made the short drive to a trail that ascends Rattlesnake Mountain. Our goal was not to climb the mountain, simply to ascend far enough to see what vegetation we might see in bloom, and to get a perspective of Dry Clark Lake.

Close up of barrel cactus as seen five days ago while climbing Rattlesnake Mountain. Many other of its kind also in bloom.

Dry Clark Lake is appropriately named for once the valley was full of water.  Since coming here it has provided me with photo opportunities, particularly following sustained rain, for then the fairy shrimp emerge, and by using specialized strobe techniques, I’ve been able to obtain frame-filling shots.  At any rate, several thousand years ago the valley’s geomorphology held water when the skies opened creating a lake.  But now it is dry.

POOR FLOWER YEAR

In fact it is so dry that this year naturalists say it won’t be much of a flower year, and though that does seem to be the case, nevertheless many of the barrel cactus stands were in bloom. Combine that with the views our climb offered of the old dried up lake and I must say that our day on the Rattlesnake was most enjoyable.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Desert Five Spot and the Function of Beauty

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©Bert Gildart:  If there is a boulder field in Joshua Tree or one of the other national parks that has a greater “wow” factor  than does this one,  I can’t recall it.

We saw this immense scattering or rocks while hiking in Anza Borrego Desert State Park’s Indian Hill country.  This field of rock stretched for half a mile, and if you look closely at the associated photograph, you’ll see some of the rocks are rounded while others assume a more elongated configuration.

What happened?

I am not a geologist but after seeing this pile of rocks, this “Brobdingnagian landscape” as one author called it — referring to Gulliver’s travels (by Jonathan Swift) through the land of giants – I had to buy several books and try to recall college courses.

Boulder field in Anza Borrego that may blow your mind.

CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE AND TO BETTER SENSE THE MAGNITUDE

Synthesizing information from a geology book authored by Park Ranger Paul Remeika, my understanding is that about 100 million years ago various forces pushed a molten mass to the earth’s surface and into the overlying sedimentary rock.  Depositions of these sediments preceded this molten mass by millions of years and were laid down from materials transported by inland seas.

As the granite connected with the pre-existing sedimentary rock it solidified and then crystalized, which tends to set up areas of weakness.  These areas take the form of “joints,” or horizontal and vertical fracture lines.  With time the process of erosion further weakens the joints and they fragment into huge granitic rock masses.  Wind, rain, freezing and thawing further modify their appearance whereupon elongated rocks become smaller and more rounded.

Similar processes have occurred in other areas of the park such as at Culp Valley.  Particularly impressive were the fields of boulders I saw several weeks ago off the trail and above Alcoholic Pass.

But nothing I’ve ever seen seems to match the Brobdingnagian landscape near Indian Hill, which simply blew my mind.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Desert Five Spot

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©Bert Gildart:  Yesterday, Janie and I hiked to an incredible area in the southern part of Anza Borrego Desert State Park looking for pictographs, which after several years of searching we finally found.  Don’t expect a detailed map to the area, but I will report on this  incredible Native American art form in my next posting.  Sadly, so many antiquities have been destroyed that various laws have had to be enacted to protect them.  Fines help  — and they have ranged in the thousands — and that is good, but money can’t restore defaced rock art.

While on the trip it was encouraging to see a few flowers starting to rear their lovely heads.  There has been so very little rain this winter that some are saying there will be but  few flowers this spring. And it is true, the flowers I show here were confined to areas  where the little moisture that has accumulated tends to collect, such as  in boulder fields and in protected pockets of south facing slopes.

To make these images I used various techniques, which one must employ to  dramatize their beauty and intensify their color.  For the purple penstemon, I used two strobes; for the fish hook cactus, I blocked the sun using a broad brimmed out – else the plants would have been filled with contrasty light.  And for the yellow agave flower I used back lightening, which always seems to work well for plants that are colored yellow.

Because these are some of the first flowers of spring, it does suggest that other species will soon follow.  However, the presence of only a few  also suggests  that some  looking will be required.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Spring Flowers in Death Valley

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©Bert Gildart: Just minutes after starting our hike up Palm Canyon, Bill directed our attention to a cliff wall, high overhead.

“Bighorns,” he said. “Two of them.”

Colorful desert patina help create habitat for bighorn sheep

The sheep were at some distance, but it was my thought that if I could make the sheep seem at home in this  beautiful canyon then my picture could be an interesting one.  Telephotos would stay in my camera bag.

BACTERIAL COLONIES

That it could be interesting was in part due to the rich colors created by a buildup of microscopic bacterial colonies.  Over a period of thousands of years these colonies have absorbed iron and manganese, so imparting the rich browns. It is this richness of color  that intrigued me and that further enhances the habitat for  the endangered Peninsular Desert Bighorn, which found a home in this rugged land so very long ago.

The sighting of sheep always helps to make my day, but so do good companions, and this time Janie and I were accompanied by Bill — and yet another Airstream friend, Theresa.  (I was delighted when her husband, a veterinarian, said he has followed my blog for years.)

Our goal was a stand of palms, and is a hike Janie and I have made before on many occasions.  Because of the many features along the trail we never tire of the adventure.

Palm Oasis

A park brochure points out various cacti such as the catclaw and the honey mesquite.  It explains that Native peoples once made their home in the canyon, finding relief from summer sun in the coolness offered by the palm tree shade.

ONLY NATIVE PALM

We made the one-and-a-half-mile hike in short order soon arriving at the palm oasis, which consists of a cluster of California fan palms, the only palm native to California.  Perhaps 50 such trees grow in this small area and their verdure breaks the greyness of the desert rock.  The brochure, available to hikers, asks that visitors respect the oasis, not defiling it with trash or tearing out the frond.

Fronds skirt the base of the tree and help to protect the bark form water loss and insect predation.  In the past some hikers have started fires and the trees have lost their skirts.

Is this Desert Galleta

Though it was too early for desert flowers, on our return hike we all noticed a beautiful grass that we think may be a Galleta Grass, though none of us knew for sure.  It appeared particularly lovely against the light-colored rock and pictures of it rounded out our day, adding another aspect that makes the hike so unique, regardless of the number of times we may venture up this remarkable canyon.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*ZION ROCK ART

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©Bert Gildart: Here at Pegleg the New Year was ushered in with barely a peep, but shortly thereafter all sorts of good news begin filtering in.  Based on news from the first week of 2012 this could be a pretty good year for Janie and me.

First, I’ve just received an advanced copy of my new book, Glacier Icons, and I think (obviously)  it represents high-quality  work.  Though the book consists of about a hundred  images, essentially the book takes 50 large photographs (such as the one above and four  below) and complements them with an essay.  Smaller images round out the stories.

EXCERPTS:

Typically essays are relatively short, but each packs in much information. Here are a few introductory excerpts:

*Throughout North America, many species of wildlife engage in ritualistic contests to determine male order of dominance.  In the animal world, few contests are more vigorous or the ritual more complex than among mountain sheep…

*When one compares the various traits of the grizzly with those of the black, there is one distinct feature that immediately separates the two species. That, of course, is temperament…   There is reason for this behavior which is linked with environmental features that existed long ago…

* Hard, wind-blown snow comes early to the park’s high peaks.  It drives the elk down into the low country; it covers the boulder-strewn home of the mouse-like pika; and it sends the powerful grizzly bear scurrying to its den for a long winter’s nap.  In fact, the rugged alpine country forces just about every type of creature to leave or hide.  But there always remains a beautiful little one-pound animal, a bird called the ptarmigan…

SHIPMENT ON WAY

In several weeks we’ll have a shipment here at Pegleg of Glacier Icons.  The book will sell for $16.85, and certainly we’re hoping that anyone going to Glacier might  purchase a copy. Of course, you’ll be able to get it in Glacier or from Globe Pequot, but get it from us, and I’ll autograph and provide a personalized note.

There is yet more news.  I am flattered that Bill, a fellow blog writer, singled out some of my photography and made it the focus of one of his postings.  One day I’ll have to reciprocate, as I believe Bill is not only an excellent writer, but a top-notch photographer as well.

Ascending Old Rag

The other good news is that Globe Pequot has just shared with me the cover of a book about Shenandoah that Janie and I spent last summer updating.  This, our fourth edition of Hiking Shenandoah, is much expanded and includes more on natural history.  Additionally, all images are in color. The cover depicts Adam Maffei standing near Dark Hollow Falls.  But the book’s interior  also includes one of him climbing Old Rag, shown here.

There’s more yet to report, but I’ll save that for another posting.  In this posting, more than anything else, I hope you’ll  think, Glacier Icons.

NOTE: From Chris (Where The Bear Walks), I have just learned of the sad passing of Roy Ducat, companion of Julie Helgeson’s in Night of the Grizzly.

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Airstream Travels Three Years Ago:

*The Compulsion of Borrego Badlands

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Pacing off size

©Bert Gildart: Five-hundred years from now – after man has rebounded from a devastating decline in population associated with much tragic and social unrest — archaeologists will reemerge to wonder about those who lived in the distant past. (Come on, play along for a minute.)

They begin by excavating, and because deserts are always so productive, lo and behold, they begin in Anza Borrego. Here, they find a rock or two whose juxtaposition appears to have been created intentionally.

“Eureka!” someone exclaims! And then they begin the tedious process of uncovering the entire structure.

Months later, a form will appear, and scientists will conclude that it was the recreation of a huge snake.

In fact, with its triangular shaped head and segmented tail (all created with the artistic arrangement of rocks) it appears to be a rattlesnake.

120 Foot-Long Serpent

Measurements will determine the sinuous form of the snake stretches about 40 feet but that if uncoiled, it would measure 120-feet long.

Much time must have to have been devoted to the project, perhaps, scholars will conclude, four or five hours.  But, then, to perfect the structure, these people had to return over a period of several days, perhaps even weeks. And because so much time was involved our future scientist will have to wonder if Homo sapiens of the period deified the snake?

Searching for answers scholars will dig into books created by the ancients of the year 2012, and they will learn  that Native Americans of the mid-18^th Century (as an example)  created images of the creatures that were important to them at the time.  In this place still called Anza Borrego they created symbols of the sun and of the anthropomorphs.

They created graphic images of the genitalia of men and woman perhaps as a means of increasing fertility.  And in other areas still preserved in lands yet known (we can hope) as National Parks, they learned Native ancients created images of sheep, possibly because sheep (Zion NP)had died out. They hoped that through the creation of their images that they would generate the magic needed to bring sheep back, and so push back hunger. (Other petroglyph sites I’ve visited: Earth Mother, V-Bar-V)

In other words, they carved out pictographs and petroglyphs for all sorts of reasons, generally for reasons that seemed important at the time.

Which brings us to our snake.

Worship of Snakes

Serpents have long been worshiped, because they shed their skins and are symbolically “reborn.” In fact, classes of the Hindu and Buddhist have worshipped (and still worship) snakes – and very large ones at that.  And, so, it is probably safe to extend the feeling of awe for snakes to Homo sapiens at large. And because of recent events, so it is here at Pegleg. Just the other day someone saw a large rattler in the hills just behind us.

Through the eons, many have worshipped snakes

I honestly have no idea who created the huge serpent, but the reasons could be associated with some of the above. Perhaps it was an infertile couple desirous of procreation; a group hoping for immunity from a bite.  Or perhaps as scientist say, no one really knows why the ancients created the thousands of pictographs and petroglyphs that cover the American Southwest. “Maybe,” our scholars say, “they were simply doodling, trying to pass the time on a warm winter day.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS THREE YEARS AGO:

*Airstreaming Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

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©Bert Gildart: Several days ago on a hike through Moonlight Canyon, I thought I saw the last species to flower for the season, the fuchsia.  It was a surprise, then, to walk the nature trail at the Visitor Center of the Anza Borrego Desert Nature Center and see one of this region’s most conspicuous of plants; one of this region’s most written about species – in full bloom. At this time of year!

Towering about 30 feet overhead and back dropped by the San Jacinto Mountains, the agave – also known as century plant – beamed down on us with its yellow inflorescence.  Several years ago I accompanied retired superintendent Mark Jorgensen on a guided hike, and recall him saying that the agave was one of the most important species in the park, contributing to the creation by Native Americans in this park of over 5,000 roasting pits. On other hikes, we’d seen several.

It was a March hike, and at that time the species was putting forth blossoms, so several volunteers at the Visitor Center and I concluded that the flowering of the plant now in bloom was most likely due to much TLC bestowed by yet other volunteers.

AGAVE TO TEQUILA? YES INDEED

But no matter, the flowers were impressive and I recalled that Natives used virtually all parts of the species to include the flowers, which they made into a beverage.  Indians also used the plant’s fibers to make cloth, bowstrings and rope.  And the use I like best: In Mexico the species is fermented to make a drink called pulque, which might then be distilled to make tequila.

Its other name, century plant, is derived from the fact that 30, 40, perhaps even 100 years may pass before it blossoms. Apparently, the plant then dies.

Because that was most likely the case here I went to some lengths to obtain a pleasing composition.  Erecting my tripod I mounted a 600mm lens for the detailed image (because it was so far off the ground)  and a 200 mm lens for the more distant appearing picture.  In both cases I used a slow shutter speed complemented by a narrow aperture to increased depth of field.

Detail of century plant required 600mm lens, because of distance from ground

Though it all took time, little matter, for the agave is a significant park plant, and its blossoms may soon be gone.  If it ever blooms again, “a century” may pass.

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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FOUR YEARS AGO:

*Ranger Do Not Want Guns in Our National Parks

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