Thursday, April 23, 2009

Prepping for trip home

It's beginning to warm up. Today is day five of high temperatures. There were two days of 93F, then one at 94F followed by yesterday when it reached 95. Today was cooler - only 90! Compared to Death Valley it really is cool here. Temperatures at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center have been over 100F each day this week. Yesterday was 109 and it's still only April - WOW! We made our final trip to the valley on just the right weekend.
We had a nice final day with the Jeep Junkies last Sunday when we checked out the Hidden Hills, another wonderful canyon, made a repeat visit to a mining area that we particularly like and stopped one last time for the year at China Ranch Dates. Unbelieveably I seem to have lost the photos from that day somewhere in the computer or camera or..........aargh!
There were more new and different wildflowers and a sidewinder, up close but not too personal. The rattlesnake was a young one and was not particularly aggressive, seemingly happy basking in the sun BUT it was a rattlesnake! There were half a dozen wonderful photos of it. Now it seems the photos in my memory will have to suffice.
We have come to the decision that our blog is poorly titled (go west with....) as Saturday we begin the drive east for home. Most likely it will not be so active in the coming months as Jeeping opportunites in our part of the northeast do not abound. There may be a few things about the trip home to share when we get there plus coming train club and quilt retreat activities, etc.
The Good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, we have committed to return to Ash Meadows NWR next winter and we look forward to blogging those adventures.
Home is sounding awfully good and, as much as we have come to love all things desert, it's time for a chlorophyl fix, hugs and time with that part of our family and with old friends and much, much more.
Oh my gosh! I found them - the elusive photos! There is no hope that I will become a computer geek - just ain't going to happen!
Desert Holly in bloom
A sage

Follow the leader.......

Cholla

Aforementioned sidewinder

We'll see you in 3,000+ miles in the merry month of May!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Excavator duty

The title for this entry might better have been "Working hard or hardly working......."
I have no idea how many hours Vic has spent in the excavator this winter but suffice it to say many. He has made it his own personal piece of equipment. From breaking up and burying miles of old concrete drainage; removing tamarisk and my personal favorite, tumbleweeds; removing a large section of an old dam and more, he has kept busy.
This area, the New Valley Dam, is from the 1970s when agriculture was the name of the game here. Vic with the excavator, Tom with the dozer and Mark running the water truck to keep dust down opened up the area and did a really nice job. The area doesn't look huge in the photos but it did cover a few acres.
Last week there was excess (defective or....) property to destroy and load into a dumpster. This horse trailer was one of those and I was able to go out and photograph its demise from beginning to end - for a total of 88 photos. No, they are not all here, just a representation.This was an old trailer that had already been flattened. Does Vic look as though he is working hard? An air-conditioned cab with a good radio and he is a happy man.
Wheeeee......
And he still has not broken a sweat
Only a few more pieces are to be loaded into the dumpster and that job is done. Good equipment and a good operator makes short work of an otherwise time-consuming job.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter Sunday in Hanaupah and Golden Canyons

West Valley Road in Death Valley leading towards Hanaupah Canyon Road with a view of Telescope Peak in the distanceThe view back towards the saltpan in the valley. The saltpan alone covers 400 square miles of the valley. Brittlebush everywhere. The bloom is past peak color but there is still lots of yellow to enjoy. Ahead the canyon narrows Another unknown plant seemingly growing out of the rock.
Lesser Mohavea
Curved rock? All part of the geology of the area. There are many faults in Death Valley and different types of faults. Some push up, some compress, some slide, others drop. All cause spectacular looking formations and/or changes, sometimes drastic, in color.
Just a nifty rock
From east to west the valley is about 20 miles across. On a clear day like today we can see 50+ miles to the north and 50+ miles to the south.
We can see the 'toes' of the alluvial fan. During rain events (rain is an 'event' in the desert)water rushing through the canyons picks up debris, mostly rocks, then deposits it as the water flattens, slows and spreads on exit from the canyon.
Golden Canyon

Spring Mtns west of Crystal - April 11, 2009

Our granddaughter is 21 today! How has the time passed so quickly? Happy Birthday, Tricia!
Today we drove into the Spring Mountains just west of the town of Crystal, a dot on the map near the refuge. With a 3,000 plus mile journey not far ahead we want to spend a few weekends restfully. Nearby sites fill the bill.
This is the season for wildflowers and we enjoy looking for them.
This plant goes by several names, Pygmy Cedar is the most common followed by Sprucebush and Desert-Fir
Bristly Fiddleneck
Mohave Pincushion Fremont Pincushion
Desert Star is called a belly flower as one must be almost on one's belly to see it. How dainty these are and I almost missed them.
Bigelow Monkeyflower
Still working on this one.....but it is another belly flower.
Creosote bush - found everywhere - the most abundant plant in this desert.
Mohave Yucca
Lovely to look at but Tamarisk (Salt Cedar) is non-native. This introduced tree was brought into the southwest to help with soil erosion. It is terribly invasive and each tree drinks hundreds of gallons of water daily. The refuge has spent many, many dollars to eradicate the trees. It was an expensive problem at Bosque del Apache NWR where we volunteered 3 winters ago. And it was prevalent at Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas too. We surely need to think through our solutions. Just north of the refuge is this dry lakebed.