Life and Death in the Desert

When winter above 5,000 feet in Northern Arizona became uncomfortable, we took a road trip south to a favorite sanctuary down on the Mexican border: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.   

The Monument has been designated a "Biosphere Reserve" by the United Nations ... but even within its desert boundaries, life and death struggles play out ... often slowly.

Mistletoe has bled nutrients from this tree with obvious and inevitable results.

This Ironwood tree doesn't have a chance.  As a "nurse tree" for the Saguaro cactus it will eventually succumb to the aggressive root system of the dominant cactus.  The mistletoe will will aid in its demise but, like many accomplices, it will share the fate of its host. 

The Changing Colors of Sycamore

Often the landscape disappears as we wander, our minds caught up with everyday thoughts of politics, gun control, or the latest environmental outrage. 

The panorama changes as light varies and challenges the clouds for dominance of our perception of the landscape.

Sycamore Canyon was born over thousands of years, both from water coming off the Mogollon Plateau . . . and Parson's Spring which pours its water through 3 miles of Sycamore Creek, South into the Verde River. 

Happily, colors of the canyon don't follow the water South to Phoenix.

Along the way, this water is diverted, evaporated, or otherwise dispersed so that it's no longer recognizable as coming from the spring.

But, we can go back for years and the colors will be there, teased by the light and clouds.

Toxic Ground, Toxic Town? - Part 2

Non-mineral bearing mine waste on which nothing has grown in
60 years.  Waste produces toxic dust that disperses by wind, rain and
snow.  It contaminates underlying strata, as well.

Slag heap 2-stories high on the banks of the Verde River.  Slag is what 
comes from the smelters after the ore is "cooked."

Close to the former mining operations are the restored ruins of 
Tuzigoot  National Monument.  A small section of the Verde River
is visible at the top of photo.   It's interesting to imagine what
the "ancients" would now think of their environment.

Tailings  field is plowed/planted in response to EPA action requiring 
Phelps-Dodge to re-mediate damage from toxic mine waste.   Grass was 
planted but only about 5% sprouted.  Rock drainage (lower) channels 
toxic runoff to the Verde River.

High ground gave Tuzigoot dwellers an advantage over "enemies."  The
advantage is lost if the enemy is toxic waste.  

A Requiem for 832F

Long ago I dropped a sleeping bag in a remote section of the Blue Range Primitive Area on the Arizona/New Mexico border. I had come to The Blue to see what I could learn of the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Area. Weary after a plane trip, rental car drive, and hurried back-pack the lumpy ground was forgotten as I slept instantly. 

At pre-dawn light, half awake, I brushed an imagined bug off my face but it was 

a furred muzzle that pulled away. A low woof had called it back to perceived safety.

What I had traveled hundreds of miles to see had come . . . and disappeared . . . in an instant.

832F was killed by a bullet recently outside Yellowstone National Park. 

The wolf apparently didn't recognize boundary signs. 

(Doug McLaughlin & New York Times)

The encounter left me with an enduring interest in these creatures and a profound sadness at the recent news that 832F, the alpha female of the Lamar Canyon pack in Montana, had been shot and killed outside Yellowstone National Park. This wolf was legendary: It was reportedly adept at using slight terrain changes to escape wildlife officials and large/strong enough to bring down large prey on her own.

Offspring of 832F were part of the Lamar Canyon Pack. 
(Doug McLaughlin  & New York Times)

Dr. Stahler, a biologist with the National Park Service, said the Lamar Canyon pack might be able to "carry on if another alpha female joins it. Otherwise, the wolves may disperse and join other packs", he said. “Wolves are pretty good at filling vacancies,” he pointed out.

It's disturbing that we should have a desire to restore and maintain the
richness of a complex ecosystem, but our solution is to hand ignorant
yahoos a license to flex their barbaric masculinity by gunning down
key species. (Doug McLaughlin & New York Times)

Coincidentally, the shooting of 832F occurred at approximately the time as the shootings

at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In both cases a man with a gun ended lives of value and importance, leaving millions struggling with thoughts of, "Why......?" Unfortunately, 832F wandered out of the protected confines of the national park not noticing artificial boundaries.

We use national resources -- parks, primitive areas, wilderness areas -- to subsidize a few ranchers. If these ranchers want to profit from the open land, they should look at the wolf kills of livestock as a tax on their privileges.  This situation was a primary reason for the failure of the Mexican Grey Wolf program.

Toxic Ground, Toxic Town?

Old timers in the town of Jerome, Arizona, recall when Bitter Creek ran blue, yellow, red, "every color you can think of."   Local residents just dismissed this rainbow-of-a-creek with a shrug. Later, a local pilot gave me a photo of yellow effluent running from the mouth of a mine entrance.  He was able to see  the toxic material from the air but when I tried to drive to the mine entrance, access was closed with a gate and guarded by a big guy with a shotgun.

Colors of the mine waste (above) well match the colors of the desert.  The mines closed in 1953, however, and nothing has grown on this waste pile in 60 years.  Isolated plants exist but only show that vegetation could  grow under different circumstances.

Many in Arizona revere the mine companies for having provided employment for many that  would otherwise not have received a pay check. These people also cite the many community centers and town halls built by the mining companies during their heyday in towns like Ajo, Morenci, Jerome, Globe, Bisbee and others.  This "civic generosity" has worked for decades to convince the public of the goodwill of these firms.

One might question the "goodwill", however, in light of what these companies left behind:  Torn up ground, toxic waste, and further toxic runoff as wind spreads the dust and rain and snow percolate through the waste piles.

  

  

Endless Vistas

The Four Corners area, including the town of Kayenta, Arizona, is on the Navajo Indian Reservation.  As the saying goes, however, "It's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."  The  landscape is inhospitable and being human there is a challenge. 

The town of Mexican Hat appears to serve no purpose other than as a pull-out for San Juan river runners.

Arizona Rte 160 runs through Kayenta and across the Navajo/Hopi Reservation.  No services for horses, cars, or legs. 

The riparian environment is minimal along the San Juan . . . the house (upper right) is probably a ranger dwelling.

Cottonwood tree, water, and slick rock.

Slick rock and gully hides all but the gold.

The old Juniper is still producing Green and Shade and Rodent Snacks. 

Betatakin Ruins in Tsegi Canyon brings to mind how cold it must have been for early dwellers.  It was occupied only from AD 1248 - 1286.
Without shadows Betatakin would be nearly invisible.

Not a bridge for group gatherings.

Lone Pinon Pine surrounded with lava.

Trail Trippin' in the Superstitions

The Superstition Wilderness Area suffers from too many legends.  Legends that have attracted too many tourists, wasted the paper of too many books, and attracted too many crazies while almost ignoring this area as a beautiful example of Sonoran desert ecology. 

The desert in bloom. A carpet of Creosote Bush is dwarfed by Superstition Mountain and "the Flatiron."

The volcanic heritage of the Superstitions is evident in this photo . . . 

Water is scarce in the desert so finding it warrants a place name.  This is Second Water . . . the name of the intermittent creek...spring...and the name of one of the trails through the wilderness.

An icon in the Superstitions, Weavers Needle rises from the desert floor in stark contrast to the scrub around it. It's nothing but the solidified core of lava from a volcano the cone of which has long ago eroded. It's thought that at one time the area was covered in lava to a depth of 300 feet.

Teddy bear Cholla just ain't cuddly. Notice the Hedgehog cacti blooming in the less-than-favorable surroundings of its "nurse" plant.

Green blossoms of the Teddy bear Cholla must be nearly invisible to all but the sharpest-eyed pollinator.

A Yucca in bloom.  The exact type is your call. There are 20 genera and over 700 species.

 Mix of flowers and spines. Barrel cacti are late bloomers which reduces competition for pollinators.

Solitary in the High Desert

:)

A friend remarked that the lone tree (below) was living in a "difficult" environment. More to the point, it's an unforgiving environment...at least for us humans.  

While there are plenty of snakes, rabbits, scorpions, coyotes and spiders that find the high desert comfortable, these critters are usually solitary, coming together only to feed, breed, or get water.

A stone "yurt" displays its sedimentary layers, promising an even more spectacular shape in several thousand years. 

Thoughts of loneliness are as variable as sentiments, however.  The well-graded gravel road (above) is silent testimony to the thousands of travelers who have driven this pathway before. 

Massive cliffs border the San Juan River, blocking idle wanderers from taking this path.  Many have, however . . . some establishing small settlements like the town of Mexican Hat or bigger ones like Moab.

In the end, it seems we return to solitary trees in unforgiving environments ...some just ravaged and old...but more or less secure in their lonely surroundings.

Green Flowers

Although branches resemble the arms and legs of a teddy bear the Opuntia bigelovii is anything but cuddly.

 This Cholla will grab you if it gets a chance.

Road Tripping in the Southern Bradshaws

We decided to get away for a day and visit a town we had seen only on the map. . . Crown King, Arizona.  This tiny hamlet is nestled in the Prescott National Forest, deep in the Bradshaw Mountains.  Our Jeep had been newly repaired and we felt more-or-less secure driving the 30 miles of heavily washboarded, dirt road for . . . lunch?  The thought lost some of its appeal when we discovered that cows would be our only companions -- critters that had limited ability to call for help, stop their grazing to get a new tire if we should cut one on a rock, or find a new radiator or oil pan if we were unfortunate enough to tear open the ones on the Jeep.

These future meals are mostly range-wild and quickly move away when we approach.

Some don't move at all.

The wandering Gladiator Fire had burned through this area about two years before, leaving only scorched mesquite and charred boulders.  Fortunately, although residents were asked to evacuate the town, the fire missed Crown King.
   

Back country travel gets interesting when your thoughts marvel at the amount of rock removed from your one-lane path and the real possibility of having to back up 5-10 miles if another car approaches.

All's well that ends well, except that our return journey was still to come.  Note that the chaparral and mesquite has changed to conifer forest with more moisture and cooler temperatures.

The General Store in Crown King is just that . . . general. Built in 1904 by Eli Perkins, it carries everything from tools to T-shirts, ice and beer, the local post office and, not least, homemade "maple-nut-butter fudge."  Sadly, I can't comment on the tools or T-shirts but can attest to the other-worldly excellence of the fudge.

The drawing in the label is better than my photo, undoubtedly due to the fudge :)

If it weren't for the Crown King Saloon, we might have missed lunch and worse, the fudge that followed.   It is usually surrounded by dogs, local residents, and a variety of 4 X 4's.

Multiple colors of an old water tank attest to the number of times it has been painted,faded by the Sun, and painted again.  Crown King now gets its water from either of two water companies.

The Prospector building first appeared in photographs in 1904, says a town brochure, first built by the railroad and having had many owners and uses since.  It now is the Prospector Mall featuring antiques and memorabilia from the era of silver and gold mining.

Chapel of the "Crowned King."  Crowned King was the original name of the principle mine and the town. In time, this name was shortened to its present form, Crown King.  Note the crown circling the crucifix above the cupola . . . a quiet reminder of the town's past.