Sledding Date

Our snow is melting rapidly, so I figured I better get this photo up before it's all gone. Desert Boy and his friend "Aya" weren't too sure about the snow on this sledding trip, but I have a feeling that by the time next sledding season rolls around, we won't be able to keep them out of the snow!

A Visit to the Old Junkyard

Although most of the old vehicles are in the big, nearly one-acre equipment yard on the ranch, that's not the only place they are. There's an old equipment yard (aka junkyard) that we explored a little bit when our truck was stuck and we had to walk back to get the backhoe. 

Because it's older, the vehicles in it are even more interesting, like this pink and white Buick Special. It has such wonderful lines.

Even with a mangled hood and brush growing up all around it, this old beauty manages to exude classiness.

Do you know what my favorite part of this car is? Go ahead and guess. In fact, you can (just barely) see it in the photo above.

My favorite part is this hood ornament. Isn't it just the coolest? I don't think I've ever seen one more interesting. I'm not quite sure why there's a plane as a hood ornament except to suggest the speediness of the car. Anyway, I'm sold. I would buy this car just for the hood ornament.

(Hint to automakers: start putting cool hood ornaments on cars and your sales will increase. Oh, yeah, and make them more fuel efficient, too.)

Not all the vehicles in the junkyard are so charismatic, like this old truck. Nevertheless, it has an interesting story. After its life as a regular truck ended, it was modified by turning the seat and steering wheel around. I'm not kidding. It became a homemade loader, with the steering in the rear. 

You can see it a little better in this photo. The part on the left used to be the hood and instrument panel, but then it became the backend. The hood used to be the cowl from a Cessna 172 that wrecked on a nearby road.

The story on the plane is better than the story of the truck. The pilot landed on a nearby road that led up the mountain. He tried to take off by going uphill, but the road was too steep. He couldn't gain enough elevation, and when he tried to turn, the wing caught the ground and flipped the plane. The pilot was fine and went on to wreck other planes and helicopters. He's still alive today and actually provides our high speed internet.

This Chevy Nomad has definitely seen better days. It was a good car, though, because even after it lost its usefulness as a station wagon, the lights, tires, and many parts were removed to use in other vehicles. 

Even the inside was gutted to use parts for other vehicles.

Some of the vehicles were hard to find because of all the brush, like this old Pontiac.

This car also has something extra-cool about it. You can see the hood clearly in the photo above, so you know it's not a hood ornament.

It's this Indian fuel cap. It's those extra details that make these cars so fun to explore!

Northern Nevada Railway

In honor of Desert Boy's fascination with "choo-choos," today we'll take a look at the Northern Nevada Railway, headquartered in Ely, Nevada. The East Ely Depot is now a gift store and offices, and is a commanding presence next to the railroad tracks.

This looks like a snowplow car. We haven't had real huge snowstorms this winter, but enough that snow would occasionally have to be plowed off the tracks. A variety of train cars are located behind the East Ely depot on the tracks. This is where train trips start.

The Nevada Northern Railway includes a work yard, a museum, and the so-called Ghost Train. The train has two different routes, one towards the north and one towards the west. There are two different types of locomotives: steam and diesel. Steam locomotives are difficult to maintain, but a dedicated cadre of volunteers keep Engine #93 puffing away.

Although they have some specialty trains run in the winter, the main season begins April 11. 

Isn't this caboose beautiful? I love the yellow color. Kennecott is the name of a local mine, and mines are what brought the railroad here in the first place. Today trucks transport ore to market, but the railroad is still maintained around the Ely area. It's a great way to step (or ride) back in history.

Here's the diesel locomotive, ready to pull. On this particular day we spent our time around the rail yard, but you can be assured there will be future train posts. Desert Boy will make sure of that. 

If you'd like to learn more about the Nevada Northern Railway, check out their informative website!

Migrating Snow Geese

Despite the snow covering the mountains, more signs of spring are appearing, including the annual migration of snow geese (Chen caerulescens). I recently saw some at the Snow Goose Festival held in Delta, Utah, but they were a little camera shy so I didn't get any closeups.

This medium-sized goose breeds in the arctic, so it's on the leading edge of migrating birds. It doesn't mind a little snow and cold weather on its journey. They travel in families from southern North America to the arctic and back each year, and the geese mate for life. Snow geese need to eat as they travel, so they spend a lot of time in fields, nibbling on vegetation.

Most of the snow geese are all white with black wings, but there is a dark morph where they appear with white heads and dark bodies (sometimes called a blue goose). At the beginning of the 20th century, snow geese were in decline, but now they are surviving in high numbers, so high that their breeding grounds are becoming overcrowded. 

One of the best things about the snow geese is listening to them. They make a nasal honking sound, and when tens or hundreds fly overhead, they can be really loud. 

Not Quite a Desert Destination: Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon

Usually every Monday I visit a desert destination. This past week I was in the Pacific Northwest and saw a few things that reminded me of the desert, but not much. For the sake of variety, I thought I would feature a post from a different area.

Located in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon, is the Hoyt Arboretum. It's not nearly as well known as the zoo or Children's Museum, located nearby, but it has the lovely distinction of being free and containing miles of interesting trails. Near the visitor center are some desert plants, like the yucca above, with a palm tree in the near background, and some of Oregon's fantastically tall conifers in the distant background.

One of the suggestions for a winter visit was to go to holly hill, where about 40 species of holly (Genus Ilex) had been planted. Holly is not native to Oregon, but it is commonly grown for decorations. Some hollies are invasive, particularly the popular European holly (Ilex aquifolium), and the arboretum shows several examples of other hollies that are just as beautiful but won't be a nuisance.

The trails were surprisingly empty despite the sunny day, and Desert Boy and I enjoyed wandering aimlessly. The trails are well-marked, but because we didn't really have a specific destination in mind, we just wandered wherever looked interesting. In some cases, Desert Boy had a different idea of what was interesting than me, and I had to go chasing after him. In the photo above, he takes off near the really cool Monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), native to Chile and Argentina.

Finally I managed to corral Desert Boy and we continued on. There are some accessible trails in the arboretum, but we found the stroller was able to navigate most of the other trails as well. The huge ferns are something we certainly don't see in the desert, although we have some small varieties hiding out on moist cliff faces.

The moss-covered trees were fun to look at. Some trees I'm used to seeing in other parts of the country, like sugar maples, look entirely different when they have mosses and lichens covering most of their bark. We got bogged down in mud a couple times on the trail, but I was surprised how stable everything seemed. The trails were well-used but had little erosion.

One of my favorite parts was the redwood trail, where there were seven different species of redwoods. Their amazing height boggled my mind. I took this picture standing up--I didn't even need to lay down to make them look tall (which is something I sometimes do in the desert!) 

It was a fun visit, and if you're ever in the area, I'd recommend trying out some of the trails at the Hoyt Arboretum.