Surviving the Desert: Don't End up like This!

This is Bobby. He made the unfortunate mistake of going on a hike with my brother. This is how he ended up. Before long the turkey vultures came in and started nibbling on him. Then they became more voracious and pulled pieces of flesh from his hot body. Coyotes made off with the camera equipment. And at night scorpions came and picked away at what was left of him. The sad thing is that it didn't have to happen. Here's how he could have prevented this terrible accident:

1. Don't go hiking with my brother.

2. Take plenty of water. And drink it. In the desert your sweat contains lots of salt, so consume some salt in the form of electrolytes in a sports drink like Gatorade. Or eat Cheetos. Seriously, they will help you from becoming hyponutremic (salt deficient).  (Good word for the day, see if you can use it in a conversation today). 

3. Dress appropriately. Keep from getting sunburned with long pants, long-sleeved shirt, and a wide-brimmed hat. Wear ankle-supporting boots. Use sunglasses (you got this one right, Bobby).

4. Be in good physical shape. Overexertion in the desert heat can tire you out even faster. Know your limits and don't exceed them.

5. Have a plan. Know where you're going and how to get there. If you don't arrive within a certain time period, have a preplan that your contact will notify authorities and start searching for you. Trust me, helicopters are better than turkey vultures flying overhead when you think you might be dead.

6. Don't go hiking during the heat of the day. Seek shade and do your hiking during the cooler hours.

7. Don't go hiking with my brother.

Memorials can be sent via the comment section of this blog. I'll be sure that they get passed on to Bobby's friends and family. 

Colorful Wildflowers

Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus)

Seeing the colorful fireworks last night made me decide to have a colorful blog post today. The wildflowers are going crazy. The ones on the valley bottom are mostly shriveled up, but as we head up in elevation, it just gets better and better.

Palmer's penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) is a tall flower, approaching 3 feet, with clusters of vibrant pink blossoms at the top of each stem. It's found along roadsides from sagebrush-steppe to pinyon-juniper. It's sometimes called balloon flower.

Firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) are vibrant red and attention getting. I bought some seeds from a native seed nursery that I will plant this fall, and hopefully next summer I will be getting this color right in my own yard.

Thickleaf Penstemon (Penstemon pachphyllus) contrasts with the others due to its blue color. The penstemons have recently been reclassified from the Figwort (Scophulariaceae) family to the Plantain (Plantaginaceae) family. I'm wondering how they feel about that.

The Sunflower (Asteraceae) family has a huge number of flowers in it, many of them yellow. This one, Basin Butterweed (Senecio multilobatus), isn't too hard to distinguish with the many, small yellow ray flowers and the deeply divided leaves. 

Nodding Microseris (Microseris nutans) is widespread throughout the western U.S. It's less than a foot tall.

Northwestern paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia) is found up to 10,000 feet, but is most common in the sage steppe. I bought some paintbrush seeds to plant this fall, but I've been warned that since this plant has a parasitic relationship with nearby plants, particularly sagebrush, it's unlikely that it will last beyond one year. Paintbrush is still in the figwort family. Are they lonely now that the penstemons moved out?

Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in the Desert

The desert holds lots of wonders: incredible sand dunes, amazing plants and animals adapted to harsh conditions, stunning views, and, of course, UFOs.

I've mentioned in a recent post that the desert climate is an excellent place to look at faraway stars, galaxies, and whatever else might be out there. And surely there is something else out there. And if these visitors from a distant place decide to come to our lovely planet for a visit, it only makes sense that they are going to come to an agreeable climate where they can see what's around them and won't have anyone sneaking up on them through the forest or swamp.

The deserts of the U.S. have had great UFO sightings. And I have to admit, I've gone and visited some of them. How could I stay away from Area 51 (or just outside it, since I don't have the necessary clearance to enter the highly guarded perimeter)? And I just had to see the alien on display in Roswell, New Mexico. 

Have I seen strange lights in the desert sky? You betcha. Have I figured out what they were? Nope. It's easiest just to explain them as military aircraft. After all, the military, like extraterrestrials, have figured out that the desert is a great place to be. But is the easiest explanation the correct explanation?

Take a close look at the photo at the top of the post. In it you can see a triangular shape. That's where a UFO crashed in 1953. It was such a catastrophic crash that the vegetation still hasn't recovered. If you look really closely to the right of the crash, you can even see a little alien face looking back at the crash. According to the website that reports this crash, the ET's that landed took refuge in the area.  I'm still waiting to see them, but if I keep looking hard enough, I'm sure one will pop up. 

I've always figured that Fourth of July is the perfect time for the extraterrestrials to come in their UFOs, due to the fact that any strange lights will be attributed to someone shooting fireworks. So have a happy Fourth of July and keep a sharp eye out. You never know what you might see.

Desert Boy Loses His Hat

See the cute hat Desert Boy is wearing? It's a denim cap with an embroidered horse and bear. His babysitter got it for him when she went on a trip. He had worn it only about a week when we decided to take a hike. I loaded him up in the backpack and we went out on the ranch for a walk.
It wasn't long into our hike that I saw some dark objects come into view. Hmm, must be some curious cows. But surely they won't come too close.
They kept coming closer and closer and even tried to surround us. I kept talking to them in a loud voice. Desert Boy helped. He likes to talk and shout a lot, and that's especially loud when he's in a backpack right next to your ear. I looked back at Desert Boy and found that he was not wearing his hat. In all the excitement of watching the cows come racing towards us and then alongside of us, I didn't notice him pitching it from his fair head. We started retracing our steps.
That's when I noticed that these aren't just cows, there are some bulls mixed in, like this big Red Angus. He seemed really big. And I noticed I was wearing red. I figured I was going to see if he really did ignore red like bulls are supposed to. (For more on this and what kind of cows these are, click here.)
Fortunately the bull kept on walking, and then we got a visit from this friendly horse. Desert Boy seemed to enjoy all these animal adventures. But we didn't find his hat. I went back twice and still never found it. And now I feel really bad that we lost his special hat. 

Proper Footwear for Hiking in the Desert

While I was sitting on a trail this weekend, holding a sleeping Desert Boy who increasingly got heavier every minute so that I lost all feeling in my legs, I found I was at eye level with people's shoes as they walked by. And what an interesting array of footwear! The park newspaper, park rangers, and park signs all stated that hiking boots were strongly recommended for this steep and rocky trail. And that the number one injury was due to improper footwear. So I want to show you what some of the people were wearing and see what you think.

Snazzy red sneakers set a fashion statement in the desert.
Probably the kind of boots the park rangers are talking about when they mean "proper footwear."
These big black boots certainly give a lot of ankle support. And the camo capris are quite the fashion statement.
Running shoes, a comfortable choice for many surfaces.
White tennies were certainly the most common footwear we saw. I like the black socks for contrast.
These checkered tennies also show some fashion awareness, but I'm not sure about the velcro.
These shoes look comfortable and the red is certainly eye catching.
A one and a half inch heel might be a little slippery, and the cutouts in the shoes might let in sand. But with two pairs of anklets bunching up around the ankles, she should be okay. I think.
These white shoes have velcro, I think, and not too much arch support. Perhaps no socks helps keep the feet cool? 
Sports sandals are all the rage, but I wouldn't want to stub a toe.
These shoes certainly provide plenty of ventilation in the desert.

So which do you like best?