Desert Boy Tries Out His New Boots

I had to go check on one of the ranch springs and I had Desert Boy with me, so I put on his new irrigating boots. He was excited, because he loves water and knew that he was going to get to play in it. 

Despite plenty of dry grass to walk on, he chose to walk right down the middle of the spring channel. 

But eventually he got stuck. That silt and mud can really be sticky, especially for little feet in little boots. Desert Boy did his best to get out.

He got out, but his boot was left behind. Fortunately he knew he should pull it out of the mud.

He started retreating to higher ground. 

And then he poured the water out of the boot. He looks like an expert doing this, doesn't he? I wonder where he learned it so well?

Finally all the water is out. Time to hike in the water some more!

Spring Wildflowers

The desert is waking up with bright dashes of color here and there. Tiny lavender flowers, filaree (Erodium circutariam) are carpeting large swaths next to the roads.

The white and purple flowers of Nevada biscuitroot (Lomatium nevadense) are peeking out in sagebrush and pinyon/juniper areas. 

The brilliant red of desert Indian paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia) captures the eye immediately.

And here's a purple flower that I thought was particularly pretty, but it turns out to be a nonnative. I guess one of the reasons the nonnatives do so well is they get a head start on the natives! This is blue mustard (Chorispora tenella). For more on these and other plants, visit A Plant a Day.

I hope you get to see some bright colors where you live!

Storm Runoff

Some of the recent storms have created new channels in the dirt, eroding away the soil and leaving intriguing paths.

I like to follow the little channels and see where they'll take me. Sometimes I even imagine I'm a little drop of water and try to picture what it would see if it had eyes.

Desert Boy thinks it's a good game and has scrambled up the the little gully. When he has to squeeze by the pokey greasewood, he says "bush, bush," and makes a face when a thorn pokes him. But he doesn't let a little discomfort stop him, he's ready to find out where the water came from and where it went.

Crops are Growing

It's a stormy day here, which is a delight, as we need the moisture to get the crops growing. Alfalfa is peeking its green leaves through last year's broken stalks.

The fields are starting to get greener as we emerge from the winter. Hurray!

Here's the same view about 10 days later. It's amazing what a little moisture can do. 

The first crop of alfalfa should be ready to harvest in early June. Then, depending on weather, there will be two or three more crops after that.

In a nearby pivot field are little sprouts of barley poking up out of the ground. Barley is an annual, and once it gets cut, it's done for the year, it won't grow back like alfalfa. Crops are rotated periodically though the fields to help balance out nutrients and get rid of crop-specific pests. In addition to alfalfa and barley, we'll also have corn, orchard grass, fescue, and oats fields this year.

Seeing all this green in the fields makes me think I better get to work on my garden!

Scenes from Easter

Easter turned out to be a busy, fun, and memorable day. One of my goals was to get a nice family photo because we all got dressed up, but that didn't quite happen. Maybe the next time we all get dressed up we can try again. When will that be? Maybe Christmas, if we're lucky.

Nevertheless, we did get some photos of various events on Sunday. After church we went to an Easter egg hunt, except it wasn't really a hunt but a grab, because all the eggs were on plain sight on tops of tables in a row. Desert Boy was excited to pick up a few eggs and quickly proceeded to open them and spill the candy all over the floor. We stuck a couple eggs in his pocket for later distraction.

We went by the train and got to go on a train ride, which just delighted Desert Boy to no end. See next Monday's desert destination post for more details. Choo-choo.

While we were on the train, Desert Boy rediscovered one of his Easter eggs and quickly started eating the chocolate. 

And when I asked him to smile for the camera, this is the face I got.

Later in the afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt at our house, where the older cousins hid eggs for the younger cousins. It's always amusing. And I figure it's good for math skills to make sure all the eggs have been found.

Desert Boy gets some assistance from his pretty cousin. 

And then there was lots of yummy food. Here are some cupcakes in mini-ice cream cones, a favorite of the younger than 10 crowd--and those who wanted to take a brief trip back to that age!

Desert Destination: Death Valley

Welcome to Death Valley National Park, at over 3 million acres, it's the largest national park in the lower 48 states. It's a place full of colorful geology, unexplained phenomenon, extreme variations, and wonderful surprises.

On today's trip, I'm going to take you from the southeast end of the park, near Shoshone, along the road that traverses the eastern side of the park up to Scotty's Castle.

Spring is a great time to visit Death Valley. Not only are the temperatures reasonable, but desert plants brighten the landscape. Some of the best places to see flowers are right next to the roads. Just park and wander around, and the diversity of life becomes apparent.

One of my favorite plants, the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) was in bloom. 

The bright yellow flowers flashed as the branches waved in the wind. 

Spring is a popular time to visit Death Valley, and in fact there were thousands of people staying at Furnace Creek, the park headquarters area. But because Death Valley is so huge, people are spread out in the rest of the park, and it often felt like I had it all to myself.

It was easy to pull off the highway and snap photos of whatever caught my attention, like some more wildflowers and the beginning of a salt flat.

The salt makes it hard for vegetation to live, but nevertheless, some plants and animals have adapted to it. One of the reasons there is so much salt in the bottom of Death Valley is that it used to have a huge lake in it, Lake Manly. When the water evaporated, the salt was left behind. The lake fluctuated at different levels, so there were many opportunities for salt to be deposited.

As I headed north, I noticed some people walking out on a big salt flat. I rounded a curve and saw a parking area. This wasn't just any salt flat, it was...

...Badwater! The lowest spot in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. A boardwalk stretched out from the parking lot onto the salt flat. 

I was there late in the day, but I could just imagine the heat of a July sun at noon. It would probably be over 120 degrees Fahrenheit, about hot enough to start drying a person into jerky.

These holes intrigued me. I'm not sure what caused them, but it makes me wonder if there are parts of Badwater that might suddenly sink and swallow me up.

Off the beaten path, the salt deposits rise up and provide interesting relief.

At Devil's Golf Course, the salt formations are even higher. They look delicate, but most are very hard and crunchy. Footing is difficult, and a fall would hurt.

Since it was late in the day, for a short while I was the only one out there, and it felt both neat and creepy at the same time.

I decided to take a detour off the highway to go on Artist Drive. The mountains are particularly colorful in this area. With the sun mostly behind Telescope Peak and the other mountains on the other side of the valley, I didn't have the full effect of the artist's palette, but it was still spectacular. The road is one way because of some tight turns and constricted canyons. Maybe next time I can do it on bicycle.

The next day I got a really early start and continued further north to Salt Creek. This is a little creek on the valley bottom. Despite the high salt, high temperatures, and scarce vegetation, this creek manages to be home to tiny pupfish, along with aquatic insects, birds, and more. 

A sand dune with pickleweed is right near the trail. The pickleweed is succulent, with squishy flesh that stores water.

To protect the creek, the trail is on a boardwalk which goes next to and sometimes over the creek.

Further north I found more good places to stop and enjoy the wildflowers.

It was a very windy day, so I decided to skip the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells. In the distance of this photo you can see the sand blowing off the dunes. If you want to experience a sand storm, one way to get a similar feeling is go to sand dunes on a windy day. I'm not sure why you would want to experience a sand storm, but just in case...

There is just so much to see in Death Valley that at times it becomes visually overwhelming. One thing I like to focus on are the alluvial fans, the land flowing out of the canyons in a fan-like pattern. Water eroded the rock away further upstream, redepositing it. As I look at the alluvial fan, my eye always moves up to the mouth of the canyon and I wonder what is up there. Death Valley must have hundreds of alluvial fans, so it makes my imagination go wild.

Another stop to admire some beautiful phacelia. Flowers bloom at the lower elevations from about February to the end of March, and then they start blooming at higher elevations. Telescope Peak is over 11,000 feet high, so there are even flowers blooming in the middle of summer in Death Valley.

A couple more alluvial fans coming down from mountains on the other side of the valley, with creosote bushes in the foreground.

Towards the north end of Death Valley, the main road curves to the east and goes to Scotty's Castle. 
The area is an oasis, and it's fun to wander the grounds and feel a little more humidity. A hummingbird was hanging out near the small waterfall between these palm trees.

Continuing up Grapevine Canyon, the road eventually leaves the park. I like the back of the park entrance sign, which said "Thanks for Experiencing Your National Park. Please Visit Again." 

I think I will. Thanks, Death Valley.