Marmots and More

 After we finished our delightful hike up Pole Canyon, I decided to drive up to the top of the Baker Creek road in Great Basin National Park and see what other flowers were blooming. I found the hillside dotted with yellow from Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza saggita), a very bright and cheerful flower.

 A much smaller yellow flower was plantainleaf buttercup, also called meadow buttercup and water-plantain buttercup (Ranunculus alismifolius). 

I had expected to see more flowers, but apparently it needs to warm up a bit more.

As I started to drive down the road, I saw a large rodent appear:

 A marmot! These large ground squirrels like the road base and burrow under the road and under the boulders next to the road to live. They appear every spring (and sometimes later winter--I heard reports of marmot sightings on the Baker Creek road in February). They love to eat greens, lounge around, and eat some more, maybe flowers or seeds this time. They have a good reason to eat--they are the longest hibernating animal in North America, snoozing away eight months of the year! They need to pack on the pounds before they go into their burrows and lose up to half their weight.

 This yellow-bellied marmot looked a little like a harbor seal to me! He (or she) might live up to 15 years.

 This youngster didn't know what to make of me. Marmots are quite fascinating, and because you can get relatively close to them (in contrast to, say, a mountain lion), they make for great wildlife watching. To learn more about marmots, click here.

Marmots don't rank real high for intelligence or speed, so it's up to humans not to run them over.
I'm guessing there aren't too many signs like this out in the world!

Desert Destination: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park

On our last morning in Death Valley, we headed to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells. The kids were ultra-excited, as playing in sand sounded like a really fun thing to do. We decided that our goal was just to get out on the sand. We didn't care how far we went. We purposely chose the morning so the sand and air would be cooler.

 On the way to the sand dunes, I couldn't help but admire the flowering creosote bushes, one of the trademark plants of the Mojave Desert.

 Some of the blooms were already turning to seed.


The kids quickly got out the digging tools (and a net, which they used as a sieve), and got to work. I'm not sure what they were making. I wandered around the nearby knolls examining the sand.

 I saw so many tracks, mainly insects, some lizards, some birds. Quite a few burrow holes were nestled near the roots of the creosote bushes. In some places the wind had uncovered the roots of the creosote, causing it to die. In other places the sand was slowly covering the creosote bushes. These are clearly active dunes.

For sand dunes to form, three things must be present: a source of sand (from the Cottonwood Mountains), prevailing winds (from the southwest), and a place for the sand to collect (often a place with mountains behind it that cause the air to lift and the sand to drop out of it).

 The sand dunes at Mesquite Flat cover a huge area, and soon Desert Boy decided he was done digging and wanted to get up to one of the taller dunes. The dunes here aren't super tall, about 130 feet max, but that is still tall in our book!

 So we headed that direction, stopping to play from time to time. Desert Girl liked having her feet buried.

 As we came across one dune, we found a whole tour bus filming something. It was such a surprise to see so many people so far out in the dunes!

These dunes have been popular in movies due to their easy access. Probably the most famous movie filed here is Star Wars.

 We eventually made it to the top of a tall dune (although not the tallest, we agreed that a tall one closer to us would be sufficient).

 Desert Boy was the first up, but he went back down to help his sister. Aw, how sweet!

 Climbing in sand is a bit of a workout, especially in the steeper sections!

 Almost up, even though it now requires crawling!

 Desert Girl poses with me.

Some other kids and their dad came up on the dune with us, and Desert Boy made friends with them and wanted to spend the whole day with them. He's good at making friends like that. He was so sad when they went their own way. We still had good times ahead, though, like running down he sand dunes.

We had so much fun at the dunes that it made me realize we need to go check out more sand dunes. Many people think of sand dunes when they hear the word desert, but sand dunes make up less than 1% of the Mojave and Great Basin deserts. Nevertheless, several are spread across the area (five sand dune fields in Death Valley alone), making for some interesting biological observations and a great deal of fun!

A Bovine Interlude

 The cows are back in the meadow near our house, which means that they can't resist coming over to visit. Soon they see (or remember) that our cattle guard is no impediment to their travel, and they enjoy munching our grass. I wouldn't mind so much except they leave huge cow pies behind, the kind of cow pies that when you fall off the hammock and land in one do not make you happy.

They also like my tulips.

 I have beautiful tulips, and for some reason I think the tulips should be for my enjoyment and not just a little cow snack.

 Desert Boy chased the cows out of the yard yesterday afternoon, learning some good lessons about chasing cows.

 Unfortunately this cow started back in as soon as we had turned our backs.

 Another one being chased out got her to turn around.

 Good bye, cows.

 Yes, a new cattle guard is on the to-do list. Unfortunately I don't think it's very high up on the to-do list. My husband doesn't mind cow pies all over the yard and thinks a few munched tulips are kind of humorous. I try taking a few deep breaths, find some zen, and remember where the beef we eat comes from.

Spring Wildflowers in Pole Canyon, Great Basin National Park

 On Saturday we decided to go celebrate spring with a big group hike up Pole Canyon in Great Basin National Park. Pole Canyon is one of the lower elevation trails. It can be made into a loop with Timber Creek and the trails between the campgrounds, but our plan was to go up for awhile and return down the same path. We figured with seven kids, this would be the best idea, and we could play it by ear (or foot) to determine how far to go.

Right off I started having fun photographing so many wildflowers! Here are most of the ones that are out, along with a link to a more detailed description on A Plant a Day, a blog I started years ago but rarely update due to time constraints.

Tiny, tiny flowers: slender phlox (Microsteris gracilis).

A nearby companion: Maiden Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora).

A blast of color: desert Indian paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia).

Somewhat camouflaged: Desert Biscuitroot (Lomatium foeniculaceum var. fibriatum)

One of 26 milkvetches in the area: Newberry's Milkvetch (Astragalus newberryi)

Just starting to bloom: lambstongue ragwort (Senecio integerrimus)

Bright spots in the high desert: Roughseed Cryptantha, also called Yellow-eye Cryptantha 

(Cryptantha flavoculata)

A plant also cultivated for gardens: long-leaf flox (Phlox longifolia)

Whew! So many flowers, and we weren't even 100 meters down the trail! We caught up to Jenny and little Isaac, who was doing such a good job walking. As we continued in the pinyon-juniper woodland, I saw some another spring favorite:

Close to the ground: Dwarf Lousewort (Pedicularis centranthera)

We sauntered up the trail, with many stops to look at cool things.

The kids liked this little bee.

A flash of yellow: western wallflower (Erysimum capitatum)

A delicate purple: beautiful rockcress, also called beauty rockcress, Prince's rockcress (Arabis pulchra)

A springtime favorite: Tall Fringed Bluebells (Mertensia ciliata)

Isaac liked riding on his Mama's back.

Desert Girl also wanted a ride, but when she found some challenges, she was very happy, like at this creek crossing.

We found one little patch of snow.

As we ascended, the trail entered aspen-white fir habitat. A few aspens were starting to leaf out, but most were not.

We had many snack breaks, and the kids wanted to keep going.

Sometimes they walked, sometimes they ran.

A water strider on the little stream. Some of the stream was dry, but as we climbed higher we found water.

Jenny also took a bunch of photographs.

Then we emerged from the trees into a meadow, with sagebrush on the hillsides, water birch and willows marking springs, and matted brown grasses from last year.

We decided this would be a good lunch spot. And play area. And running arena. We spent a lot of time here, enjoying the beautiful day.

The willow tree had little furry catkins. They emerge long before the leaves.

Before we left the meadow to return to the trailhead, we tried to get the kids to pose. This is as good as we got!

The way down included more exploration. Isaac loved testing the water temperature.

The older kids thought they were pretty cool, hiking ahead of the adults, and occasionally taking rest stops.

Some of the many ants out. (The eyes are on the red part.)

Desert Girl hiked most of the way, over three miles. She's tough! On the way down I found a few flowers I had missed on the way up.

A yellow violet: Goosefoot Violet (Viola purpurea)

A big happy Asteraceae: Hooker's Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri)

A perennial favorite: Creeping Barberry, also called Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens)

It was a great day hiking with friends and enjoying nature. I should also mention lots of birds were out: vireos, spotted towhees, mountain chickadees, kinglets, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and more. 

Pole Canyon can be hot in the middle of summer due to its lower elevation (around 7,500 feet), but at this time of year, it is perfect for hiking.

An excellent reference: Glenn Clifton's 2012 Flora of the Snake Range (this is a big file, and includes photos of most of the 1,000 plants in the area)

Learn more about hikes in and around Great Basin National Park, along with natural and cultural history in this book.