Unofficial Arizona State Flower

Scattered along the roadways of Arizona from one end to another you will find these bright a cheerful traffic barricades. We refer to the twinkling lights on top as the unofficial "Arizona State Flower." We know, the real state flower is the Saguaro blossom, but they only appear in June and part of July and are limited to the lower desert hills. This species of flower appears throughout the year and can appear at any season, winter, spring, summer or fall. The picture above is a semi-permanent family group of the flowers with the long stem variety. This version is especially showy with it bright orange flags and nice detailed stripes. Notice the sandbags on the roots so that the plants cannot easily relocate in a windstorm.

8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile compared to largest earthquake in Arizona

The United States Geological Survey has up to the minute accurate information on the huge Chilean earthquake. A summary of the earthquake information is here. To quote the USGS summary:

This earthquake occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. The two plates are converging at a rate of 80 mm per year. The earthquake occurred as thrust-faulting on the interface between the two plates, with the Nazca plate moving down and landward below the South American plate.

Coastal Chile has a history of very large earthquakes. Since 1973, there have been 13 events of magnitude 7.0 or greater. The February 27 shock originated about 230 km north of the source region of the magnitude 9.5 earthquake of May, 1960 – the largest earthquake worldwide in the last 200 years or more. This giant earthquake spawned a tsunami that engulfed the Pacific Ocean. An estimated 1600 lives were lost to the 1960 earthquake and tsunami in Chile, and the 1960 tsunami took another 200 lives among Japan, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Approximately 870 km to the north of the February 27 earthquake is the source region of the magnitude 8.5 earthquake of November, 1922. This great quake significantly impacted central Chile, killing several hundred people and causing severe property damage. The 1922 quake generated a 9-meter local tsunami that inundated the Chile coast near the town of Coquimbo; the tsunami also crossed the Pacific, washing away boats in Hilo harbor, Hawaii. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake of February 27, 2010 ruptured the portion of the South American subduction zone separating these two massive historical earthquakes.

Having been in several earthquakes, I can relate to the dislocation effect of the phenomena. It is very scary to have the earth begin to move and for my part, I knew instantly what was happening. The largest earthquake ever recorded in Arizona was a 5.6 tremor on the Arizona-Utah border in 1959. To quote the USGS, the earthquake caused minor damage to chimneys and walls at Fredonia, Arizona, and Kanab, Utah, about 15 kilometers north of Fredonia. In addition, windows broke in houses and stores and dishes fell from shelves at Fredonia. Almost all merchandise was shaken from shelves in stores. A rockslide at Mather Point in the Grand Canyon was attributed to the shock.USGS.

Four Peaks -- A Salt River Valley Landmark

Floating off in the distance in the eastern portions of the Salt River Valley is the vision of a huge mountain with four distinctive peaks. On clear winter days (very rare now) the mountains can sometimes have a coating of snow. The picture above is the more normal view of the mountains from Mesa. In years past the air quality in the east valley was much better than it is now and it was not so unusual to have a clear view of the mountains.

Four Peaks, located in the Tonto National Forest, are part of the Four Peaks Wilderness Area established in 1984. The wilderness area contains approximately 60,740 acres and elevation within the wilderness area ranges from 1600 feet in the low desert to Brown's Peak at 7,657 feet, the highest of the Four Peaks.

Quoting from the Tonto National Forest Website, "The Tonto National Forest, Arizona, embraces almost 3 million acres of rugged and spectacularly beautiful country, ranging from Saguaro cactus-studded desert to pine-forested mountains beneath the Mogollon Rim. This variety in vegetation and range in altitude (from 1,300 to 7,900 feet) offers outstanding recreational opportunities throughout the year, whether it's lake beaches or cool pine forest. As the fifth largest forest in the United States, the Tonto National Forest is one of the most-visited “urban” forests in the U.S. (approximately 5.8 million visitors annually). Its boundaries are Phoenix to the south, the Mogollon Rim to the north and the San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian reservations to the east."

Just north of the turn-off to the Bush Highway/Saguaro Lake on the Beeline, there is an unpaved road marked to take you to the Four Peaks. The road is passable at some times in a passenger car but a high clearance vehicle would be preferred. The road is extremely popular with ATV riders and 4-wheel drive enthusiasts and has a tendency to be pretty well torn up from the traffic. The road ultimately goes over the ridge by Four Peaks and ends up in the Tonto Basin, but the top part of the road is definitely four-wheel drive territory.

Normally dry Salt River at Gilbert Road Crossing

It is almost a mantra in Phoenix to hear news commentators speak of the "normally dry Salt River." The Gila/Salt River system drains most of southern Arizona. The Gila River is 649 miles long and has several major tributaries, including the Salt and Verde Rivers, the Agua Fria and the San Pedro. The reason they are normally dry by the time the rivers reach the desert is due to huge storage reservoirs in the mountains to the east of the Salt River Valley. Normally dry does not tell even part of the story however. In wet years, like 2010, the reservoirs fill completely with water and then any additional runoff goes down the dry river beds.

With a stellar lack of planning, the cities and towns in the Salt River Valley build their roads in the dry river bed, only to have them washed away every few years. The picture above is looking roughly north at the Salt River crossing at Gilbert Road in the east valley. The road was washed out about a year ago, but had been in service for several years before that. The bridge to the west is a replacement for other bridges that had washed away. It is handling the river flow, at the moment, with the river running at about 5500 cfs (cubic feet per second). If the river increases its flow to any greater extent (which is highly likely this year), the river will wash out both ends of the bridge and could, wash out the entire bridge.

In the picture, you can see where the water, in a much drier year, ran across the road where I was standing to take the picture. If the rains stop this year, and the weather stays cool, the run off from record snow falls may not flood. But if the weather warms up suddenly and it continues to rain, the runoff will have no place to go but down the Salt and Gila Rivers. Arizona is unique in that the dry river beds are called "rivers" but when there is water they are referred to as flooding. One difficulty in gauging the severity of the floods is the fact that various measures of water flow are used by different authorities. The Salt River Project uses cubic feet per second, but scientific journals talking about historic water levels use cubic meters per second roughly 27 times greater. It appears that the greatest floods ever recorded ran at about 4600 cubic meters per second or over 124,000 cubic feet per second.

Given the built up condition of the river bottom in the Salt River Valley, a flood of historic proportions would be interesting to say the least.

Ferocactus wislizenii -- the Arizona Barrel Cactus

The picture above is a Ferocactus wisilzeni, also called the Fishhook Barrel Cactus, Arizona Barrel Cactus, Candy Barrel Cactus, and Southwestern Barrel Cactus. Here are a few of the species of Ferocactus:

• Ferocactus alamosanus
• Ferocactus chrysacanthus
• Ferocactus cylindraceus - California Barrel Cactus, Cliff Barrel, Compass Barrel, Compass Cactus, Desert Barrel, Golden-Spined Barrel, Spiny Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus diguetii
• Ferocactus echidne - Sonora Barrel, Coville's Barrel Cactus, Emory's Barrel Cactus, Traveler's Friend
• Ferocactus emoryi - Sonora Barrel, Coville's Barrel Cactus, Emory's Barrel Cactus, Traveler's Friend
• Ferocactus flavovirens
• Ferocactus fordii
• Ferocactus glaucescens
• Ferocactus gracilis - Fire Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus hamatacanthus - Mexican Fruit Cactus, Texas Barrel Cactus, Turk's-Head Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus herrerae - Twisted Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus histrix - Electrode Cactus
• Ferocactus horridus
• Ferocactus johnstonianus - Johnston's Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus latispinus
• Ferocactus macrodiscus
• Ferocactus peninsulae
• Ferocactus pilosus - Mexican Lime Cactus, Viznaga De Lima
• Ferocactus pottsi
• Ferocactus rectispinus - Long Spined Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus reppenhagenii
• Ferocactus robustus
• Ferocactus santa-maria - Santa-Maria Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus schwarzii - Schwarz's Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus stainesii
• Ferocactus townsendianus - Townsend Barrel Cactus
• Ferocactus viridescens - Coast Barrel Cactus, Keg Cactus, Green-stemmed Viznaga, San Diego Barrel Cactus, Sisal (unrelated to Sisal)
• Ferocactus wislizeni - Fishhook Barrel Cactus, Arizona Barrel Cactus, Candy Barrel Cactus, Southwestern Barrel Cactus

We always heard the folklore tradition that you could keep from dying of thirst in the desert by cutting open a barrel cactus and squeezing out the water. Like many of these so-called traditions, this one is not only inaccurate but dangerous to believe. Don't try it. First of all, many of the Ferocactus are on the threatened or endangered species list. Second, they taste awful and I speak from personal experience, long before anyone thought about endangered species. Thirdly, as shown by an article in the Tucson Citizen by Jonathan DuHamel, Economic Geologist,

The Seri Indians sometimes used the Fishhook barrel (Ferocactus wislizeni) for emergency water. However, drinking the juice on an empty stomach often caused diarrhea, and some Seri report pain in their bones if they walk a long distance after drinking the juice. The Seri called the Coville barrel (Ferocactus emoryi), “barrel that kills” because eating the flesh of the cactus causes nausea, diarrhea, and temporary paralysis. Think you can tell the two apart?

If you go into the desert, take water, don't rely on cactus to quench your thirst and keep alive.

Pinnacle Peak Park, Scottsdale, Arizona

Located in the northern portion of Scottsdale, Arizona, Pinnacle Peak Park is a 150 acre preserve with a 1.75 mile trail circling the prominent rock formation. Scottsdale's Website describes the trail as follows:

The Sierra Club rates the 150-acre Pinnacle Peak as a moderate hike with an elevation gain of approximately 1,300 feet. The trail has a very smooth tread with a number of ups and downs over the course of the 1.75 mile trail (one way). It is not a loop trail so you come back over the same trail. High point on the trail is 2,889', the lowest point is 2,366', and the elevation at the trailhead is 2,570'. Hiking, horseback riding and rock climbing will take you to spectacular views of the valley . Rock climbing, for experienced climbers with appropriate gear, is permitted in three areas of the park with a variety of routes and skill levels.

Amenities are a parking area (trailers are ok), restroom, drinking fountain, ramada, and 4 picnic tables.

Like all of the trails around the Salt River Valley, they are best enjoyed in the late fall, winter or early spring when temperatures are in the 70s or 80s and not well over 100 degrees. The peak and surrounding rocky area are made up of a decomposed granite (quartz, biotite mica and feldspar). The rounded shape of the rocks comes from the weathering due to the extremes from freezing cold to baking hot. It is a popular day hike but is also a draw for local rock climbers.

I have mixed feelings about Pinnacle Peak stemming from the fact that it is encircled with extremely expensive homes. During the time from 1994 until 2002, the area was actually inaccessible due to the surrounding development. In my mind, it is a symbol of all that is bad about urban sprawl into the deserts. There is almost no place on the trail that you cannot see green manicured golf courses! I am glad the mountain is reopened for public use however.

Glass blowing exhibition at the Desert Botanical Gardens

In a fascinating series of shows, the Highway Hotshop owned by Joshua Dopp and Adam Frus demonstrated new techniques in the ancient art of glass blowing.

While Adam kept up a running commentary explaining the details of the glass blowing, they used their mobile unit working in concert to create some stunning vases, flowers, bowels and even a flying heart. Unfortunately, I left my real camera at home and had to rely on my iPhone camera. Sort of like using a sponge to pound nails. At the end of the demonstration, they ladled out their left-over molten glass onto a table for an impressive end to a very good demonstration.

Arizona is not the glass blowing capital of the world, but Highway Hotshop's new mobile unit gives a very accessible insight into this very difficult and technical art. Glassblowing dates back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and Phoenicia.

The earliest evidence of glassblowing comes from a collection of waste from a glass workshop, including fragments of glass tubes, glass rods and tiny blown bottles, which was dumped in a mikvah, a ritual bath in the Jewish Quarter of Old City of Jerusalem dated from 37 to 4 B.C. Some of the glass tubes recovered are fire-closed at one end and are partially inflated by blowing through the open end while still hot to form small bottle, thus they are considered as a rudimentary form of blowpipe. Hence, tube blowing not only represents the initial attempts of experimentation by glassworkers at blowing glass, it is also a revolutionary step the induced a change in conception and a deep understanding of glass. Such invention swiftly eclipsed all other traditional methods, such as casting and core-forming, in working glass. Wikipedia.

Arizona has several glass blowing studios, including the Antonius Studios in Prescott, ArizonaGlassArt in Scottsdale and The Glass Studio at the Mesa Arts Center, where, if I understood correctly, Joshua and Adam are currently teaching.

Thanks to Desert Botanical Gardens for sponsoring a very enjoyable evening.

Humphrey's Peak -- the top of Arizona

The top of Arizona is Humphrey's Peak at 12,633 feet, is probably one of the most visible mountains in North America. Humphrey's is the highest of the San Francisco Peaks, located just north of Flagstaff and highly visible from a lot of northern Arizona, especially along Interstate 40. The San Francisco Peaks are really a vast volcanic caldera with the "peaks" along the edge of what once was a huge mountain. An satellite view of the mountain area shows that the caldera probably exploded towards the northeast. The mountains were named in honor of St. Francis of Assisi by the Spanish settlers in the 1600s. The ring of mountains include, Humprhrey's, Agassiz, Fremont, Aubineau, Reese and Doyle peaks.

In just the few miles from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top of the San Francisco Peaks, you can travel through six climatic life zones:

• Lower Sonoran Zone - Sonoran Desert plants
• Upper Sonoran Zone - Pinyon and Juniper woodlands
• Transition Zone - Ponderosa Pine forests
• Canadian Zone - Mixed Conifer Forest
• Hudsonian Zone - Spruce-Fir or Subalpine Conifer Forest
• Arctic-Alpine Zone - alpine tundra

The picture above was taken from the top (or summit if you must) of Humphrey's. The trail up the mountain is supposed to be 4.5 miles one way, but what they don't count is the mile or so hike to the trailhead. The hike is an easy climb until you reach the 11,400 foot treeline where the altitude starts to make a difference to flatlanders. It is discouraging to hike on a nice day because there is always some person in shorts running up the mountain who passes you on the way up and on the way down twice. The view from the top really depends on the weather and air conditions. You can mostly see where all the smoke from the northern Arizona power plants goes.

The forest on the trail up the mountain is superb, old trees with a lot of character. It is a lovely place and deserves the significance given to it by thirteen different Indian tribes.

According to Wikipedia, "Humphreys Peak was named in about 1870 for General Andrew A. Humphreys, a U.S. Army officer who was a Union general during the American Civil War, and who later became Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers."

Escudilla, the third highest peak (if you can call it that)

Escudilla Mountain is supposed to be the third highest mountain in Arizona. But some lists give the summit at 9,744 feet, however, it is actually 10,912 feet. What also makes the comparison complicated is that the San Francisco Mountains which have Humphreys Peak as the highest mountain in Arizona at 12,633 feet have up to six "peaks." So if you measure each San Francisco Peak as a separate peak then it moves Escudilla down on the list. The same thing happens with Mount Baldy in the White Mountains. Is it one "peak" or several? Some lists show Baldy as five separate peaks, making Escudilla number 12 instead of number 3. But if you are like me, you lump all of the San Francisco Peaks and Mount Baldy into one bundle, making Escudilla number three.

It is hard to call Escudilla a peak since the top of the mountain is almost flat. Finding the exact top is a matter of wandering around for a while until you see something that looks higher than where you are standing at the time. The name "Escudilla" is of Spanish origin but the translation of the word is conjectural. An "escudo" is a shield, so escudilla should be "little shield." In a modern dictionary, escudilla is translated as "bowl." So take your pick, either little shield or bowl both make sense looking at the mountain. One thing is that there is no other "Escudilla mountain" anyplace else in the world. The only other places named that are in New Mexico and Venezuela.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show 2010

This year we only had one afternoon to visit the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and it was practically the last day of the show at that. The above is a wide angle shot of the Tucson Convention Center main showroom. Breaking with tradition, the visiting exhibits were spread out all over the exhibit floor rather than being the center of the floor with minerals on one side and jewelry on the other. As a result, the mix of minerals, gems and jewelry was less separated as in past years. In posts that come, I will feature some of the more remarkable specimens that we saw at the show. But for now, is is sufficient to make more general observations.

One interesting observation. We received our February, 2010 Arizona Highways and there was not one mention of the dates or locations of the Tucson Show, even though they had an article on Quartzite and featured another gem and mineral show in the same time period. The Tucson show is international in flavor. The exhibitors come from all over the world. Although the main show in the Tucson Convention Center only lasts four days, the rest of the exhibits and sales go on for most of the month of January and into February, from January 22 to February 14. Overall the exhibitors include gems, minerals, fossils, meteorites, jewelry and beads.

The childrens' exhibit is always popular as are the two and sometimes three geode crackers. I assume that most of the other dealers have sales or they would not keep coming back year after year. We have pretty much run out of room for more mineral specimens and that has slowed us down considerably from purchasing anything at the shows. But, there is only one place to see the real world of mineral collecting in all its form and color and that is by visiting the dealers in their individual sales rooms, usually rented motel rooms at various places in Tucson.

The show guide has more than forty pages in four columns of the list of the dealers at the Tucson Show. It is probably almost physically impossible to visit all of them during the time the Show is open. We drive down from Phoenix, but have stayed down in the Tucson and find that accommodations are not that expensive. You have really missed one of the most incredible events in the whole Arizona year if you miss visiting the show.

Hike Piestewa Peak (Squaw Peak to us old timers)

When I was a lot younger than I am now, I lived about five or ten minutes away by bicycle from the base of what was then called "Squaw Peak." At that time there was no trail up the mountain, no parking lot, not even a paved road past 16th Street and Glendale Avenue. There were no million dollar homes up the side of the hills, no five star resorts with gated entries. Nothing but rocks, creosote bushes, brittle bushes and cactus. Oh, yes, there were a few palo verde trees also.

There were also no skinny sun-burned hikers, running full tilt up the trails after driving to the base of the mountain in their BMWs. Come to think of it, there weren't any BMWs either. We could hike around in the desert and climb up the mountain and never see another person all day. Now, on a popular holiday, the parking lot is jambed and thousands of people climb the hill in one day.

The view above is from the trail up the south side of the mountain. Anciently, (like when I was a teenager) you could see for miles in every direction. North and northeast there were few houses and nothing much but desert. Now, as you can see by the photo, the city stops only at the boundary of the City park. Just to the northwest is the North Mountain Preserve. Above is a map of the North Mountain Area.

I enjoy living in a big city but I can also see the advantages of having the desert nearby. Presently, I live about five minutes from the desert, which is just about right.

Canon Camera Museum

When asked about his motives in disassembling a Leica to produce Japanese made high-grade 35mm cameras, Yoshida explained in later years:

"I just disassembled the camera without any specific plan, but simply to take a look at each part. I found there were no special items like diamonds inside the camera. The parts were made from brass, aluminum, iron and rubber. I was surprised that when these inexpensive materials were put together into a camera, it demanded an exorbitant price. This made me angry".

From the Canon Camera Story 1933 to 1936, The Birth of Canon.

This is one of most impressive informational sites I have seen recently. The amount of information about the history of Canon cameras is unbelievable. It is well worth a visit to the Canon Camera Museum.

Riparian Institute at the Gilbert, Arizona Water Ranch

Arizona has a substantial migratory bird population. Some of the birds even decide to stay all year. I live only about 10 minutes from the Riparian Institute, Water Ranch and so we can be occasional visitors. The bird list for the Water Ranch has over 200 species. There are eight large ponds with a network of trails. Although, the Water Ranch is located right in the middle of a huge city, it has a very out-in-the-country feeling.

The Water Ranch is a 110 acre preserve located in Gilbert, Arizona. Activities at the Water Ranch include Bird Walks, Audubon Family Walks, Naturalist Led Walks, Docent Guided Walks and a Garden Tour.

The Water Ranch also has the Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory telescope which is open for public viewings every Friday and Saturday evening from nightfall until 9 pm. No registration required but a $3 donation is suggested. Special viewing times for groups can be arranged with prior notice, at $5 per person. The observatory houses a 16-inch diameter Meade, modified Richey-Cretien scope, guided by a Paramount ME computer controlled German equatorial mount slaved to The Sky professional computer program.

Spray-on liquid glass to revolutionize almost everything

A very recent article on PhysOrg.com announced the following:

(PhysOrg.com) -- Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.

The article goes on to describe the new material:

The liquid glass spray produces a water-resistant coating only around 100 nanometers (15-30 molecules) thick. On this nanoscale the glass is highly flexible and breathable. The coating is environmentally harmless and non-toxic, and easy to clean using only water or a simple wipe with a damp cloth. It repels bacteria, water and dirt, and resists heat, UV light and even acids. UK project manager with Nanopool, Neil McClelland, said soon almost every product you purchase will be coated with liquid glass.

It sounds like coating almost anything with liquid glass will make some kinds of cleaning obsolete. In fact they are assuming that there will be some resistance to the product because of the enormous profits made from various cleaning solutions.

The product was invented in Turkey and the patent is held by Nanopool, a family-owned German company. Research on the product was carried out at the Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials. Nanopool is already in negotiations in the UK with a number of companies and with the National Health Service, with a view to its widespread adoption. See the article.

Arizona -- cool and wet

Arizona has three major climate zones that run roughly diagonally from Northwest to Southeast across the state. Almost synonymous with most outsiders view of Arizona is the low desert with its rocky landscapes of cactus and other low rainfall adapted plants. People also recognize the high plateau region of the state with its sandstone canyons and Monument Valley type views. Lesser known is the high mountain country, especially the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona and the sky-islands throughout the state.

The above picture was taken on Highway 260 on the road from Springerville to McNary at around 8000 feet up in the White Mountains. The trees are predominantly Ponderosa pines. Arizona is the home to the largest Ponderosa pine forest in the U.S. The temperature at the time the photo was taken was just above freezing. McNary, a former sawmill location on the huge White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, gets 26 inches of rainfall on the average each year. In the Winter, the temperature can drop to well below zero. The lowest temperature recorded in Arizona was 40 degrees below zero at Hawley Lake, just a stone's throw from McNary.

The temperature varies greatly with the altitude (everywhere in world) but it is pretty dramatic to drive from Mesa, Arizona in the low desert where the temperature can be in the 70s and in a couple of hours be standing in a snow storm with temperatures well below freezing.

Agave -- don't get stuck

There are at least fifteen different varieties of agave plants in the U.S. Here is a list of the most common from the USDA:

Agave L. agave AGDE Agave deserti Engelm. desert agave AGDED Agave deserti Engelm. ssp. deserti desert agave AGDES Agave deserti Engelm. ssp. simplex Gentry desert agave AGPA4 Agave parryi Engelm. Parry's agave AGPAN6 Agave parryi Engelm. ssp. neomexicana (Woot. & Standl.) Ullrich Parry's agave AGPAP5 Agave parryi Engelm. ssp. parryi Parry's agave AGSH Agave shawii Engelm. coastal agave AGTE7 Agave tequilana F.A.C Weber tequila agave AGUT Agave utahensis Engelm. Utah agave AGUTE Agave utahensis Engelm. var. eborispina (Hester) Breitung Utah agave AGUTK Agave utahensis Engelm. var. kaibabensis (McKelvey) Breitung Kaibab agave AGUTN Agave utahensis Engelm. var. nevadensis Engelm. ex Greenm. & Roush Nevada agave AGUTU Agave utahensis Engelm. var. utahensis Utah agave HETE7 Hechtia texensis S. Watson Texas false agave

Agave are not cactus. They do not have areoles or circular clusters of spines that define the Cactaceae family. One thing I do know about agave is that the spine at the end of the leaves leaves a big hole in your foot or leg if you happen to get stuck and it is very poisonous and hurts for a very long time. I once had one go through my boot into my foot, so I know first hand how badly they hurt.

When I first moved to the lower desert, one of the first plants I remember were a row of very large agaves along the south edge of our yard. The plants were much taller than I was and years later, after flowering, they all died about the same time. Even though they are sometimes called century plants, they really do not take a whole century to bloom, but when the do bloom, the main plant dies. Not to worry however, they reproduce with shoots from the roots of the parent plant and can spread rapidly. Once they are established, you have to be very persistent to kill them off.

They make some of the prettiest patterns of any of the desert plants, even if they aren't cactus.

Pinnacles and spires

I could do a whole study of just rock pinnacles and spires in Arizona. Almost every little rock hill or mountain in the state has a section. Perhaps I will do a study, I don't have enough to do yet. The rocks in the picture above are near Oatman, Arizona. The town is named after two young girls that were kidnapped by the Yavapai Indians in the 1850s after the girls' family was killed except for one brother. Olive Oatman (see picture above) and her sister, were later traded to the Mohave Indians and Olive was finally released. Her sister Mary Ann died in captivity. In 1857, a pastor named Royal B. Stratton wrote a book about Olive and Mary Ann. The book sold 30,000 copies, a best-seller for that era. In November, 1865, Olive married John B. Fairchild. Though it was rumored that she died in an asylum in New York in 1877, she actually went to live with Fairchild in Sherman, Texas, where they adopted a baby girl, Mamie. Wikipedia.

Now, aren't rock spires interesting?

The Arizona wonder -- the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is underway in, you guessed it, Tucson, Arizona. Although there are mineral dealers in Tucson all year, during the last part of January and until the middle of February, there are hundreds of dealers who gather from all over the world to sell, trade and generally talk about gems, minerals, beads, jewelry and anything else you could reasonably sell.

It would take days just to walk around and view all the sales areas. The biggest event is held in the Tucson Convention Center, this year the weekend of February 14, 2010. Entrance to most of the shows (read sales centers) are free, but there is a small charge for the main show. Few conventions take over a town as completely as does the Gem and Mineral Show.

There is only one word to describe the gems and minerals shown at the show: fabulous. We drive down and spend the day or even stay over night and spend two days, without seeing even a small part of all of the exhibits. Would you like to buy a complete stegosaurus skeleton? You can at the show. Could you spend $100,000 or more on one mineral specimen? Easily. If you haven't been to a first class mineral exhibit, you cannot imagine the color, the variety and absolute beauty of the fabulous (yes, I used the word again) minerals at this show.

About as far away from walking Arizona as you can get

This is a 360 degree panorama of the actual North Pole.


North Pole 90°N in World

The picture was taken on July 25, 2008 by Susan T. Farsani. There is not a lot to see at the North Pole, other than other people looking around at the lack of scenery. Pictures like this remind me why I live in the desert.

The TAO of Dirt

Clay soil in the Salt River Valley

The Tao of Dirt is a Website dedicated to the soil mechanics of Arizona. One of my daughters once did a school science project on the soils in Eastern Maricopa County. We drove around the area collecting samples of different soil types. I got a book with all the soil maps of Maricopa County and we were able to identify all of the types we collected. I have always appreciated the importance of dirt. I love gardening and I have studied the soil characteristics of the desert for many years. It would have been very useful to have such a Website in the days I was most active in building the soil in my garden so that it would grow vegetables on a consistent basis.

One of the challenges is the mechanics of the soil. It was most clay in the area where we lived, with a hard pan of caliche about 3 feet below the surface. I had to add a lot of sand, gypsum and iron to the soil just to break it down so that it wouldn't turn to adobe when it was dry. Here is a really good and really long article from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum by Joseph R. McAuliffe on Desert Soils.

Because of the alluvial nature of the soils in the Salt River Valley, there is never any lack of rocks. Add that to the fact that many of the suburban yards in the Valley have "desert landscaping" which consists almost entirely of large gravel or rocks, we always have something to throw close at hand.