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Here is the conclusion to Just Daisy and Me Hiking where I discovered the Spanish rock inscriptions. I figured that you wouldn't mind less talk and more photos for a change. This is as much to let you know that we haven't fallen into a bottomless sinkhole yet. We're just both running tired with the growing 'To Do' list before the REALLY cold weather sets in. We have been enjoying high 60s daytime temps and balmy overnight temps of high 20s and low 30s i.e. no further pipe freeze-ups (touch wood!). Great sleeping weather with just the pilot lights burning on two of the propane wall heaters for the most part. The extra Rat insulation is paying off nicely.
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.These cacti are the first of their kind which I have come across here. Don't ask me what they are (Belle - any ideas?) but I have noticed that so many desert plants out here may only grow in one small area. This is why I was so upset with the new well location up top when they failed to give us notice and time to survey and salvage any unique plant specimens per our agreement. I'd rather take a chance on transplanting them than having them dozed under with absolutely no chance of survival.
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.Here is another view of the creek. Hard to believe that a creek which spends most of its time sleeping in this deep, dry state can inflict such damage when it awakes.
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.At one point, the sandstone wall rises dramatically straight upwards to the first bench. For one exhilarating moment, I thought I had found the eerie of an eagle. Follow the yellow arrow and notice the accumulation of white bird dropping just below a dark hole (you might have to click to enlarge to follow this). The crow who showed up and circled above it quite vocally told me that it was probably his nest though.
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.Here is a view of Rat City from our hike. It gives you a better idea of the scale of the mesa behind us. Compare this view to the view in The Rock of Damocles. The rock is resting at the very top of that mesa.
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.Above is the last inscription treasure that we found that day. This one had survived the weather better by its location under the shelter of the much larger rock shown in the initial account. There were some fainter, intriguing inscriptions above it to the right but the shadow hides them completely. Wait 'til you see the petroglyphs we discovered yesterday though! Woo-hah!
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31 comments:
Nice shots Lin...thanks!
You sure are quick on the draw, Mushy!
Hi, Lin! I think it's buckhorn cholla (cylindropuntia acanthocarpa in other words). I went to http://www.getnet/ just to be sure I spelled cholla right and found a picture which looks like it. We can buy our cacti from cactusstore.com. It should bloom in Apr/May or so. I love the 4th picture the very best. My favorite cactus is the ocottilla, especially when it's blooming, (probably mispelled as well but I have to get back to my "homework"). Take Care! Belle
Yeah, I can see where EAGLE droppings are totally different than the more humble CROW droppings...!
I DARE you to "shinny-up" there, and take "stool-samples".....!
Hey, is that MARK down there in the lower bushes, doin' some "dropping" of his own???!
Belle - I just knew you'd come through for me ... and even with the answer I was hoping for! I was thinking cholla but hadn't seen it at this altitude before (or 'in the real flesh' at all). Damn, but those things are prickly! Red and Sally had brought me a bunch of this stuff up years ago to work into custom lighting and I have seen it in droves from half-way from here to ABQ but not here. Thank you!
Bruno, don't tempt me to take lofty stool samples (I was half thinking about that myself, presuming that I could tell the difference, of course). You know ... eagle crap is just somehow more noble than crow crap, not like we have crows on our seals and money, right?
The irony of that will be coming up on my next hiking account. I loves me dem crows after that one!
Now exactly which photo did you think you saw Mark doing his own bombing run? The sun and shadows psyche you out all the time here, I kid you not. He was actually off on missions up top when Daisy and I struck out on our own. He'd have to be up on the mesa top above us to be caught in 'the act'. Not that this hasn't been a necessary act around here, mind you. AMHIK We each conceal-carry a toilet paper roll in our trucks ... just in case.
Mesa's! Lin! In my Photos of the Sturt Stoney Desert there are mesas too. I will try and find a photo of them for you.
All the creeks are dry as well, and like yours they run like crazy with the slightest downpour. :o)
Is there any water at all in the creek right now? It looks awfully dry in the picture.
Simon, that' what I kept noticing about your Aussie wilderness photos - the similarities are amazing. Please do post or send me some more photos. Maybe we should do something on the amazing parallels.
Alphonse, the creek is like that song line about the river with its life underground. If you drill directly down, there is apparently still water flowing all the time but the surface is parched and dry 97% of the year. It's a very strange desert thing indeed.
Hey Lin....
The name of the cactus you queried is Cholla (phonetic..Choy-ya) Be careful around it...it is said that if you get to close, the needles will JUMP at you! The skeleton of said cactus is really cool..lots of possibilities when you get your shop up and working.
mercedeslady
ML - ah-hah! - you just confirmed what Belle said then - it's cholla! That's the stuff I want to work into my future lighting projects. Unfortunately, that one little stand of it is all that I have found so far.
You're dead right about those needles, too. All I did was take a poke at a dried blossom on top and then spent the next ten minutes pulling tiny blond spikes out of my hand. Those plants have a VERY bad attitude!
Hewo Lin!
Dilly like fotoes!
Want come vizit!
MWEAH!
Good wagon country!
¬"
Dilly - WOTS of dwagons out here, small ones, big ones buried in the rocks and more. You are very welcomed to come explore with us - bwing good dwagon snacks, don't forget your fang brush!
Thats quite a view you have. That rock does look a little ready to take a dive doesnt it.
PopeT, there are a lot of rocks like that out here. That's why I seldom walk out to the edge to look down, figuring that I might get a closer look than planned if the ledge breaks decides to break away.
You have some stunning country around you, hon - and you don't seem afraid to explore it, either!
...not like we have crows on our seals and money, right?
True enough, but as a former member of the USAF (ground-based) ELINT community I walked around for a couple of years with a Dozo Bird on my organizational ball cap. (The link is a RealPlayer audio file, and is a little ditty composed by a couple of GIs exiled to Wakkanai Air Station). I looked all over for a pic of that Ol' Crow, but couldn't find one. He had bloodshot eyes, a lightning bolt under one wing, and two bottles of Sapporo beer under the other. He was a mean Ol' Crow!
OK...is this an overshare? ;-)
Ya just never know what sort of synapses will fire off, and when.
Great pics, Lin!!
Shrinky, it's the kind of place where you start off walking and you're a mile away before you even know it. I've never been inclined to hike like this before - apparently the cats feel that way, too.
Buck, are you going to post an image of Mr. Dozo if you ever fine him? I LOVE mascot art! And he sounds like my kinda bird, too. I'm really surprised that no one has posted that emblem yet.
I was going to guess teddy bear cactus which is a cholla variety.
Gorgeous photos - can't wait for the petroglyph pics - this is fantastic stuff.
Phlegmmy, they really call that nasty stuff 'teddy bear cactus'? Grizzly bear maybe - it BITES without much provocation!
Bet you will like the petros for sure.
Buck, are you going to post an image of Mr. Dozo if you ever fine him?
I will, if and when the image shows up. I'm somewhat incredulous no one's put it up somewhere on the 'net, too. That bird was quite common back in the day, at least in certain circles.
lin, that "inscription" looks to me like an advert for a burrito. Spelling's bad, but this is N.M.
I'm going to my favorite local Mexican restaurant and ask them to make me one of them thar things.
Buck, I'm surprised that you or one of the guys didn't keep the Dozo cap all these years but I guess you tend to build up a lot of 'stuff' if you do that. If you can get an image scanned in from a patch, I can clean it up for you (offer good while eyesight lasts).
Cat, you know, when I saw that inscription I thought "That would be a GREAT name for an upscale eatery!" Marcos Del Rito for the best Spanish dining West of Madrid since 1578. Or try our green chili Conquistaburger in our casual lounge atmosphere.
Great phots, Lin! That's pretty awesome country you are living in. Ditto on the cholla - the little needles jump at you if you just look at them with suspicion! Our lot in Santa Fe is covered with them, and I have learned to respect them as they were there first and are determined to let me know it.
Totally cool pictures. Can't wait for the glyphs. You ever go in and look at my Grand Canyon pics? Your neighborhood is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Towanda, so you already have your lot taken care of? 2008 will come faster for you than you can imagine now. Don't ignore the calendar or get massively distracted like we did.
FHB, I'll have to go look at your Grand Canyon pics. That is one awesome place for photo opps. We have our own smaller version south of here which I will have to dig up the photos for and post them.
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