Tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes!

"Lines Written in Early Spring,"

~William Wordsworth, 

 Lyrical Ballads, 1798

pic: flickr


Utah is experiencing a strange and rare spring...meaning  it cant decide how to behave!!
Its cold and wet one day and then the next its hot and windy or windy and cold.
But the fruits of this behavior has got to be the greenest desert I can ever remember savoring!!
This morning the wildflowers were resplendent!!!
And since I was strolling this morning...with a dear guest with new blisters...I had time pull out my trusty wildflower book and do some "research."
The above bloom is called- Scarlet Gaura. (havent a clue how to pronounce it.)
Its a dainty little flower...it has no call to live and thrive in the desert...but it does!!! And  its showy to boot!  And as most desert flowers seem to be..it has unique attributes that help it to survive here in this harsh climate.
My Audubon wildflower book taught me that this flower is white when it newly opens and that it attracts night-flying moths which are its primary pollinators.  By early the next day, the flowers are pink, and the color intensifies throughout the morning hours. The flower remains open for less than a day.
Fancy That!!!

Each kind of bird has a name for its gathering.

Geese have "gaggles," seagulls "flocks."

Ravens come in "unkindnesses." Until now I

did not fully understand the meaning of

the term. I swear they were scowling at me.

from: The Animal Dialogues

by: Craig Childs

This book Im reading...
The Animal Dialogues...
FABULOUS!!

If I dared...I'd share something from every chapter with you!!!
but instead..I'll just tantalize you with some of what I found fascinating from my reading last night.


Craig Childs loves the desert even more than I...and hes a patient and mindful observer of all that surrounds him out there in the wild. Plus he's an excellent writer!!!
He's a little nuts though...
for he chooses to live in tipi's on the Colorado tundra...for years at a time...even through the winters!! Or he hikes for hundreds of miles through Mexico, just for the adventure.   I think he prefers the company of critters and quiet than he does civilaztion.
so I guess the resemblance between us begins and ends with our love of the desert and for the inhabitants there of.
It turns out that  Craig  is as intrigued by ravens as I am.
I have alway sensed that the ravens I see in the sky or that are perched above our heads on the rocks watching us closely...are a unique and singular bird.  We hike.. and then realize  that we are in 'their space'  ...and they watch...
I feel sure that there's more to them than just those huge bills and blackness beyond description.  And those beady eyes that miss nothing!!!  gulp
Craig describes them eloquently!!
May I share a few excerpts?

"I am always prepared for the impossible from ravens.  Animals  of omens and nevermores, they rule the desert, able to reach every crack and ledge while I am restricted to the ground as if wearing chains. 
Of all bird species, Corvus corax, the raven, is considered the most ingenious. In one experiment with ravens it was soundly demonstrated  that they have the ability to follow another's gaze- e.g., you glance at a peanut with interest, and a raven turns to see what you're looking at. This is a skill documented among only the smartest animals, especially those with tight social networks like wolves and primates."

Remember Alfred Hitchcocks'-- The Birds!!!!??? Can you say Creepy!!!!

" Ravens are the largest of the corvids, a group of birds whose behavior tops the avian IQ test. This is based on the number of novel feeding  behaviors any bird species exhibits, derived from two thousand observations in the wild published over seventy-five years.  Corvids--magpies, crows, jays, and raven--employ more adaptations and innovations than any other bird.  Ravens pull up baited fishing lines by stepping on the line, reeling in slack with their beaks, stepping on the line again, and finally pulling in the fish.  They poke sticks into bug holes, bend wire to hook meat from between cracks, unzip backpacks, and open ice chests."

Are you exclaiming outloud, like I did, that this cant be so??  Are you shocked and amazed??  I'll bet that now  when you  spy a raven flying overhead...you'll never "see" them in  the same light again.

"Down to their every gesture, ravens are rich with character, more so than most people.  Their sentiments are not disguised. They are theatrical birds. Even quietly perched on a church roof of under the arm of a bridge, ravens are obviously brooding, grumbling among one another, plotting the end of the world."

Dont look now...but there's a raven out there watching YOU!!!
See!!!  Gathering coral dust between ones toes is always enlightening and now maybe sometime unnerving as well !!!!

Paul Newman on the set of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, dir. George Roy Hill ) (photo by Jimmy Mitchell, via 20th Century Fox: Inside the Photo Archive)


For years...about 7 to be exact...I have been telling our guests at the Spa about this scene in the movie BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID!!!  We hike past this waterhole about once a week...(if I have anything to do about it)...and we stop and I give my little narrative about the movie.  And it turns out that I've been wrong..all these years.  I've been telling folks that it was Robert Redford who fell back into the water... it was Paul Newman all along!!!
Its good to get the facts straight.
Its even better to finally stumble upon picture proof of the fact!!!
Southern Utah is the backdrop to many a western movie!
Come gather some coral dust between your toes with me, and I'll share this spot with you!!!

"Uncommon Encounters" Is Right!!!!

FROM THE BOOK: The Animal Dialogues

Uncommon Encounters in the Wild

by: Craig Childs

"Other than having a single lung, rattlesnakes are more of less the same as all vertebrates, including humans, only they are stretched long, the red bead of the heart resting above a cigar-shaped liver, followed by a ravel of intestines and a pair of lengthy kidneys. The snake has a few hundred sets of rib bones compared to a human's twelve. Ribs are connected to an equal number of vertebrae, which are hinged off of one another with ball-and socket joints, allowing the snake to freely articulate its entire body."

Hikers here in Southern Utah  have a healthy respect for the rattlesnakes. And even though they  are rarely seen or heard out on the trails here, we know they are out there...

We prefer not to see them and hope never to disturb one.

We also would never let the possibility of encountering this beast of the desert deter us from a great hike!! The possibility just adds to the adventure!!!

“Allow motion to equal emotion.”

 — Elbert Hubbard

Our weather here this spring makes one wonder what the summer will be like this year.  The end of March was warm enough...no, hot enough....to draw out an old, hardy tortoise into its warming light.  March is the earliest I've ever seen a tortoise wander from its protective den!!! And yet there one was...sunning on a rock on the side of the well trod trail of Paradise Rim!!  What a treat!!  What a great omen...for a good summer of hiking and discovery!!
and then....
April arrives with a bang!!!
April has left that old guy wondering about his motives.
April has brought snow...and no small amount either!
All the tortoises and lizards and snakes have run for cover!
All the beautiful wildflowers are bent over in shock...
I might doubt the omen of the tortoise...except for today...amongst the snowflakes we spotted a roadrunner perched on a black volcanic rock, staring us down!!!
Thats a more powerful omen than the tortoise!!
Yes indeedy it is!!
Bring on Summer!!
We are ready!!!

“You need special shoes for hiking – 

and a bit of a special soul as well.” 

— Emme Woodhull-Bäche

We high-tailed it to Zion National Park yesterday...for we felt sure that Obama was going to close it down...to save a buck!!! We wanted to be sure to get a last visit in, not knowing how long the shut down might last?
Driving into the park...we quickly discovered that we were going to be in for a treat! The Park felt empty...and it was snowing...in April no less!!!
Its very hard to describe how this park effects the soul.  No matter the time or season...you cant help but be moved.  Yesterday was no exception...it was glorious to behold.  And even though the trail to Hidden Canyon was unaccessible...to our liking anyway...we were not disappointed in the least.  We built tiny snow men, and caught snowflakes on our tongues, and pelted one another with a few lightly packed snowballs!! What a delightful way to spend an afternoon...among the snowflakes and magic of Zion!!!

"On the banks, on both sides of the river, 

there will grow all kinds of trees for food....

Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing" 

Ez 47:12

When we were hiking Stairway to Heaven a few weeks ago, a good hiking buddy pointed out a plant at the side of that trail that I hadnt taken notice of before. (thats odd of me...for I love the flora and fauna of the desert.) Im so grateful that she stopped to have us take note of the Yerba Santa plant...for I have learned something new and interesting here!! Lynette knew that it had medicinal qualities...so I 'googled' it and found a plethora of information on this little wonder of a plant.

Here is what I learned:

Yerba Santa – named “holy weed” by early Spanish priest because of its medicinal properties.

Here is a most interesting description of this plant-

“Yerba Santa is an exceptional member of the Waterleaf Family (Hydrophyllaceae) Most of these varieties of plant grow in cool, moist habitats, indicating a strong relationship to the watery element. Yerba Santa also has a relationship with water, although in an opposite way. With its tough, resinous leaves, it holds and conserves its water from the inside to meet the intense fire of its environment. This quality helps us to understand the medicinal use of Yerba Santa as a regulator of the water element. Yerba Santa coats the mucous membranes and holds the aqueous component in contact with the cells, reestablishing mucopolysaccharides. As such, it is an excellent herbal remedy for chronic respiratory ailments, used as an expectorant used to treat coughs and congestion, as well as aiding in loosening and expelling phlegm. It dilates bronchial tubes, and thus is used to ease asthma and allergy attacks. A tea, tincture or syrup is typically made from the leaves, sometimes including the flowers, or as a smoke from the leaves.” via 

(Lynette said that a brother-in-law of hers even quit smoking with the help of this plant. )

Unlike many medicinal herbs, yerba santa actually has a pleasant taste. It has been used as food flavoring and in cough syrups to disguise the bad taste of other ingredients.

The Lord said He would provide. Isnt it amazing that such a non-descript little plant can be full of such wonders and cures?! Remarkable!!

I've been thinking about books on hiking.

And only one has come to mind right now.

I read this haunting story many years ago, but it is still vivid in my mind.

When I try  describing this book to friends and family, the first words that come out of my mouth are, "you will never look at or appreciate your feet more after having read this story based on the true life of Mary Ingles Wilder."

spoiler alert!!!

Mary Ingles, is living on the frontier during the French and Indian War.  Indians raid her settlement taking her sister-in-law, two sons, a gentleman, and herself captive.  They travel from West Virginia clear to a spot near present-day Cincinnati, Ohio.  On the way she gives birth to a little girl and earns the respect of one of the chiefs.  She also tries to memorize the trip in case she gets a chance to escape.

Once at the Indian settlement, she makes friends with a sturdy Dutch woman that has just run the gauntlet.  Mary is taken, with some others including the Dutch woman, to a salt lick to gather salt.  During the autumn days spent there she and the Dutch woman escape.  Regarded as lost, they are not followed.  Since she had paid attention on her trip into the wilds, Mary knew that she must follow the river.  With only a hatchet and two blankets, Gretel and Mary travel along the Ohio and New Rivers.  The book supplies a map of their trip.

Mary's one driving force is her love for Will, her husband.  She must get back to Will.  Gretel's goal is food, which leads to trouble for Mary.  Mary's persistence and single-mindedness and just plain guts get her through horrible conditions and depravation.  She and Gretel almost starve to death, but they do make it back--even through snow.

We think we know how to hike.

I Know I would not have survived this ordeal...no matter how much coral dust I've gathered between my toes!!

Follow the River is a 5 star read as far as Im concerned!!

Give it a try!!!

“How can you explain that you need to know that the trees

 are still there,and the hills and the sky? Anyone knows they

 are. How can you say it is time your pulse responded to 

another rhythm, the rhythm of the day and the season instead

 of the hour and the minute? No, you cannot explain. So you walk.”

-- Author unknown

This morning we did something new.  New is always fun and adventurous. When its new...5 miles feels like 3 or 4, (despite the sand).  New brings more possibilities.  Learning one new hike this morning now means we can change up two or three of our 'regular' hikes with new variations.  I love new trails.  Im grateful to Kendell for sharing this with us, and to Cheryl for the great pictures. My camera died this morning when going for my first shot! dang!

CALIFORNIA QUAIL (Callipepla californica)

• The California Quail is a highly sociable bird that often gathers in small flocks known as “coveys”.
• One of their daily communal activities is a dust bath. A group of quail will select an area where the ground has been newly turned or is soft, and using their underbellies, will burrow downward into the soil some one to two inches. They then wriggle about in the indentations they have created, flapping their wings and ruffling their feathers, causing dust to rise in the air.
• They seem to prefer sunny places in which to create these dust baths.
• An ornithologist is able to detect the presence of quail in an area by spotting the circular indentations left behind in the soft dirt, some 7–15 cm (3-6 inches) in diameter.

"In the American Southwest, I began a lifelong love affair with a pile of rock." 

-- Edward Abbey

My Sojourns magazine arrive this week in the mail!!!
I love this publication!!  Everything about this periodical is divine. The feel of the paper on which it is printed and the photography it contains is all beautiful and ??unique and beyond compare. Even the weight of it in my hands is perfection!!! The graphic design is eye-catching and the essays are always thought-provoking and enthralling!! Im just sorry it only comes a few times a year!!!

This printing is all about "portals."
Im sure you're asking as I did, what "portals" have to do with National Parks and preservation and natural history......
Well... it goes something like this-
the very first article is a strange and diabolical thing about the sun and life on Mars and, strangely enough, also about desert varnish. (a distinct black coating on our rocks in this area...it looks as though the  rocks have been burnt on the surface)

The sun: a portal of life
Mars: is there life?
desert varnish: what is life?

Did you know that the sun has PMS on a celestial scale?!!  Our glorious sun powers down, looses it zeal and its umph at times, so to speak. (and...nobody can tell it to snap out of it!!!) The sun is cyclic too!!!
Next the article asks us to  think about the ancient Anasazi and the Hopi and Navajo nations who were and are highly concerned with all things celestial and whom are cognizant of what goes on in the heavens.
And then comes the interesting and fascinating segway into having us think about the phenomenon of desert varnish.   It is on these silky brownish black surfaces that the Anasazi  'wrote' or pecked away on to communicate and leave messages.  Some folks believe as Michaelangelo did, that the Indian nations were there to 'let the story out' of the stone, for the world to see.
We are asked to think about the ever present question- "what is life?"


"If the tiny life forms associated with desert varnish have the "know-how"--
the genetic ability and chemical wisdom- to survive extreme environments,
who's to say they arent intelligent in their own mysterious way?  In an era
in which biological studies regularly reveal marvelous new layers of 
existence (plants can think and remember! Slime molds can solve a maze!),
clearly we have a lot to learn about both "life" and "intelligence."  For
looking at the worlds around us, curiosity has always been our wisest portal."
-Maria Melendez
Sojourn Magazine

So...maybe there is "life" on Mars as well??



Please become a friend of Zion National Park, and then you too can enjoy this semi-annual stellar publication!!

These amazing Anasazi writings are in my "own back yard!!!"

We've been busy!
And now we have a new website....and look how nicely it turned out!!

Go check it out and let us know what you think!!!

Huber Wash Hike

Rose doesn't like the flat country, but I always

did-- flat country seems to give the sky such a chance.

from: I Capture the Castle

by:  Dodie Smith

This hike is best done in the fall and winter months due to brutal temps in the summer! It is an open exposed hike with very little opportunity to get out  of the sun along the way.

Mount Kinesava

 There used to be a sign marking Huber Wash, that we discovered this week no longer exists.  The sign was located about 6 miles from of the south entrance to Zion. From the the highway you can see a gate off to the east down in the wash.This is where you should park. Pass through this gate and be sure to close it behind you.  There is a path of use that leads toward the Huber Wash. Follow the beaten path 100 yards and down into the wash. (there is an electrical sub-station to the left.) Turn north (left) once arriving at the bottom of Huber Wash and follow the dry wash . After about .3 miles of hiking in the wash the Park Boundary is marked with a fence and hikers gate just above the wash on the left. Close this gate behind you. Beyond the gate is the national park boundary. Mount Kinesava is the mountain range in the distance.  The Rockville Bench is to the southeast.

Continue upstream, staying in the main wash.  Do not wander out of the wash, to avoid damaging delicate cryptobiotic soil. Look for petrified wood throughout this hike, however scavengers have stolen most of the small pieces. After an easy 2- mile hike the wash ends in an alcove or dryfall. At times there is a nice waterfall in the alcove, but there is always a nice display of vegetation growing in the alcove.  In the winter there can be icicles hanging on the sides.    Be sure to look for the petrified log-jam on the right side of the wash.

I believe most people stop their hike here and turn around and head back to the road. This week our group decided to scale the unique "yellowish" rock to the next level and there we discovered some carins that led us to the Chinle Trail where there was a lot of petrified wood laying about to enjoy.  The definition below helps to explain why the "wood" we saw sparkled like glitter laden stone!! It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

*Cryptobiotic soil is one of the oldest living forms of life. If damaged it can take several decades to repair itself. The crusty ground cover is made up of mostly cyanobacteria, but algae, lichens, moss, bacteria and microfungi are also involved in the makeup. Long ago these were responsible for changing the earths original atmosphere one that is filled with life sustaining oxygen.

*Petrified wood: is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. Unlike other types of fossils which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three dimensional representation of the original organic material. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Mineral-laden water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay, a stone mould forms in its place.
In general, wood takes fewer than 100 years to petrify. The organic matter needs to become petrified before it decomposes completely. (thanks wikipedia!)