It Found Us

Rain on Tuesday so only a short hike in Saguaro National Park east.  Then on to Phoenix.

The Heard Museum and Desert Botanical Garden today.  Back to Atlanta tomorrow.

The Desert Museum

The Desert Museum has to be Tucson's biggest asset.  Icky arranged a behind-the-scenecs tour of the hummingbird avaiary Monday and we were there at 6:30 (hard to believe Icky was  up at 5:00).  the docent was great;  a 15-year employee of the Museum and very knowledgable.

We were able to see two nests, one with newly hatched hummingbirds.  Evidently when they first hatch, the new chicks are barely the size of a raisin.  The Museum has 17 hummingbirds in their Avaiary and since they breed them, will often give them to other institutions like the San Diego zoo.  Very cool and worth getting up early for.

There is so much at this museum that we were there nine hours.  It's a large piece of property so the gardens are extensive.  But they also have great exibits on geolgy, and, since they have animals, it is also a zoo of sorts.  It gets a lot of visitors this time of year so I'm glad we went early.

Took a quick trip to Saguaro National Forest west unit at the end of the day and will do some hiking in the east unit befor heading north to Phoenix tonight.

more photos...

Kitt Peak

If you're ever in Tucson, don't miss the Kitt Peak Observatories.  We headed out at 8, planned to spend a couple of hours there and then hike in Saguaro National Park.  Never made it to Saguaro.

Kitt Peak Observatories has twenty-four optical and two radio telescopes.  Two of the Optical telescopes are solar, including the largest in the world.

We toured the large solar telescope and two of the large stellar scopes.  Each tour had a docent and they were excellent. 

Hummingbirds tomorrow at 6 am at the Desert Museum.  Then maybe some of the hiking we missed today.

Miners and Montezuma

Traveled today from Sedona to Tucson (ever wonder why there's a 'c' in TuCson?)

First stop was Jerome, AZ, an old mining town, to get a slice of pie as recommended by Beth and Ben.  Never found the pie but we did find Jerome.  It ain't much; perched way up on the side of a hill.  Evidently it was quite the place when they were mining copper there over a hundred years ago.  Jerome was so wild that after a hard rain the whole jail slid down to the bottom of the hill and they just left it there.

On to Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well, both national monuments.  Outstanding!  You can read more here.  At the well, we went to the base and put our hand in the water.  It was warm.  75 degrees Farenheight.  One of the Rangers said it's due to geothermal activity.

Next we went by Arcosanti, an 'experimental town'.  Whew.  I think the experiment failed.  Pretty shabby and run down. 

We stopped at Picacho Peak State Park just north of Tuscon right at the end of the day.  It's right off the interstate and a beautiful  park.  We arrived at dusk, but had we been there an hour earlier we could have seen fields of bright yellow poppies in bloom.  We may stop again on the way back north.

And for dinner we went to Mi Nidito, a true Mexican restruant that served Bill Clinton.  It was excellent!  Thanks Greg and Stephanie for the recommendation.  We are sending you a post card of Bill eating a ChimmeChanga (however you spell it).

Tomorrow is the Kitt Peak observatory.  Should be fun.

Thunder Mountain Trail

Slow day for us - only one 4-mile hike.  Interesting hike because on one side of the trail 200 yards away is a Sedona neighborhood and on the other is a wildlife sanctuary with unbelievable scenery.  It was a good hike: slow, relaxed and a lot of wldlife- mostly birds.

Out of here tomorrow and south to Tuscon. for three days.  Icky has some interesting struff lined up: Kitt Peak observatory, Saguaro National Park, and more.  Naps are out.

Oh yeah, Feather was a no-show. It worked out fine.

Soldier's Pass and Doe Mountain

We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon yesterday which is about 20 miles north of Sedona and on the way to Flagstaff.  We hiked a short way in only to discover that the streams are so swolen from all of the recent rains and snow melt that we could not cross and had to turn back. Bummer.

However, Icky did some quick homework and found another hike on a trail called Soldier's Pass.  Turned out to be a great hike; a loop of about 6.5 miles with some climbing that provided great views.  Along the way we saw some very large sinkholes in the stone (100 feet across and 50 feet deep) and interesting rock formations.  One was named the seven pools because of seven indentions that collect rainwater in a stairstep formation.

6.5 miles is not nearly enough for Icky so we ended the day with a 1 mile hike that climbed 500 feet to a plateau with great views in every direction.  Doe Mountain.  The promise was that there was much wildlife, but we saw very little.  We did manage to get back down from the mountain just before the sun went down.

Today we are taking a hike with an hebalist named Feather.  Stay tuned for a report on this one.

More photos...

The Day in Ruins

Three Great hikes yesterday - 8.5 miles!

First, a short warm up hike of only a mile in to see a 95-foot stone arch.

Then we visited an the Palatki Ruins, an ancient archelogical site close to the hotel which was staffed by very knowledgeable docents from the National Forest Service.  Amazing stuff.   Structures and paintings thousands of years old.

Finally we hiked into the Boynton Canyon, also near the hotel.  Along the way we passed a side trail which Icky had read lead to ruins of cliff dwelling Indians. So we climbed 10,000 feet up the side of a cliff with the climbing gear we just happened to have along to take a look this incredible structure.

We are off to a great start and the weather is perfect!  Going to Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff today.

Yes, that's Icky and yes she talked me into climbing way up there.

More pictures...

Enchantment

Five miles outside Sedona is a resort spa called Enchantment.  It is a beautiful place and we are here because Marsha arranged it for us.  This hotel is really impressive; thank you Marsha! (are you working on your website?) 

Sedona looks like it will be a great place to hike for a few days.  We barely had time to drop off our bags in the room before Icky had us out on the trail right before sunset. 

There are indian ruins here and also a Vortex.  Icky says she feels the energy; it just makes me hungry.

On the Farm and in the Trees

Any weekend is good that starts on Friday and this one was very good.  We spent two days in Athens at the annual Georgia Organics conference. And just like last year, it was excellent.  1,100 people attend and these are some smart, progressive folks who are rewriting the rules on growing food.

This year we learned about growing Shitake mushrooms, fighting insects with natural predators, and planting fruit trees and shrubs. Perhaps the best and most impressive session was one on natural herbs taught by Patricia Kyritsi Howell.  She has a book titled Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians and teaches at her school BotanoLogos School for Herbal Studies in Mountain city GA.

We also heard the closing keynote speech from Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Foods movement.  I think I know where the 'Slow' in Slow Foods comes from after listening to his ramble.

These Georgia Organics folks are really impressive.  Quite an event; we've really learned a lot both this year and last.  Congratulations on a GREAT show!

And Sunday was another highlight!  An afternoon of working on the coolest treehouse I've ever seen.  Mark Fockele was brave enough to let me help him work on part of a two-level treehouse connected by a  skywalk ladder.  It was terrific fun.  Mark and Mildred's daughter Emma is both the beneficiary of the project as well as its straw boss. Don't let him slack off now Emma - you're almost there...

Snow in Atlanta

This has been a cold wet winter. No surprise that the snow would come at least once in conditions like this and it did come on Friday. We reckon about 3-4 inches here beginning mid afternoon Friday through midnight. It was a beautiful snow; not enough to be destructive and no accompanying wind.

A major limb fell from the neighbor's house shaking the whole house and pulling the power cable and phone lines from the house. Fortunately, the power remained connected and Georgia Power came within a half hour to re-attach the power cable. All experiences with the Georgia Power guys have been awesome. They are polite, efficient and really good at what they do.

The pond in the back is more than half frozen again. Looks like more stuff is on the way tonight, only this could be the destructive sleet.

Spring and a little less rain would both be welcome here. 

Here are some additional pictures here if you're interested.

Afternoon in the Country

Here we are writing about food again and asserting that we are not foodies.  Maybe we are after all.  Jan treated Icky, Greg and me to Afternoon in the Country.  And what a treat it was!  This is a benefit for the Atlanta Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (sounds yummy already doesn't it) at Serenbe Farms.

You can read the list of chefs who prepared food for the event, but it's another Who's Who of fine restaurants in Atlanta.  Absolutely beautiful afternoon on the farm; music, wine and teriffic food.  Thanks Jan!!!

Woodland Gardens - Garden Party

Jan went with us to Winterville, GA just outside Athens to a Georgia Organics benefit dinner hosted by Woodland Gardens. It was quite a happening and it was sold out.

We first toured the 5-acre farm, which is beautiful. They have acreage for outdoor plants as well as hoop houses for growing in the cold months. Recently they've added about 40 egg-laying hens and have them housed in a mobile hen house atached to a free-range enclosure. The link below has some photos of the farm.

Then some of the best chefs in Atlanta entertained the 150 - 200 guests with a sit down dinner that was the most amazing display of food and cullinary skill I've ever attended. 100% orgainic of course.  These are the chefs who were there:

Anne Quatrano - Bacchanalia
Hugh Acheson - 5 & 10
Gary Mennie - Livingston
Joseph Truex - Repast
Joshua Hopkins - Abattoi
Steven Satterfield - Miller Union
David Larkworthy - 5 Seasons Brewing
Drew Belline - Floataway Café
Carla Tomasko - Quinones
Matt Palmerlee & Edward Russell - farm255

David Roberts - Community Q
Luis Vasquez - Star Provisions
Ron Eyester - Rosebud
Andy Carson - Bacchanalia
Hilary White - The Hil
Matthew Roher - Cha Bella
Cathy Conway - Avalon Catering
Angie Mosier - Angie Mosier Food
Tiger Mountain Vineyards
The Johnston Family Farm.

This thing was over the top.  Normally I'm not much of a food person but get this:  just one of six salads was House smoked Escolar with Endive, Apple and a Hard Cider Vigaigrette and Rey Croutons; darn yummy.

For the main meal there were a dozen entrees including  Mom's Macaronu & Cheese from Bacchanalia and Mr. Wang's Wild Georgia Shrimp served by Rosedud in the Highlands. We had some of each.  And yep, there was dessert - lots of dessert.

But the best deal was the atmosphere:  two long tables in a big old hoop house with lots of smart happy folks.  We are definately on for next year.  Take a look at a few images.

Whit Gibbons at ABG

Whit Gibbons gave a great talk at the Botanical Garden last night.

Dr. Gibbons is Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia, and Head of the Environmental Outreach and Education program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). He is author or editor of twelve books on herpetology and ecology and has published more than 250 articles in scientific journals. He has had commentaries on National Public Radio, and more than 1,000 popular articles on ecology published in magazines and newspapers. His encyclopedia articles have appeared in World Book, Compton's, and for the past 25 years have included the annual summary of Zoology for the Encyclopedia Britannica Year Book.

We've heard him talk before at Fernbank about his Savannah River Project.  That was to a mostly adult audience.  Last night he brought lots of turtles, snakes, lizzards and aligators and the audience was full of kids.  He was teriffic;  beautiful animals and he really connected with the audience.

One of his snakes was a Timber Rattlesnake, which is found in Georgia.  It was quite large and there was no mistaking the sound of that rattle!

Badlands South Unit

We certainly saw wilderness today. Thirty miles from the cabins we stayed in (if you can call them cabins) on the way back to Rapid city, we drove about 15 miles from Senic, SD. And then, when the road ran out we hiked further in about 2 1/2 miles. Some of the most dramatic scenery we've seen yet.

And we just missed getting a photo of  a snake - not quick enough.  But he was sunning on the road as we approached and crawled quickely into the tall grass.

The Badlands are way cool and provided some of the best information and hiking on the entire trip.

We're behind on posting photos, but the one on the right is from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We'll bore you with more when we get back tomorrow, so unless you want to see them, don't answer your phone.

Click here for a few from the last 3 or 4 days.

The Big Pig Dig

According to the park rangers, the Badlands is home to the science of Paleontology. Interesting, if it's true, because no dinosaur bones have been unearthed here. That's because this land was under an ocean that split North America in half at the time of the dinosaurs. However, just 90 miles NW of here is where Sue was unearthed.

What has been found here are the remains of lots of sea creatures(some very large), mammals like the ancestors to the dog, cat and horse, and pigs. We went to a site today where palentologists have been unearthing bones for the last 15 years; over 10,000 so far. The first bone found was that of an extremely large pig type creature.

We got in some good back country hikes today and registered some amazing landscapes. Maybe we can post some photos tomorrow night.

An earlier post reported that it was dead here but we were wrong. There are a surprising number of people in the park. Maybe it's because it's not 110 in the shade.

Big Sky Country

The night sky here is stunning. The milky way leaps out at you. Last night we attended a ranger-lead astronomy talk which was great. After the talk we looked through some powerful telescopes and counted 5 of Jupiter's moons. We'll do the show again tonight.

The little cabins we're staying in were built in 1920. They haven't had much done to them since.

A couple of short but spectacular hikes today. Too bad we can't post any photos because this place is breathtaking.

The food here is dicey so we drove 25 miles to Wall, SD and managed to improve the quality just a little bit.

The last full day is tomorrow so I expect Icky will hike my ass off. Another update tomorrow if I'm still alive.

The end of the earth in the middle of the country

The Badlands. First impression is that it Is spectacular. We arrived late this afternoon after a 5-hour drive down from Medora through Rapid City.

It's definately the end of the season. Nobody's here and the restaurant is running out of items on the menu. We lost a little sleep in Medora because the train came through town about once an hour all night long 100 yards from the hotel. Don't think we'll have that problem here. No TV, no phone, no people. Perfect.

Won't be any photos posted until we get back to Rapid City but we'll save them up.

Much hiking planned tomorrow and a night sky program tonight at 8:30. Looking good so far.

Hell with fires put out

That's the way early visitors described the area of the country around Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We drove 3 1/2 hours up from Spearfish yesterday. It has been raining since we arrived but looks like it will clear this morning.

It's the end of the seasion here. We're in the little town of Medora just outside the park and staying in the only motel in town. Can't post any photos but may be able to use a computer later at the Joe Ferris general store.

The park museum has great people and an excellent exhibit on Teddy Roosevelt. We heard a lecture on his conservation activities from a ranger given in the cabin he used when he first stayed in the region.

Because of the rain we drove a 30-mile loop inside the park before dinner. The landscape is most interesting. It reminded us a littleof the Grand Canyon without the depth. Quite dramatic and does not evoke "Hell with fires put out" at all.

We'll most likely drive to the north segemnt of the park after a guided tour of Prairie Dog Town. Maybe another post with pictures later.

But what about the Badlands?

That's why we came after all. But this whole Black Hills area has been so spectacular it's been hard to leave.

Today Icky lead us on a 7 mile hike called Crow Peak. Toughest one yet -1,500 vertical feet and steep narrow paths but stunning views at the end. This took a while though and since we didn't finish until about 3 pm, we decided to go over to Devil's Tower today instead of in the morning as planned.

Wyoming is pretty cool also - at least the area around Sundance, WY. (Polly had to tell us that the film festival is in Sundance UTAH - thanks Polly). Beautiful farms and many for sale.

Devil's Tower was our 2nd biggest surprise after Rushmore. Quite dramatic and peaceful - not crowded at all. America's first National Monument, it just rises straight up out of the plains.

We hiked around the base and could see a half dozen or more climbers on the shear sides of the monument. Also there were dozens of vultures / eagles / hawks flying around at the top leading us to conclude that the whole thing must be a really tall bird bath.

There are a few more pictures - click here.

So tomorrow we will finally visit the Badlands, first in North Dakota, then South Dakota. We're driving 4 hours north to Theodore Roosevelt National Park for two days before heading south to Badlands National Park. Posts may be missing or sketcky for a a day or two.

Potato Creek Johnny

Spearfish, South Dakota.  The area around this town has some of the most beautiful scenery we've seen yet. We hiked two trails on Wednesday and will do one more long one tomorrow.  The plan is to drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota on Friday by way of the Devil's Tower. Icky's grumbling because we've been here a week and only hiked 29 miles.  I'm sure we'll catch up.

This is what you think of when you hear about fly fishing.  Rivers, creeks and streams everywhere.  There's  a fish hatchery and museum in the town with a rail car that was outfitted to move fish from the hatchery across the country.

One of the trails we hiked today climbed 1,000 vertical feet in just 3/4 of a mile and was used by Potato Creek Johnny. He was a prospector famous for finding one of the largets gold nuggets in these hills and often hiked the trail we took from his cabin 5 miles away to the Latchstring Inn to trade his gold for supplies.  The trail leads to a summit called Buzzards Roost.  After hiking the trail we figure that Johnny's mule was none too happy with him.

There are a few more photos - click here.