place notes – Whitworth and I

July 9, 2018May 13, 2019

Mariposa’s Big Trees Get Their Grove Back

A kind of peace has settled over Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park during the last three years. As a result of the most extensive renovation project in the park’s history, the impact of humans has been scaled back and the sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) once again dominate their special sanctuary.

Viewing the Faithful Couple, Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park

While people have been invited back in now, it’s more on the forest’s terms. There’s an elevated walkway where a road once carried trams of visitors, and parking areas and the gift shop have been moved two miles down the road to the south entrance area. Now when you enter the grove, instead of traffic and congestion, you’re met by the sound of birds, the smells of the forest, and the beautiful imposing presence of the trees.

Removal of pavement and heavy traffic has relieved pressure on the big trees’ shallow root systems. The flow of water through the grove — so essential to the sequoia’s survival — has been improved and their habitat has been restored.

We recently visited the grove — just after it was reopened — to check out the new interpretive component in particular. Tom contributed illustrations to the panels through his work with Leslie Stone Associates. As always Leslie produced simple and elegant interpretation that seems to fit just right with the setting — it was quite a thrill to see the end result!

illustration by Tom Whitworth //
interpretive design Leslie Stone Associates

LINKS:
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Mariposa Grove, OpenRoad with Doug McConnell (video)

May 7, 2018May 13, 2019

Ghost Ranch — in pictures

The landscape at Ghost Ranch is the thing (aka ‘Thing’) — a great presence on the Piedra Lumbre, in the wilds of northwest New Mexico.

The human cultural history of the area is inseparable from the place known as Ghost Ranch.

The ranch — and more recently conference center — has been a refuge for bandits (in the days of the infamous Archuleta brothers), East Coast Anglos, and scientists working in nearby Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project. It continues to inspire.

Fascinating stories abound of the people and events of Ghost Ranch — it features in the earliest days of Spanish settlement in the area when the ranch was called Rancho de los Brujos. However, Ghost Ranch is situated in an area crisscrossed and inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The history of the landscape and its plants and animals stretches into the ages before that.

Famous residents of Ghost Ranch — one of the earliest (Coelophysis) and one of the most recent (Georgia O’Keeffe) — on the same interpretive panel. (que?)

Before the great ‘Age of Dinosaurs’ (with a capital D) there was Coelophysis (SEE-low-FY-sis). Remains of the ancient creature, unearthed at Ghost Ranch, are on display at The Museum of Paleontology.

When dinosaurs roamed… Two hundred million years ago the Piedra Lumbre was a very different place.

Pots made by ancient Puebloan people are on display at the Museum of Anthropology at Ghost Ranch.

Cerro Pedernal stands sentinel over it all on the southern horizon. Go around to the backside sometime — you’ll be so surprised !

LINKS:
Ghost Ranch | Education and Retreat Center
Ghost Ranch on wikipedia
Valley of the Shining Stone, by Lesley Poling-Kempes

April 23, 2018May 13, 2019

Echo Amphitheater – listening in on the Piedra Lumbre

History is alive and present — and reverberating — through the Piedra Lumbre region of Northern New Mexico.

Pass that invisible demarcation line that is somewhere between Bode’s General Store in Abiquiu and the western limit of the Rio Chama’s red rock canyon and you come out into the open wild state of mind and landscape of the Piedra Lumbre.

A trio of interpretive panels present the geology and plants and animals of the canyon.

One place where the beauty, wildness and human history of the region comes together is Echo Amphitheate. Located 17 miles west of Abiquiu (4 miles past Ghost Ranch) in Carson National Forest, it is a natural amphitheater carved out of the southeastern edge of the Colorado Plateau over thousands of years by wind, water, and fluctuating temperatures.

The cliffs high above Echo Amphitheater where two hawks keep silent vigil.

Long a meeting spot for the various tribes that passed through the area and where Puebloan orators once practiced their skills, it also features in more recent history. In 1966 it’s the spot where a group of valientes briefly reclaimed lands of the San Joaquin de Rio Chama Grant from the federal government.

It’s a relatively easy walk from the parking area into the bowl of the amphitheater. The path is paved and steps take you the last bit where you are nearly under the edge of the cliff.

Deep inside the bowl swallows surf the air and even a whisper whispers back. It’s well worth the stop — if you’re ever in the back of the beyond that is the Piedra Lumbre.

LINKS:

Echo Amphitheater, Carson National Forest, between Abiquiu and Tierra Amarillo, NM

Valley of Shining Stone: the story of Abiquiu, by Lesley Poling-Kempes (public library)

Macabre legends about the staining on the rocks at Echo Amphitheater persist — you can read about that here: Canon Retumbido – Echo Amphitheater

April 9, 2018May 13, 2019

Traces of an Ancient Pueblo on the Road to Abiquiu

Two or three miles before you reach Abiquiu, NM, heading north on Highway 84, you’ll see a U.S. Forest Service parking lot on your left. Take the time to stop — it’s the jumping off place for a really great hike into ancient pueblo history.

The mesa top 150 ft above the parking lot is the site of Poshuouinge, the ruins of a large pueblo likely occupied from about 1375 to 1475 and abandoned well before the Spanish ever arrived in the area we know as New Mexico.

A trail leaves the parking area and switchbacks up the side of the mesa then sets off across the wide flat area, skirting the actual site of the pueblo. Multiple signs warn you against hiking into the area the pueblo once occupied.

A series of small interpretive panels along the trail describe what the pueblo looked like and what life was like for Poshuouinge residents — based on excavations and artifacts collected during the early 20th century.

Continue walking along the main trail. It leads up the hill on the south side of the ruins to a bench and ramada about halfway up. It’s a good vantage point from which to imagine the pueblo’s two large plazas and hundreds of rooms, the gardens outside the walls and down by the river — and all the people.

The trail continues on to the very (very) top of the hill. From the top — a spot that must have been a favorite for lookouts all those centuries ago — the view stretches north across the Rio Chama to the distant mountains. Down below quite clearly is the ghostly outline of the Po-shu ruins.

March 26, 2018May 13, 2019

Interpreting Miss O’Keeffe

A friendly and knowledgeable docent (in purple) relates the
backstory while visitors soak up the atmosphere and the visuals.

Her paintings are included in the collections of many museums. Biographies have been written chronicling the details of her life and career. Opportunities to learn about the painter Georgia O’Keeffe and her art abound.

Visiting her home and studio — maintained just as she left them — adds another dimension. You can see for yourself how she lived, where she worked, and the little village she chose to make home — just fifteen miles from Ghost Ranch, where she also spent so much time hiking and painting.

O’Keeffe started visiting New Mexico in 1929 — after her artistic career was established — and it wasn’t until 1945 that she bought the property in Abiquiu. Already in her late 50s when she moved permanently to the area she is nevertheless indelibly linked to the landscape of the Southwest.

Simple and spare inside and out, filled with light and style, the house seems rooted to its spot at the edge of the mesa and its place in the history of the pueblo. The big New Mexico sky and landscape spill into the studio through the long plate glass windows that fill the north wall. What you realize is that her art was expressed in everything she did.

A courtyard (left) and part of the garden area (right). A glimpse of the Pueblo de Abiquiu plaza is
just visible beyond the garden.

A lot of people can’t resist picking up interesting rocks — even Georgia O’Keeffe.

The view from the house looking north, with ‘The White Place’ (Plaza Blanca) in the distance
beyond the Rio Chama. Towards the end of March when the acequias begin to run, the fields
will turn green. By the end of April the cottonwoods along the river will have leafed out.

Views of the landscape that inspired the artist are all around — such as the curve of the road
below the house (left) and her beloved Cerro Pedernal (right). The dark-trunked cottonwoods
on the north side of the road mid-frame are also recognizable from one of O’Keefe’s paintings.

LINKS:

Watch the progress of the garden on the Abiquiu webcam.
Find out more about Georgia O’Keeffe.

March 12, 2018May 13, 2019

‘The White Place’ Fascinates in Northwest New Mexico

Above the north bank of the Chama river, and within sight of the Pueblo of Abiquiu, is a weird and wonderful place called Plaza Blanca.

A confluence of drainages have worked their way down through the light volcanic tuff and sandstone of the Abiquiu Formation, laid down tens of millions of years ago, to create towering cliffs and spires in shades of white to beige.

It’s a stunning place to hike. Paths lead down from the parking area but soon peter out. Follow your nose or the views or whatever else catches your attention. Each time you visit, something different will be revealed. And you’ll find rocks, lots of interesting rocks — volcanic and quartz cobbles litter the ground having tumbled from layers high in the weathering cliffs. Wildflowers bloom in spring, and small rodents and reptiles leave tracks in the soft dirt, mostly in the shelter of the scattered junipers.

Plaza Blanca features in local history. Thousands of acres surrounding the cliffs and extending to the river were included in one of the original land grants in the area; the Plaza Blanca Grant was awarded to Manuel Bustos in 1739 by Governor Gaspar Domingo de Mendoza. It must have been a landmark for Ancient Puebloan people long before that. Today the land belongs to Dar al-Islam, a religious organization which allows access to hikers and others visiting Plaza Blanca.

Directions:
Head north on US Highway 84 towards Abiquiu. Four miles before reaching Bode’s General Store, you’ll come to State Rd 554. Turn right. Just after crossing the Rio Chama, turn left onto County Road 155. Follow 155 for about 3 1/2 miles until you reach the gate to Dar al-Islam. Turn right through the gate and follow the gravel road to a fork in the road. Go right at the fork to the small parking area for Plaza Blanca.