Wild foxglove

Digitalis is found in some
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We were out looking for Celestial to photograph when we found this lone Wild Foxglove. Alas, the Celestials were long gone, but there were some interesting wildflowers and insects to photograph. More of these to come over the next few weeks. Click here to see last year's Celestial.

Click on the photo for a better view.
Leave a comment if you like the photo.

Penstemon cobaea Nutt.
Wild foxglove, Prairie penstemon, Foxglove penstemon, False foxglove, Large-flowered beardtongue, Large-flowered penstemon, Prairie beardtongue, Cobaea penstemon
Scrophulariaceae (Figwort Family)
USDA Symbol: PECO4
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

When in bloom, large, tubular flowers line at least half of cobaea beardtongue’s 1-2½ ft. stems. It is typically found on rocky, calcareous soils in the Hill country of Texas. The flowers are white with dark purple lines inside the floral tube. One to three stout stems rise from a woody rhizome and bear thick, 2-3½ in. paired leaves which become smaller up the stem. The leaves have a waxy, shiny luster and are coursely toothed. The lower leaves have often withered by the time of flowering.

Perennial

This penstemon attracts a variety of moths.

Ft. Worth Nature Center & Refuge, May 2, 2009.
Canon G10, f/4, 1/125 sec., ISO 100, 11:30 AM

REFERENCES:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Native Plant Database.

Marshall Enquist. 1987. Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country. Lone Star Botannical, Austin, TX, 275 pp.

PS: There is an interesting internet reference on digitalis obtained from two other species of Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, found here.

Troy and Martha

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Texas (Our Part of the world) #2

My World Tuesday Part#2
Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today's Topic:
Big Bend National Park
(Click on the photos for full page views)

Big Bend National Park encompasses more than 800,000 acres in southwest Texas. For more than 1,000 miles, the Rio Grande forms the international boundary between Mexico and the United States; Big Bend National Park administers approximately one-quarter of that boundary. Within the 118 twisting miles that also define the park’s southern boundary, the river’s southeasterly flow changes abruptly to the northeast and forms the “big bend” of the Rio Grande.

Looking toward Big Bend

Shot from nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest state park in Texas, covers 300,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert wilderness in a remarkably rugged, remote and unpopulated setting. The park extends along the Rio Grande from southeast of Presidio to near Lajitas in both Brewster and Presidio Counties. Embracing some of the most remote and rugged terrain in the Southwest, it encompasses two mountain ranges containing ancient extinct volcanoes, precipitous canyons, and waterfalls. The area has been a crossroads of human activities for over 11,000 years, as diverse people and cultures have been drawn by the abundant resources of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo corridor.

Rare Early Morning Mist
photo 30 min after Sunrise

Click to enlarge Panorama

Camelback hills
Landscape 1


There is a lot of green here
Landscape 2
toward Marathon


Prairie Verbena
Growing out of a rock face


Ocotillo
near Panther Junction

One of our Favorite areas in the Summer is the Basin. It is a bowl in the Chisos Mtns. The temperature mid-day will be 85 ^oF. up in the basin and 115 ^oF. down on the alkali flats. There is a great lodge and some individual cabins in the Basin as well as lots of campsites. The Restaurant at the Lodge is outstanding.

Here are a couple of photos taken after sundown in the Basin. If you look at the topographical map (scroll down), you will see Casa Grande mountain rising above the basin to the south-southeast. The first photo is a time-exposure taken of Casa Grande. The second time-exposure photo is taken much later after dusk, with only a faint glow in the sky. If you look at the map, you will see a notch (named the Window) in the Basin to the west for the water drainage. The Window is perfectly positioned for the sun to set in this notch. It is a popular pastime to take a short hike to a high point in the Basin and watch the sun set. It is a fantastic view and you can see the flats through the Window. It is possible to drive around and down and then hike to the base of the cliffs at the notch. There is almost always water falling from above into small pools here. If you are lucky you can hear Canyon Wrens calling. Big Bend is a great place to find some rare birds.

Casa Grande
Illuminated by twilight


West Texas Silhouette
The "Star" is Venus


After Sunset
Through the Window.
About 30 min after sunset


Topographic Map of the Basin Area of
Big Bend National Park

The National Park System in Texas is here.



Did You Know?
According to legend, a lost Spanish mine is located in the Chisos Mountains. The Conquistadors used the Presidio de San Vicente as a prison and from there worked a mine in the area. The guards blindfolded the captive Indians and marched them from the Presidio to the mine, supposedly in the Chisos.


We hope you have enjoyed our small start of explaining and showing our small part of the world, and we look forward to your return. We sincerely hope you will bookmark us and return often.

Update: I forgot to ask, what is your favorite photo?
Leave a comment. Thanks.

Photography by
Troy and Martha

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.





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Purple Eryngo

Sky Watch Friday

Sharp Eryngo, don't touch.
Standing on the dry prairie,
Under Heavens vault.

Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii)
Click on the photo

Eryngium is a genus of about 230 species of annuals and perennials with hairless and usually spiny leaves, and dome-shaped umbels of flowers resembling those of thistles. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the centre of diversity in South America. Some species are native to rocky and coastal areas, but the majority are grassland plants. Common names include Sea-holly and Eryngo, the former typically being applied to coastal species, and the latter to grassland species.

The flowers are clustered in tight umbels, with a whorl of spiny basal bracts.

Eryngium maritimum is a perennial plant native to Europe and often found on sea shores. It produces a basal rosette, from which grow flowering spikes with stiffly spiny foliage and stems. These can reach around 50 cm in height. It is often grown in gardens for its metallic bluish flowers and upper foliage. The basal foliage is a very conspicuous pale grey or silvery green, from which the stiff, lightly-branching flowering stems rise up.

Related species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens, and these may also be called "sea holly", though the majority are not associated with littoral (sea-shore) habitats. Among the best known of these is Eryngium bourgatii, a perennial with stunning green, prickly foliage marbled with silver. The flowers, which appear in summer, are cobalt blue, and appear very attractive to bees. The plant is 30 to 60 cm in height. Other commonly grown ornamental species include Eryngium alpinum, E. variifolium, E. tripartitum, E. bromeliifolium, and the biennial E. giganteum.

Many species of Eryngium have a history of use. The roots have been used as vegetables or for sweetmeats. Young shoots and leaves are sometimes used as an asparagus substitute. The roots, such as of Eryngium yuccifolium and Eryngium maritimum, are potent inflammation modulators and may have other properties.

Photo by Troy
Idea by Martha
Poor attempt at verse by Troy

For other SWF posts,
see Tom's new SkyWatch site here.

Scroll down for the Tiger Beetle today.

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High Island

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One of our favorite places in Texas.

We go here several times each spring for:
Wildflowers,
Beachcombing,
Bird migration.

This is one of the premier spots in the Nation for migrating Warblers, It is not uncommon to see 20 to 25 species of warblers in a day during April. We also like to run the 50 mile beach with our Toyota 4Runner. 4WD in most places. We like to park there facing the Ocean and watch the shore birds go by and occassionaly see a migrant bird come in across the Gulf from Central America.

High Island
Be sure to click on the photos for a better look

Below are a couple of other "H" photos taken at High Island

Honeybee on a berry blossom

Nature's Gift after High Tide

Leave a comment and let us know which is your favorite photograph.

Troy and Martha

ABC Anthology is here.
ABC Wednesday is here.

Alaska Sunday XVII

Trip Log - Part II

May 31 - June 12

The second installment of the trip log of 'The Drive from Texas to Alaska and Back'.

As mentioned previously, this log does not contain too much commentary. It is mainly sequential locations, dates, mileage traveled, photographs showing the trip progress, and how the landscape changed. The Alaska Trip Log is divided into two week intervals (parts) and I am posting it on consecutive Sundays. Past and future posts of Alaska Sunday (apart from the trip log) will have more detailed information, and more photos of each specific area. A small number of the photographs were previously posted when describing specific locations. Most are new photos not previously seen.


We resume our trip after staying 4 nights camped at the mouth of the beautiful Klamath River. We had originally planned to stay here just 1 night, but plans change. Our only goal for this trip was 'to wade in the Arctic Ocean' and tentatively 'to return home by Sept 1st'. As you can see from the Part I trip log last Sunday, this was a magical area with the color of the Pacific and the beautiful drives through the giant Coastal Redwoods and drives along the cliffs on one lane dirt "roads?" overlooking the Pacific with it's wildlife, ocean views, and a profusion of wild flowers.

So, we'll finish May and on to the month of June.........

Be sure to click on the photographs for full screen views.

One last photo before we leave California. After we returned home, I was lamenting the fact that I did not have a photo of a Douglas Iris from the trip. Martha informed me that she had found one on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean and photographed it. Sure enough, buried in the 18,000 photos was this beauty. Thank you Martha.

Douglas Iris
Also known as:
'Thompson's Iris' on the CA-OR Border

Click here for more information on this rare and interesting plant.

5/31 Klamath, CA to Union Creek, OR 219 mi

Crater Lake - Early Summer
Not your typical photo of Crater Lake

The road to the visitor's center had just been opened by snowplows through snow 10 feet deep in places. As you can see from the photo, some of the lake's surface was frozen. The lake has only been frozen over completely twice. Click here to see an article on its history of freezing. Most of the campgrounds and RV parks in the Cascade Range were not open for camping this 'early' in the year due to the deep snow. WOW, all that snow and to think it was 105^oF when we crossed the desert just a week ago.


6/1 Union Creek, OR to Fairview (Portland), OR 272 mi

Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Oregon
Abstract Beauty in a Stark, Harsh Environment

Click here for info on Newberry NM.


6/2 through 6/4 Day Trips out of Fairview, OR 488 mi

Columbia River Gorge
Martha held the umbrella while I made the shot. Team Photo.


Mount Rainier, Washington


Just in time for the Portland Rose Festival
Washington Park, Portland, Oregon

6/5 Fairview (Portland),Oregon to Hammond (Astoria),Oregon 75 mi

Ft. Clatsop National Monument, Oregon
Where Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806

Near the mouth of the Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean
Martha is pointing to the Pacific
Click here for information on the site.
I know it's not a beautiful scenic photo, but it had always been a dream of mine since I was a child to see where they found their goal and where they camped during this hard winter.


6/6 Day Trips 60 mi
Columbia River, Pacific Beach, Lewis and Clark sites.

Cape Disappointment, WA
Lighthouse

The lighthouse is visible on a small headland, just inside the mouth of the Columbia River which makes a sharp right hand turn, after entering the mouth of the river. This small spit of land juts out into the Columbia from McKenzie Head. It is part of Ft. Canby State Park. There is a lighthouse (North Head Lighthouse) across McKenzie Head on the Pacific side (no photo).

Looking back across the Columbia River toward Clatsop Spit in Oregon.
Click here for information.

Map of the Entrance to the Columbia River

6/7 Hammond, OR to Port Angeles, WA 550 mi (long day)

Oyster Shells

Now I know where those sacks of oyster shells, at the Farm Store, come from.
This was one of many 25' high mountains of shells near Aberdeen, WA.


6/8 Day Trip to Hoh Rain Forest 160 mi round trip

This is where Martha found her big tree.

Sitka Spruce
Rain Forest Monarch

6/9 Port Angeles, Washington by Ferry to Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada
25 car miles, 30 miles by Ferry (MV Coho) to 'Ft. Victoria RV Park'

Looking back to Washington in the Rain
Ferry Crossing - On the Strait of Juan de Fuca

6/9 Day trip to the beautiful Butchart Gardens 25 mi

6/10 Day trip to Witty's Lagoon Regional Park, Vancouver Island 25 mi

We had a great day at Witty's Lagoon and walked down to the beach. We could see across the Strait, with cruise ships navigating the strait, and the majestic Olympic Range rising above the clouds. Lots more about Vancouver Island can be seen at the excellent site of Island Rambles. Click here.

View Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Olympic Range

6/11 Toured the beautiful city of Victoria and visited Sidney to pick up Ferry tickets. 50 mi.

6/12 Rest Day. Martha did laundry, cooked a nice lunch at the camper, and took a nap.
I organized photos, burned DVD's, answered e-mails, and also took a nap.
It was a beautiful RV Park and nice to have a rest day. For dinner, there was a five star restaurant just down the road.

That's all for Part II of the log.
5173 miles to date.

Part I of the Trip Log is here.

If you are enjoying the log and/or the photographs, leave a comment.

Also, please let me know your favorite photo.

Next Sunday, back to the Mainland.

Thanks to Martha for keeping such good records.

Photography by Troy and Martha

Alaska Sunday X

Our Last Day in the High Arctic

Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, and Surroundings

Our next to last day we were driving around Lake Colleen, a fairly large lake near the Arctic Caribou Inn where we stayed, looking for nesting Arctic birds. We had stopped and were scanning the edge of the lake and small ponds for birds, when we spotted movement under a feeder pipeline. It was an unexpected visitor to “town” - an Arctic Fox in summer coat. I almost tore up the car finding my long lens to get a photograph before he disappeared. I present Mr. Arctic Fox.

Arctic Fox – Altopex lagopus
Prudhoe bay oilfield in background,
possibly part of Pump Station #1

The Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the White Fox or Snow Fox, is a fox of the order Carnivora. It is a small fox native to cold Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is common in all three tundra biomes. It is a tough little wild dog of the far north. They have been spotted not far from the North Pole. They are solitary for most of the year with both parents, and sometimes another adult, caring for the young pups. Litters are usually 6 to 10 with up to 25! Dens can be complex underground networks, housing many generations of foxes. Young from a previous year's litter may stay with the parents to help rear younger siblings. The cubs are brownish and as they get older they change to white.

The Arctic Fox has evolved to live in the most frigid extremes on the planet. Among its adaptations for cold survival are its deep, thick fur, a system of countercurrent heat exchange in the circulation of paws to retain core temperature, and a good supply of body fat.

The Arctic Fox will generally eat any meat it can find, including lemmings, Arctic Hare, reptiles and amphibians, eggs, and carrion. Lemmings are the most common prey. A family of foxes can eat dozens of lemmings each day. During April and May the Arctic Fox also preys on Ringed Seal kits when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. Fish beneath the ice are also part of its diet. When its normal prey is scarce, the Arctic Fox scavenges the leftovers of larger predators, such as the Polar Bear, even though the bears' prey includes the Arctic Fox itself.

We were most fortunate to see this visitor, since they rarely visit towns, even as remote and sparsely populated as this is.

Out on the Tundra

We took our Toyota 4Runner and drove across one of the gravel service roads, forded a couple of small streams, and arrived in butterfly - wildflower heaven near the beautiful Sagavanirktok River. For those that live in the high Arctic, this will seem commonplace for the summer. For an East Texas boy raised in Piney woods and Oak forests, this was like another planet. It is full of wildlife, beautiful, stark, and quiet except for the sigh of the wind across the tundra.

There is one small problem with observing butterflies in the high Arctic on the tundra. Either they have evolved to take advantage of the constant winds across the tundra or they are just downright shifty. It’s hard to get close enough to identify one with binoculars, much less net one for look and release. They pop up and fly with the wind (really fast !). Martha says this was a common and comical sight, “Troy in stealth mode hoping for one last, close look, before heading back to civilization”.

Sneaking Up
Franklin Bluffs in the background

Wildflowers are everywhere. I’ll eventually look these up and identify them. Of course, we bought a copy of every local wildflower book that we came across on our trip from Texas to Alaska. That’s a lot of books. When I was a kid, I thought Alaska was a place of snow, ice and igloos. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here is a sampling of the Arctic tundra wildflowers. If you can’t identify one, and wish to know more, email me and I’ll identify it as time permits.

WF1

WF2

WF3

WF4

WF5

WF6

WF7

WF8

WF9


We also saw evidence of caribou here
Lots of tracks

Here is their buffet
Reindeer lichen, moss, and grasses

Birds had been by also

It was a fine day photographing wildflowers and exploring.



And so the trip back to Coldfoot and Fairbanks begins….

The last day (6 AM) started nice enough. By the way, we considered the day to start at 5AM and end at 11PM. Breakfast was good as usual. They had great buffets with plenty of food and a nice variety. With breakfast over, souvenirs purchased, packing completed, we started. As we drove out of Deadhorse and visited our favorite ponds one last time, the wind picked up and the clouds started building rapidly. Storms in the Arctic can come up rapidly.

There’s a storm Brewing

Heading out of town
Ahead of the Storm

Like all good Adventure Serials………..

To be continued Next Week.

Photos by
Troy and Martha

Alaska Sunday is a collection of photographic remembrances of our driving trip from Texas to Alaska.
18,000 miles, 16 weeks, 16 western states including Alaska and four Canadian Provinces.
No chronological order, just anything of interest that got in front of our cameras.
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Alaska Sunday VII

Today we will try to get from Coldfoot to Deadhorse.

Be sure to click on the photos to see the enlarged view.
Maximize your browser to full page.
Check the sidebar for previous episodes.
Enjoy and leave a comment.

Midnight in the Rain at Coldfoot
A little rain can’t stop the Photography

Coldfoot is basically a truck stop on the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. It has a restaurant, and a small number of overnight accommodations (converted pipeline construction camp quarters). Bus tours along the highway typically take two days, and passengers spend the night here. The BLM, USFWS, and NPS jointly staff a small visitor center during the summer. The Coldfoot truck stop was founded by Iditarod champion Dick Mackey who started his operation by selling hamburgers out of a converted school bus. Truckers helped build the existing truck stop and cafe.

The Koyukuk River at Midnight
Photography at Midnight is Great

I stayed up most of the night having fun with photography. I had to sleep a little for the drive tomorrow into Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse).

The town was originally a mining camp named "Slate Creek", and around 1900 got its present name when prospectors going up the nearby Koyukuk River would get "cold feet" and turn around. In 1902 Coldfoot had two roadhouses, two stores, seven saloons, and a gambling house. A post office operated from 1902 to 1912, then reopened in 1984.

Coldfoot Airport, on the west side of the Dalton Highway, consists of a 4,000-foot (1220-metre) gravel strip.

The Road and Pipeline out of Coldfoot
The road is pretty good here
For perspective, the Pipeline is 48 inches in diameter.

The Koyukuk River is a principal tributary of the Yukon River, approximately 500 mi (805 km) long, in northern Alaska in the United States.

It drains an area north of the Yukon on the southern side of the Brooks Range. The river is named for the Koyukon people.

It rises in several forks above the Arctic Circle in the Endicott Mountains, near 67°58′N, 151°15′W.

The North Fork rises in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The combined river flows generally southwest, past Bettles, in a broadening valley of spruce forests amid small lakes and marshes. It joins the Yukon from the north at Koyukuk.

Its tributaries include the Glacier, Alatna and John rivers. The area around its confluence with the Yukon is a large floodplain protected as part of Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge.

The valley of the river is a habitat for bear and moose and is a destination for game hunting.

A little History of the Region of Coldfoot and Deadhorse

Lt. Henry Allen and Private Fred Fickett of the United States Army ascended and explored the river in 1885. The discovery of gold deposits on the Middle Fork in 1893 led to a gold rush in 1898 with the establishment of trading posts and mining camps, including Bettles, on the upper river. In 1929, Robert Marshall explored the North Fork and gave the name Gates of the Arctic to the high Brooks Range along the river.

In 1980 the United States Congress designated 100 mi (164 km) of the North Fork in the Brooks Range as the Koyukuk Wild and Scenic River.

In 1994 floods on the river swept away three villages, forcing the wholesale relocation of the population.

Blue Sky Ahead
Photo Opportunities Abound Everywhere

Next Week will be about the Brooks Range and the Tundra.

Here is a short preview of the Tundra and Deadhorse

Deadhorse is a settlement located on the North Slope of the U.S. state of Alaska near the Arctic Ocean. The town consists mainly of facilities for the workers and companies that operate at the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Deadhorse is accessible via the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks, or the Deadhorse Airport. Limited accommodations are also available for tourists.

Companies with facilities in Deadhorse service Prudhoe Bay and other nearby oil fields, as well as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) which brings oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez in south-central Alaska. Facilities in Deadhorse are built entirely on man-made gravel pads and usually consist of pre-fabricated modules brought up on barge or via air cargo.

Tourists traveling to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay typically take tour buses from Fairbanks via the Dalton Highway, a two-day journey with an overnight stop in Coldfoot. During the summer months, visitors can access the Arctic Ocean during its summer thaw, as well as experience the midnight sun due to Deadhorse's location above the Arctic Circle. In winter, the opposite phenomenon of polar night occurs.

Facts about Deadhorse Weather

• Longest day: 63 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes (12:09 a.m. on May 20 to 11:18 p.m. on July 22)
• Shortest day: 45 min (11:42 a.m. to 12:27 p.m. on November 24)
• Longest night: 54 days, 22 hours, 51 min (12:27 p.m. on November 24 to 11:18 a.m. on January 18)
• Shortest night: 26 min (11:43 p.m. on May 19 to 12:09 a.m. on May 20)
• Highest recorded temperature: 83 °F (28 °C) on 21 June 1991
• Lowest recorded temperature: −62 °F (−52 °C) on 27 January 1989
• Highest wind speed recorded: 95 knots (109 mi/h, 176 km/h) on 25 February 1989
• Official lowest wind chill: −102 °F (−74 °C) on 28 January 1989 (air temperature of −54 °F (−48 °C) and wind speed of 31 knots (36 mi/h, 57 km/h))

Wildflowers on the Tundra
Along the Sagavanirktok River

In the photograph below looking across the Tundra to the west of the Highway is a pingo? It is 3 miles away and shot with a 200 mm lens. Pingos form from the bed of a spring-fed lake that has been covered by vegetation. Freezing of the water can raise the surface several hundred feet above the flat terrain. They start small and grow from year to year.

Pingo
The Tundra is flat, flat, flat.

This is a waterfowl paradise. There are thousands of small lakes and an abundant food supply. Following is a map centered on Prudhoe bay showing some of the small lakes. Also there are perhaps millions of small water filled potholes.

Map centered on Deadhorse

Next week: Brooks range, wildflowers, Prudhoe Bay and environs.
Yes, we will get to Deadhorse next week. I promise.

Lots on wildflowers, flash floods and landslides on the trip back to Fairbanks in two weeks.

Troy and Martha