Gold Butte: Bloom Alert

The spring wildflower bloom on Gold Butte is within hours of being upon us. On a ride taken to the (former) Treasure Hawk Mine on 21 Mar 2012 we noticed that a few specimins were fully open but thousands more were budded and ready to burst any minute. The whole of "Pleasant Valley" (valley with the old generator to the south of Gold Butte (the town) should be ablaze next week. However, it doesn't look like…

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Offroad: Virgin River

Nine hundred and ninety nine times out of a thousand the Virgin River is pretty much as laid back a river as you'll ever want to meet. Always a refreshing and beautiful landscape, it was once a terrible hardship to pioneer travelers; but, today, merely an annoyance preventing one from crossing anywhere one wants and a source for mosquito's and Tamarisk.

However, its increasing schizophrenia has been bringing it to people's mind a bit more often lately; namely, the thing has had two 500-year floods in the past five years! The restorationists have had a couple substantial setbacks of late when huge volumes of water tried to see just how high up the banks it could erase in one fell swoop.

We were greeted to the 2011-12 snowbird season, yet again this year, with a couple of weeks of rain. Nowhere near the deluge we had last year, but enough to prevent much escaping from the condo.

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Pinyon Nuts

As kids, much more so than now, we used to enjoy going "pine cone hunting" in the fall. Not every fall; because, as it turns out, the little fellows are a capricious lot – not un-similar to those Joshua Trees. They don't seed (or bloom) every year – and they pretty much keep their intentions and motivations close to the vest.

Once in awhile you might hear an old timer say out loud: "'S lookin' like it'll be a good yar fer pine nuts!" But just let those trees not produce a crop this year, and that same codger is just as likely as not to give you a disgusted look like: "you must be nuts" when you remind him about telling you that later on if it doesn't happen.

Of course, even though most call them "Pine Nuts," it's only the specific Pinyon Pine which produces the nuts we are talking about. As nutrition goes, they are full of it. No wonder they were the dietary staple of the Paiute tribe as well as most other Native American groups throughout the southwest.

Indigenous peoples ate them both raw and roasted, and they often made Pemmican by mixing ground pinyon nuts with animal fat to make a calorie rich, nourishing and easy to carry "trail mix."   [See other information and photos at: Offroading Home - Resources.]

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Offroad: Gold Butte - Jumbo Mine, Historic Baylor

This was the fourth ride for the Kokopelli ATV club in the 2010-11 riding season. It seemed like there were more new faces each time we rode and that everyone was getting side-by-sides. Some who rode single rigs last year were trading them in for "double wide" and bringing their wives along.

And this ride was a great place to be. It finished a previous club ride around the lower Gold Butte-Treasure Hawk Mine area which was cut short, due to some mechanical failures that required a bit of towing – yet one more reason not to go alone out on "The Butte." Especially on such a seldom used trail as this.

Almost directly on the other side of the mountain from the historic town of Gold Butte (east), is the historic town site of Baylor. Now only a dusty wide spot in the trail, people once lived there while working the area's mines in. Who knows, for a vacation they might have gone to the "big city," Gold Butte, of a weekend.

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BLOOM ALERT: Spring on Gold Butte

Gordon wins the award for spotting this years first cactus bloom on the Butte and letting us know about it. The Joshua Trees usually begin to sprout their fragrant lilac-like fronds skyward about this time; but, the number and amount varies with – who knows. Four years ago there were blooms all over the area. The following two years… not so much. We've just made it through the wettest, coldest winter in four years around here, so we should be in for a great display! If you've never see the Joshua Trees in bloom – you ought to.

Offroad: Gold Butte - Virgin Mountains South

Probably one of the "best kept secrets" on Gold Butte (and there are many) are the trails north of Whitney Junction into the south side of the Virgin Mountains and toward the "Natural Area."

It is completely understandable, given the many things to see and do on the Butte, that people would go whizzing by "the Junction" without even looking up at the moutains. But if you are looking for a different kind of ride, sticking in the Whitney Pockets area may be a good deal for a change of pace.

First of all, the view is grand. You can see all of the upper Butte riding area clear down to the lake. And there are the red Aztec Formation sandstone rock cliffs, similar to those down at Valley of Fire. And, you can get at least an overview or "grand scheme" mental map of where else you've been. Also, the area has "adventures" in its own right.

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Autumn Leaf Loop - East Canyon

Our "Autumn Leaf" tour around the Wasatch Range concludes this post as we reach East Canyon after having traveled from I-215 in Immigration Canyon, around through Mirror Lake in the High Uintas and out through Evanston Wyoming before going over Monte Cristo past Causey Reservoir. Backroads all the way, it none-the-less is easy for our offroad-challenged street vehicle and covers nine counties in Utah and Wyoming.   [For a free Google Earth file of this route see: Autumn Leaf Loop]

We're now looking at the leaves going out of Huntsville over Trappers Loop on our way to Weber Canyon where we'll head to the Morgan exit.   It's been a slightly grander "Sunday Drive" to see the leaves than we originally bargained for; but, hey, these are the the autumn colors we're seeing and this is the mountains!   And besides, we remember all these places back from the time when we were less chronologically challenged (or at least tell ourselves we do) and the government was less extensively exclusionary of seniors.

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Autumn Leaf Loop - Mirror Lake

Recently, we took a grand-loop tour up Immigration canyon, through the Uinta Mountains by Mirror Lake, around through Woodruff and down Monte Cristo, by Causey Dam, into Huntsville and over Trappers Loop, up Weber Canyon to Morgan then over East Canyon until… finally, reaching Immigration Canyon again.   [Those of you who have never heard of these places, trust me, it's a long way for a day-trip.]

A bit more than one deliberately sets out to take in one fell-swoop; but, once you get going, it's hard to stop… until you can't, and it's just plain "shorter" to go around than go back.   Especially when you think you remember all the places you're seeing – and even more especially when you're talking about the Uinta Mountains where most of us had spent many a summer.

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Autumn Leaf Loop - Causey

If you live in Utah between Ogden, Salt Lake City and Provo [and almost who doesn't in Utah] then you may be one of the thousands who are looking for a good "Sunday Drive" to see the leaves. Most likely, the rest of you can see the leaves out your window.

The Rocky Mountains, specifically the Wasatch Range, being full of maples and deciduous trees of all kinds, as well as heavy amounts of conifers which act as 'foils,' sports the most grand fall color display of anywhere west of the Appalachian Trail.  [I say that because having lived in New York I remember the blaze the sugar maples make each year.]

They are beginning to turn now that we've had a few cool days to accompany the cooling nights of fall.   Just like in Vermont, however, they don't turn all at once or in all places at once; so, if you make your drive long enough you can avoid being disappointed.

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GEO-tography: The Island of Antelopes

Offroading Home took a short jaunt over to Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake the other day. Later, when I posted about it, I reviewed our trip on the Google Earth map and was struck by how many Panoramio postings of photographs there were.   [For a free Google Earth file of this route see: Antelope Island Auto Tour]

Continuing our series of GEOtography, I've selected a few, which struck me by their color, composition and content as being representative of the island, and have posted them below.

You are welcome to view the others, and there are many, and will notice that many come from the same photographers: andre bonacin, jerome bastianelli, ryan ferrin and hessidy – to name just a few.

You will also notice that there seems to be an inordinate fascination with buffalo's… once endangered, but not now.
[Remember, like always, these are full photographs so be patient while they load.]

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GEO-tography: "Out Of Bounds"

Now that you've got the "Bokeh" photography technique under your belt, and to continue in our series of posting the "geographically related" images that we find around the "net," I've found another techique that might pique your interest.

It's called: "Out Of Bounds" and it starts where Bokeh leaves off. Just like Bokeh there is an apparent shallow depth of field; but, the next step is to intersperse yet another image right at the "break point" of the image, usually a photo frame of some sort. Well, you'll just have to see it to believe it (or not.)

It does require a fair bit of image manipulation in some image processing program or other, like Photoshop or GIMP; so, they are not the "raw" photographs which sit well with some photographic "purist" types; but, wow! What an attention getter they are. They cannot be achieved by the skill of the photographer, but require a different skill – just as accomplished.

The technique is reminiscent of some of the old cartoon illustrations we used to see on magazines like the "Saturday Evening Post" and others; so, has some "nostalgic" value.

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NEW: Hatch-Panguitch-Paunsaugunt-Strawberry Pt-Aquarius-Hells Hole

Now that title is a mouthful; but, these additions to the southwestern region of the Utah Trails Master Map are a lot to talk about.   [For a free Google Earth file of this route see: http://offroadinghome.djmed.net/]

Offroading Home had an anonymous trail submission (at least that's what it turned out to be) of several trails which followed legitimate satellite image landmarks when verified; but, which attempts to verify the submitter failed.

We are most willing to accept any off road trail that we can receive, but always perform some verification (which obviously takes more time without the help of the submitter) so feel much more comfortable with the data when we can communicate back and forth a little. Unfortunately, this has to lower the priority level for posting and sometimes prevents them from being added at all.

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GEO-tography: Bokeh

To continue a series of geologically related images taken by superb photographers and displayed on the "net," I thought that today we would highlight an old classic – but recently very much in vogue – technique: Bokeh.

It's a nouveau term for basically using narrow depth of field to control the area of interest. Unlike most photographic techniques, this one has a tendency to call attention to itself in any photograph.

The "ladybug" on Ladybug Rock in Cottonwood Wash down Gold Butte is the center of focus; but, the slightly out-of-focus massive rose quartz rock is still "highly present" in your mind and vision.

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GEO-tography: Offroad Backlit

It's becoming a bit of a regular feature but photos gleaned from those published on the internet of places we've been, or want to be, draw no small amount of email.

Perhaps we just like to get ideas to help our own photography.

At any rate, this set of photos follow the "back-lit" theme and remind us that the sun doesn't always have to be over our shoulders and shining in our subjects squinty-eyed faces.

Once in awhile we can let it "back-light" our subject, even though we may need to use something white to reflect a little onto it's front.

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Lichen Unto Us - Gold Butte Full Of It

How many of us ever stop to look at Lichen? I do, but I have to confess it's pretty much just in passing - even on Gold Butte.

We mostly think of the tiny, colorful stuff in relation to wet, damp, cool places; but, I'm here to tell you it's all over the desert as well. Naturally, I don't have to convince riders in Utah, Colorado, California, Wyoming or Arizona that their rides are full of rocks with lichen attached.  But, Nevada… well… that's an equine of a different wavelength.

For them I present — DATA! Look at the photo of Ladybug Rock in Cottonwood Wash to the right. Ignore the ladybug if you can and look at the rock. I can see at least three kinds of lichen. Can you?

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Ride 29: Doing "Whitney"

Pretty much everything on the Gold Butte can begin at Whitney Pockets (Junction). For one thing, it's at the end of the pavement! For another, roads go in all directions. And… it's a great place for a picnic.   [For a free Google Earth file of this route see: Ride 29: Picnic at Whitney]

Actually, if you want to be a purist (and who doesn't) the pavement ends at…

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Ride 28: Tassi Springs Trail

Most of us who have ridden around "the Butte" a lot actually long for a ride like this one.   [For a free Google Earth file of this route see: Ride 28: Tassi Springs Loop]

There is a lot to see down here – more than most places – but after awhile it takes on a bit of… let's say… "familiarity." So you can understand when you take a ride that you haven't been on before and see things that you haven't seen before and find that it is a bit unexpected to boot!

A friend and I realized recently that although we were using the same "label" were were talking about different places: "Cottonwood Wash." Did you know that there were two?

The first is in Nevada and I've posted about it previously – Cottonwood Wash leading to Devil's Cove. The other is mere…

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This Bloomin' Town: Mesquite

It's not just the lower Parashant which is in bloom — Mesquite's Flowering Pears are well underway and pretty much with leaves now.

Word has it that Beaver Dam Wash is actually "washing" with the rain runoff — although Hugh has been known to exaggerate a bit in the past. [It could just be his fishing-withdrawn mind playing tricks on him.]

BLOOM ALERT!!

After all the rains the BLOOMS HAVE BEGUN in the desert!

Actually we found the "bigger than your fist" blooms in the Lower Parashant Area down Arizona County Road 111 below Pakoon Springs.

Anyone who hasn't been hiding under a rock down here…

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Ride 23: Pierson Gap Loop - Pt 2 (The Trail)

Lets see… where were we before we were rudely interrupted? Oh yes, the Pierson Gap Loop (former) Trail! The most scenic trail on Gold Butte.   [For a free Google Earth file of this route see: Ride 23: Pierson Gap Loop Trail]

From the, now inactive, Treasure Hawk Mine we traveled…

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