Bob: Your pictures #2, 5 and 6 look just like western MN. Great scenery--and if you come across a tree it makes it seem so much more important ion that type of landscape.
Lee [email protected] wrote: > ENTS,WNTS, > > To be fair to all regions of the West, I am attaching six images of > eastern Colorado and western Kansas. The first two images are of > Colorado and the last four in Kansas. I wanted to be fair to Kansas. > The Colorado images were taken on July 4th. The Kansas images were > taken the following day. The focus of the images is western expanses. > > 1. Blanca: The first image was taken as we were leaving the San Luis > Valley in Colorado going eastward. We had stopped at a small roadside > park on U.S. 160 for lunch. The stop afforded me the last opportunity > to photograph one of my favorite subjects - the Sangre de Cristo > Mountains. The cone shaped peak, more or less, in the center of the > image (farthest one away) is 14,345-foot Blanca Peak. Blanca dominates > the Sierra Blanca Massif and is the 4th highest summit in Colorado. > Traveling south, you would have to go all the way to the great > volcanos of central Mexico to reach a higher elevation. The peak to > the left of Blanca in the clouds is Little Bear, another Colorado > fourteener. In the foreground sage brush dominates. Eventually a zone > of pinyon and juniper is reached. This is spacious country. I have > mentioned before that the San Luis Valley is approximately the size of > Connecticut. It reflects both its Spanish and Indian heritage. > > 2. WesternExpanses0: This image was taken east of Walsenberg, CO in a > vast area of cattle country. The road in the image leads to a gas > field miles away. Cattle are the dominant residents in this part of > Colorado and the bovine inhabitants are spread thinly. It is wide open > space, and do I ever love it. Sky, sage brush, and cholla cactus. A > wonderful combination. Folks who are unable to enjoy these great > expanses of space are missing one of life's great experiences. > > 3. MonicaAtRestStop: This image was taken at a rest stop in western > kansas on U.S. Route 50. Prairie flowers were everywhere and my camera > clicked away. The Kansas wind was blowing as it almost always is. It > may sound odd that we could fall in love with rest stops, but many in > Kansas are just delightful. They feel exceptionally peaceful and are > appropriately restful. Monica attributes their therapeutic effect to > being in the heartland. When she biked across the country, Kansas was > one of her favorite states. She still talks about her pleasant > experiences biking across Kansas. Oh yes, and she did see one > scissor-tailed fly catcher on our path eastward. > > 4. Pinwheels: This image show gaillardia in abundance. The image was > taken at the rest stop of image 3. In places the flower carpets the > prairie. It vies with sun flowers for dominance. > > 5. OldSantaFeTrail2: Farther east, near Dodge City, Kansas we > encountered a remnant of the original Santa Fe Trail. > By remnant, I mean a place where the impact of the trail can still be > seen today in the vegetative cover. The area is the home of both short > and tall grasses. It is the transition zone between the two > ecosystems. Once there were oceans of grass in the sun flower state. > For me, prairie grasses are as captivating as the ocean. But alas, > while we have plenty of the latter, the former is in short supply. > Still, maybe we can get an inkling of what the travelers of the trail > first saw. Take a peek at the last image. > > 6. OldSantaFeTrail: Natural Kansas is about grasslands and the state's > once vast grasslands were home to one of the largest of the bison > herds. It roamed western Kansas. There was also a huge herd in Texas > and one in a region that includes part of South Dakota, North Dakota > and Montana . Of course there were many more bison scattered across > the plains and prairies than just in these great herds, but the > referenced ones were enormous and often described by chroniclers of > the day. The nutritious prairie grasses sustained the giant herds. > Today, in this small preserve, all that remain to remind the > thoughtful traveler of what life may have been like in those days > are grass, sky, and the unrelenting, but blessed wind. It keeps > bothersome insects away. The prairie ecosystem is superbly described > by the late great John Madson in his book "where the sky began". Any > nature lover who has not read this wonderful book has missed one of > the classics. > > The Santa Fe trail extended 750 miles from Kansas City to old Santa Fe > in what is now New Mexico, but then as part of Spain up until around > 1830 and then Mexico for another 15 years. It was established in 1608 > and made a capital in 1610. It was often dangerous to travel the trail > in those days especially in areas where Comanche, Kiowa, and Southern > Cheyenne ruled. Those tribes/nations were the lords of the southern > plains. > > Bob > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
