Just saw your last post on the dunes. Very jealous! I was unable to get out west this year because I have a baby due in August. Hopefully within the next year or so I can get back out west. I did however get up to Baxter and bag Katahdin and the knofe edge, a very impressive mountain and very"western" like.
On Jul 20, 1:35 pm, [email protected] wrote: > Marc, > > We were 3 or 4 miles I think. From that vantage point, the dunes stick > up between 650 and 850 feet above the sage brush flats. The actual highest > elevation change attainable is from the western side of the dunes, the Sand > Creek side. You can log an elevation change of 904 feet, which is a lot more > than the 700 advertised figure commonly quoted for the height of the dunes. > > Bob > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marcboston" <[email protected]> > To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 10:45:58 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: [ENTS] Re: Western Expanses > > Great shots! I really want to explore that region of Colorado, looks > very similar to the eastern Sierra. About how far from the first > picture are you from Great Sand Dune N.Park? > > On Jul 17, 9:04 pm, [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 > > > > > > Blanca.jpg > > 356KViewDownload > > > WesternExpanses0.jpg > > 413KViewDownload > > > MonicaAtRestStop.jpg > > 604KViewDownload > > > Pinwheels.jpg > > 810KViewDownload > > > OldSanteFeTrail2.jpg > > 388KViewDownload > > > OldSanteFeTrail.jpg > > 381KViewDownload- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
