Very nice narrative and images, Chris. I think these images are better than
the ones you posted last time. Sounds strenuous, but you get nice results.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Trask" <christrask@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Discussion Group" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 5:12 PM
Subject: [OM] Yesterday's Desert Hike
> Yesterday I took a somewhat strenuous hike into an area northeast of
> Phoenix, this time venturing further into a remote ravine that had
> captured my interest. Even before getting started, I came across a very
> rare albino California Poppy:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133356937/in/photostream
>
> Shortly after getting under way, I came across a small patch of
> Trailing Four O'Clock:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133357705/in/photostream
>
> Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii) were in full bloom, and it was all but
> impossible to ignore the heavy scent of this poisonous plant. This one
> specimen was about four feet across:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133359009/in/photostream
>
> The flowers can be as much as six inches across and eight inches deep
> from the lip of the bell to the bottom of the throat. This one, a bit
> over four inches across, is of average size:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/6987276140/in/photostream
>
> Getting into the backcountry here involves following dry washes,
> abandoned dirt roads, and fairly often just heading out cross-country.
> Following a heavily washed out dirt track along a steep slope:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/6987370626/in/photostream
>
> provided a rare opportunity to photograph a Sahuaro cactus flower from
> above:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133360311/in/photostream
>
> Even with a tripod this was no simple task. The flower was about fifty
> feet away at a downward angle of about 25 degrees. It took a 260mm lens
> and a 2X teleconverter to get it to this size, with the aperture open to
> f/5.6 so as to speed up the shutter and compensate for the vibration
> caused by the wind.
>
> After getting to the top of the ridge separating the two drainages and
> then scrambling over a barbed wire fence, I was greeted with this very
> inviting view of an unspoiled desert ravine with Maverick Mountain in the
> background:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133361511/in/photostream
>
> And the bottom of the ravine showed that getting there was well worth the
> effort:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133362773/in/photostream
>
> I'll have to return next year and allow more time for exploring the
> various side drainages and especially the seeps where large Sycamore trees
> were sighted:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/6987370634/in/photostream
>
> Last week I had difficulty locating a Rambling Milkweed that was worth
> photographing. This week they were everywhere:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/6987279460/in/photostream
>
> Towards the end I was resting beneath a large Sugar Bush across from a
> hanging garden and happened to notice a small, dark patch of vegetation
> with small yellow flowers growing out of a crack in the canyon wall.
> Looking closer revealed a flower that I had not encountered before,
> Toothed Monkeyflower (Mimulus dentilobus):
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004640@N03/7133363679/in/photostream
>
> This flower is so rarely seen that even the ASU herbarium and the USDA
> Plants website do not have photos.
>
> This area is certainly going to be visited again in the fall and next
> spring.
>
> Chris
>
> Chris
> --
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