Desert Plants and Flowers

As you know, I love flowers. It's spring and the desert has a few flowers. Desert flowers are elusive as some bloom for only a few hours and then they are gone. So, when I see a flower, I take it's picture NOW.

After many tries, I finally got a picture of this flower...and I still don't have a definitive name for it. It is either a "hedgehog cactus flower" (echinopsis tubiflora) or a "San Pedro cactus flower" (echinopsis pachanoi). Whatever, the flower is pretty. Two days later, the flower had withered away.

Ocotillo (on it's side) is a red flower atop a bush of thorny sticks. You don't want to get close to these flowers are the thorns will attack you. Like many desert flowers, beware of the thorns.

Pink Yucca, sends up a long shoot with flowers on the end. It will have a waxy flower.

Purple prickly pear cactus...like the name says, it has thorns too.

Not a cactus, this is Mexican Sage with lavender bell shaped flowers.

Lantana is a hearty flower that grows in many climates. I had these in northern CA as well as western WY

The leaves of a Honey Mesquite tree which is apt for this area.

Zion and Beyond

We took a circle road trip today, from Mesquite to Zion National Park to Cedar City and back. It was a beautiful spring day with perfect skies.

As always, the temples of Zion were majestic. From here we went thru the winding tunnel. The first time I went thru that tunnel I was 4 years old. I remembered my dad stopping at the windows cut in the tunnel, so we could take pictures of the pretty mountains. Today no one is allowed to stop in the tunnel, but the memory persists.We had a picnic lunch past Checkerboard Mesa and enjoyed the view. 

From here we exited Zion and drove to SR 14, by way of Carmel Junction and Glendale UT. SR 14 is my type of road, scenic, narrow and windy. As the elevation climbed, we felt like we were on the top of the world.

 

We were no longer in spring, but late winter. Snow was on the ground, and the scenery changed too. We were seeing red rock mountains on one side of the road, black lava flow on the other. Zion is not volcanic, yet a few miles away there's a recent aa lava flow dating from maybe a thousand years ago. Where's the volcano?

The geology of southern Utah is definitely varied.

At 9910 feet, the temperature was 29 degrees. We went from a pleasant spring day in Zion to a cold winter day in less than 100 miles. 

SR 14 is only 36 miles long and all too soon we were in the town of Cedar City, home of Southern Utah University. It was spring time again. The trees were in full bloom.

We had a wonderful drive. We started and ended in spring, with a brief taste of snowy cold winter in between. Does it get any better?

Lake Mead

 

The blue on this map is Lake Mead. It is the reservoir resulting from the building of Hoover (or Boulder) Dam near Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US. It is a National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service. Therefore, to enter the lake, you must pay a fee. We have a NPS pass, which is available to all seniors for a nominal one time fee. It's a good thing.

As we drove to the lake, we were wondering if we were ever going to see it. Water in the desert is a treat, and we knew it had to be near...but where?

But after we crossed an official entrance to the lake, showed our card, the lake did show up on the horizon. And then, there we were at one of the long arms of the lake near Overton, NV.

People were fishing among the islands

A few folks were boating...and the parking lot was filled with boat trailers. There were a lot of folks on the lake. It's a big lake, so who knows where they were.

Some coves were empty

A splash of blue in the red. The water was easy on our eyes, after driving through the harsh sunlight of the desert. 

The Mojave Desert in Spring

The flat top mesas are a good backdrop for the Joshua trees in the foreground. The desert is starting to bloom. We are not seeing great fields of flowers, but there's a hint of green with a few dabs of yellow on the desert floor.

The Creosote bush is blooming right now. But life in the desert is subtle. These bushes are in full bloom, as you can see below.

It's brilliant yellow flowers look like beacons when you are up close and personal, but not from a distance. It's a harsh life and they have learned how to make the most of it. 

Other plants look fuller such as the cholla and yucca.

Always in the background there are the red mountains 

...that erode into majestic shapes looking like the crenellated castles on the Rhine, guarding the place from invaders. 

 

Driving the "Old Spanish Trail"

Slowly we are learning the geography and history of our new location. The exploration is both interesting and fun. The other day we decided to take "the old road" to St. George, UT. Little did we know that the road started as an established trail sometime in the 1500s by Spaniards. The early history of the trail is obscure, but by the time John Fremont mapped the trail in the 1840s, with his guide Kit Carson, it was a well developed trade route with several routes and cut-offs.

Copied from Wikipidea

The Old Spanish Trail generally followed a 700 mile trek from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Los Angeles, California. Merchants in Santa Fe would collect Navajo woven goods, such as blankets and serapes, and ship them on sturdy pack mules. Hundreds and men and mules moved the goods. A good Navajo blanket would buy 2 horses in California. The merchants would return with hundreds of horses and mules. The mule trains made one round trip a year, during the cooler months, so as to avoid the heat and lack of water in the Mojave Desert.

This modern desert sculpture visualizes the mules crossing the desert.

Today, the trail is more civilized. The part we drove is SR 18, a well paved 2 lane road that skirts the Virgin River, dips into the Reservation of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, shows some of the wonder of the red rocks that make up Zion National Park, not too far "down the road," before ending in St. George, UT.

Along the way there are a few abandoned buildings, with the no explanation as to what they were. 

Relics of a time and place that we don't understand or know.

This part of  NV, AZ and UT, has more miles dotted with cactus, juniper and yucca than dwellings. You can speed down the road at 55 mph, something unheard of in the 1840s. Then, the unpaved trail was a rut in the landscape made by thousands of feet (men and mule) eeking a living by moving trade goods between New Mexico and California. The trail was a permanent trade route. In the 1850s the pack mules were replaced by freight wagons pulled by 20 mule teams. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed legislation making The Old Spanish Trail the 15th National Historic Trail.

Turtles ... or Tortoises ... or Terrapins?

I've added to my crochet critter repertoire by making turtles. Then I remembered my "Harry Potter" when Hermione fears she will lose some points because her turtle looks more like a tortoise. Naturally, I had to find the difference between the two. In case you did not know, the generic name is Turtle. But if you want a bit more specificity, a turtle is a water dwelling omnivore with a flatter shell/body to allow for better swimming ability;  a tortoise is a land dwelling herbivore with a taller shell to protect it from preditors. Terrapins are the mascot for the University of Maryland, and they live in brackish water and land and are considered to be more tortoise like than turtle like. 

Given the above, here's my critters:

Based on the above description, this is probably a tortoise...a very colorful tortoise ... because it has a taller, rounded shell

...and this is a turtle with a more streamlined shell

...and the last one is named Terry Terrapin. She is a fanciful turtle that can only live in my imagination. But then, I guess that's true for all my turtle creations. I do know they are fun to make, so a few more will be added to the menagerie.

Bunnies...Lots of Easter Bunnies

It started with a pattern I saw on Pinterest...a bunny that could be made by knitting a square of yarn. I don't knit, so I modified the pattern and crocheted a square of yarn and started making bunnies for Easter. The original pattern called for a pompom tail, but I modified that too. Each bunny has a real cotton ball tail. It's only appropriate.

The first two were made from a 6 inch square and a 3 inch square. I gave them to my friend Jeanne. 

Then I made a 4 inch square and I discovered the perfect size for the bunny. This little guy was sent to my 100 year old Auntie. Of course I'm still making piggies. 

 I went a little crazy and started making bunnies every night. Each bunny gets a special name too, so there's Lucinda Hopps, Samantha Spring, Leonora Leaper, and Heather Hopper...the list goes on. I need to get them in the mail by Easter. If you like a bunny to hop your way, just ask. 

50 Years

In a few days we will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. Great plans for a cruise or exotic trip to mark the occasion have been dashed. What has not been dashed is friendship. My dear friends have created a wonderful gift to help us celebrate 50 years of love, sharing and caring for each other. Thank you for this lovely commemoration of our wedding day.

Thank you Pam and Sam for this wonderful gift for our special day

Framing is Complete

The framing is completed. This is always a good sign. If we stay on schedule we might make our due date.

The east side showing the master bedroom/bath, den, main bath and second bedroom

The back or north side showing the bay window in the master bedroom and the patio

The front or south side show the garage, arched entry way and second bedroom.

Each of the rooms is clearly defined so we mentally placed furniture in them. That was fun. Now we wait for the trusses. The framers said the trusses had arrived, but they have not been delivered to our job site. There are many homes waiting for trusses. 

We Are Being Framed

 More progress is being made on the house. The garage was framed and braced. We can now get a good idea what the front of the house looks like.

In addition, headers for windows were put in place, making it easy to visualize the view from each. The view from the living room looks at Flat Top Mesa.

We watched the framing team work for about an hour before they started cleaning up. When they were done I talked to one of the fellows. He said they had one more day of framing, then the trusses would be installed. I was surprised the trusses had arrived. I want to be there when they fly the trusses on the house. That's always exciting. Needless to say, I'll keep you up to date. 

Progress

 Today we drove past our new home site and discovered that there were STICKS! Progress is happening. Hooray!

I talked to the contractor the other day and his report was grim. He said there was a shortage of trusses, wood, plywood, sheetrock, coils, and appliances. I was told that trusses might arrive on March 24, so the progress we saw today was a great surprise.

A crew of 3 were framing the house...2 were busy nailing and one was cleaning up. Keep watching this spot as I'll have more pictures tomorrow.

Driving Through Town

On Thursday we went to a Meet and Greet at the local library. We were asking a lot of questions about doctors and dentists and the like, when the conversation moved to driving around the town. Today we took one of the roads recommended and discovered a mighty vista. These are the jagged Virgin Mountains to the south and east of town. The highest points on this range are Mt. Bangs at 8012 feet and Virgin Peak at 8075 feet.

Facing the Virgin Mountains are flat top mesas. In fact, this one is called Flat Top Mesa at 2589 feet. This is the mountain I expected to see in the desert, not the sawtooth mountain range at all.

The soft sedimentary rock of the mesa seems to be a carver's wonderland and one man has decided to etch, carve and sculpt the soft rock. If you look carefully, you will see a row of 7 emojis.

This is our "Little Mount Rushmore." As we were looking at it, a driver in another car said the sculptures can erode in the rain, and we've had 2 days of rain...then he said, "I wonder how long these will last?"

We think this is a sphinx. It's fitting. The last time I saw a sphinx was in a desert in Egypt. 

Then we saw Cowboy Joe, the symbol of Wyoming. The carver is a native of Jackson Hole.

 There are several carvings in the red rock and they all have a story behind them. Mr. Karns, the man behind the examples of sandstone art, decided he wanted people to smile when they looked at his work. That's exactly what we did.

It's hard to think that all these pictures were taken from the same location near Flat Top Mesa. The snowy Virgin Mountains and the arid mesas living in harmony in the Mojave Desert.

Two New Critters

 Two more critters have been added to the menagerie...a tiny bunny and a round piggy

The bunny is a new pattern for me...

..as I've only made 3. I'm going to send one to my 100 year old auntie for Easter. If you would like one, let me know. Crocheting keeps me out of trouble.

Snow and Palms

Welcome to the desert in the wintertime where we are experiencing a strange (for us) phenomena...snow on the nearby mountaintops and palm trees lining the streets. It's not often you see snow and palm trees in the same place.

Lucky for us, there is no snow on the valley floor. It's cooler than it has been recently, but if the weather report is accurate, it will warm up soon. 

This and That

 We've been in our new wintertime home for one week. We are getting settled in. We know the main streets in town, we can find our favorite stores, post office and bank without getting lost. The weather has been wonderful. No snow or rain, some wind and nice warm days. I'm trying to get in the habit of walking again. I fell out of practice the past few months due to a series of accidents. I'm healed up and ready to walk. Amidst the change there is stability too. I'm still crocheting teddy bears.

Tonight I finished Lily. Somethings don't change. On another note, our new home has not made any progress in the week we've been here. The foundation is curing...that's my story and I'm sticking with it.