The Way it Was Last Week: An Island of Beauty in a Sea of Conflict

We got back from a long journey across the harsh and beautiful lands across the American Southwest, but we had an out-of-state visitor, so with a whole day's rest, we felt compelled to go and see the incredible valley that lies just 90 miles uphill from my home. It's Yosemite Valley, one of the most unique valleys in the world. It's simply stunning, and despite the drought conditions that prevailed during much of the (un)rainy season this year, it was surprisingly green (the late season rains kind of saved the water-year).

I am truly horrified by the developments of today and of the last few weeks. My entire identity as an American has come into question because of things done in our name as citizens of this country. I'll save the politics for another forum, but as I thumbed through my images of the trip from last week, I was reminded of at least one aspect of what being an American is: a preserver of the wild places. The National Park system has been described as America's best idea, the idea that some places, some landscapes are so unique, so sacred, that we proposed to preserve them for all time. Yosemite Valley was set aside in 1864, more than a decade before the first national park was established at Yellowstone in 1876. It became an official national park in 1890.

Visiting on a weekday, and seeking out some of the quieter corners of the valley floor, one can still get a sense of the majesty of Yosemite Valley without feeling like one is waiting in line at Disneyland. Get out and walk the trail that winds around the edge of the valley. Bring or rent a bicycle. Get away from the stores, the visitor centers, the standard viewpoints, and experience the valley, if you can.

If you can't get to Yosemite, check out these pictures and realize that this is your land, your valley, a place that no one can be allowed to take from you. But also realize that there are hundreds of units in the national park system, many of which may be near you. Visit them, learn about them, and be ready to protect them from those who would use bad laws and corrupt courtrooms to develop strip mines, drill oil wells, or cut down forests. These are your lands. Fight for them. They are precious.

Scenes from a Strawberry Solstice on the Tuolumne River

Tonight was a unique astronomical event, a Strawberry Moon on a summer solstice, the first since I was a child back in 1967. There's nothing significant in this other than human number-keeping, but it seemed as good an excuse as any to head out to our new river park on the Tuolumne and enjoy the sunset. It was an unusually clear evening, and we had a nice view of the Sierra Nevada crest about 40 miles to the east.

For two nights in a row at the park I've watched an Acorn Woodpecker stare at the sunset. I've seen that behavior before, and I find myself wondering if they have a sense of wonder (or maybe they are just watching for bugs). Every so often it would flutter into the sky and alight once more on the same branch, facing west.

It was a truly beautiful sunset. The high pressure cell that has been causing the grueling temperatures across the southwest has been moving north, providing some spectacular cloud development, but portending hot temperatures tomorrow in our area (but nothing like the hellish temperatures farther to the south).

As the sun set, the full moon rose in the east. A Strawberry moon refers to the time of ripening fruit, not the color. I would have called it the tangerine moon if I were in charge of such things (but I'm not). Once the moon was a bit higher and above of the turbulent air near the horizon, I took another shot. Can you see the bat flying in front of the moon?

A Small City Recognizes Her Greatest Treasure: Tuolumne River Parkway Trail Nears Completion (update)

I've been providing occasional updates on the progress of the Tuolumne River Parkway trail that is being constructed in Waterford, California, where the river leaves the Sierra Nevada behind and flows into the Great Valley. It's been a source of some community pride that the city has finally come to realize the value of the river. It used to be a dumping ground. Now it will become a learning resource for our children, since the trail will be within walking distance of three different schools.

Progress seems to alternate between "none" and "very rapid". There were several weeks where nothing much would seem to happen, and then practically overnight a section of trail will suddenly sprout fully completed slope barriers. The barren field at the top of the bluff was ignored for weeks, and seven days ago, a paved parking lot appeared. Today was one of the rapid days. A stairwell will be necessary to provide access from the high bluffs on the downstream end of the trail. The foundations for the stairwell have been in place for a month or more, but nothing more seemed to be happening.

As I walked down the trail, I could see a huge crane in the distance (and it wasn't of the Sandhill variety; sorry for the bird humor). Workers were lowering a section of the stairwell into place. More than half of the stair sections had already been put into position.

I watched for a few minutes as the foreman directed the crane operator by walkie-talkie. It was interesting because the operator was completely out of sight above the bluff, but he or she had such a delicate touch that the stairwell section was lifted or dropped six inches at a time to get it into the right spot, based only on the verbal directions from the foreman below.

My walk today once again illustrated the value of this stretch of the Tuolumne River. The thin artery of water and the related riparian habitat is a sanctuary for dozens of bird species and other creatures. I've seen all manner of small rodents and reptiles, and the occasional Gray Fox. On this particular day I was able to capture some photos of birds that I rarely see in urban settings.

I've seen them elsewhere (at the San Joaquin NWR, Pecos National Historical Park, and my west campus), but this was the first time I've seen a Say's Phoebe along the river trail.

Acorn Woodpeckers (above) are common along the river, and I always enjoy watching their antics. They look like clowns, and sometimes act like them. They are endemic to the southwest, Mexico and Central America.

I've yet to see a Black-chinned Hummingbird in my yard or the local pasture, but I've seen them numerous times along the river, both in August and today, in mid-November.

It's not Yosemite National Park, and it's not one of the Serengeti-like bird refuges with tens of thousands of migratory geese and cranes, but it is a small bit of river that preserves a natural environment with species numbering in the hundreds. I see something new almost every time I walk this trail that is almost literally in my own backyard. It's our city's most precious resource. I look forward to the completion of the trail in a few weeks.

The New Tuolumne River Trail is Coming!

In one sense, this is a local story, about a trail that I can walk to from my house. On the other, it is of interest to anyone who travels into the region, on their way to Yosemite and other more famous tourist destinations in the central Sierra Nevada. It's about the Tuolumne River.

The Tuolumne River is a treasure. It is longer than the Merced River, it once had the largest glaciers in the entire range, and comparatively speaking, despite the many reservoirs on its various forks, it has some of the wildest stretches of river in the Sierra. It has the grandest canyon that hardly anyone knows about (seriously, the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne is as deep as the Grand Canyon in Arizona) as well as the most scenic and popular area of Yosemite National Park outside of the valley (Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass).  Downstream, it has some of the most important riparian habitats in the Great Valley.

I live right at the spot where the river flows from the Sierra Nevada foothills into the Great Valley. The two-mile long stretch of river that flows through my small town has languished for years, with a small neglected river park, and trails of use that led to piles of garbage and transient camps. The city government has been interested in changing that situation and now it's happening. With funds from a state proposition (84), they are constructing a river trail from one end of town to the other, a path that will include accessible trails, rejuvenated and protected riparian habitat, interpretative signs, and recreational opportunities like river access for kayaks and small boats.

One could say that this is development that will spoil the natural aspect of the river, but in fact the river hasn't been natural for some time, given the invasive species and animals that have moved in along with the trash. As the park is completed, the invasive species will be removed and replaced by native species. Ultimately the river will be a healthier environment, and a lot closer to a natural condition than before. And people will be able to learn about the natural habitat during their explorations and recreational activities. It's a good trade-off.

I went down there yesterday to have a look around, and the trails were all plowed and staked out. Employees told me they expect to finish around the beginning of October. I couldn't be happier.

I've been documenting the bird species along the river for the past year at my other blog, Geotripper's California Birds. Yesterday I got to add a mammal to the list. As I was wandering about on the downstream end of the trail, a Gray Fox came bounding down the cliff with lunch in its mouth. I only had a few seconds to get a couple of shots before it disappeared into the river willows.

There are dozens of species of birds living or migrating through, depending on the time of year. Yesterday I caught some shots of a Black-chinned Hummingbird for only the second time.

I almost always come across a group (a "discernment") of Acorn Woodpeckers. There are some gigantic ancient Valley Oak trees along this stretch of the river.

The Western Kingbird (below) is present during spring and summer, but migrates south to Mexico and Costa Rica during the winter.

The Western Bluebird is present for much of the year.

The Tree Swallow migrates into the area for the spring and summer as well. It winters farther south, in the southern tier states, and in Central America as far as Panama.

The western end of the park is on an undeveloped bluff that offers a marvelous view of the river with the Sierra Nevada beyond. A stairwell will provide access to a parking area on the bluff. Geologically, the upper part of the trail includes some of the Sierra Nevada's Miocene volcanic rocks, including the Valley Springs formation and the Mehrten. Downstream, the bluffs are composed of glacial outwash deposits, probably including the Turlock Lake and Riverbank formations.

I'm looking forward to this wonderful addition to our community, and I hope you'll stop and check it out when you are on your way to more famous places. The river has a lot to teach you.

If you want to learn more details, the city has posted their plans and environment studies here: http://www.cityofwaterford.org/departments/parks-and-recreation/trails/river-trail/

What Defines a Wilderness? Is it the Barrenness or the Richness? The Joe Domecq Wilderness Area and Gold Dredging

A wilderness surprise: Joe Domecq Wilderness Park

Wilderness [wil′dər nis]:
1. A neglected or abandoned area of a garden or town.
2. An area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community.

Can these two meanings be reconciled? I'm used to the definition of wilderness as it was written into the 1964 Wilderness Act: a contiguous area of at least 5,000 acres (7.8 square miles) that is as close to a primeval natural state as is possible. The landscape where I live has precious little remaining wilderness: the Great Valley has less than 5% of its original ecosystem. The Sierra Nevada has more open space and wilderness, but mostly in the high country. The deep forests of the middle elevations have been extensively logged, while the foothills were upended in the search for gold. The rivers have been mostly dammed.

Gold dredge deposits near Merced Falls

The dredging of Sierra Nevada/Great Valley rivers for gold was a particularly destructive form of mining. Put into practice long after the famous Gold Rush of 1848-53, dredging was an example of business getting serious about their "business". A great deal of fine-grained gold was not being captured by the usual mining methods and was lost downstream. Around 1898 the first successful dredge was placed in operation. It was a floating factory with large shovels on one side and a conveyer belt on the other. The shovels dug up one end of the pond, processed the sediments through sieves and mercury-coated copper plates, and then dumped them out the other end. In this way, the dredge sailed across the landscape, "dragging" its pond along. It was horribly efficient, as the miners could profit when there was only 18 to 20 cents of worth of gold in a cubic yard of gravel.

Dredged floodplain on the Merced River near Snelling, CA. Courtesy of GoogleEarth

How was this destructive? The mining process destroyed the natural soil of the river floodplains and replaced it with barren piles of boulders and cobbles that were no longer useful for pretty much any other purpose. Especially the growing of crops. Many tens of thousands of acres of valley floor were permanently altered. A dredge field on the Merced River in my area is nine miles long and half a mile wide. Similar amounts of land were dredged on the Tuolumne River that flows by my home town.

So here is the source of my opening question. After fifty or sixty years of abandonment, the dredge fields are returning to nature, after a fashion. Cottonwood trees have taken root here and there, and the old dredge ponds have formed tule thickets and swamps. The other day we were visiting Turlock Lake State Recreational Area (the lake stores water for irrigation). We continued up the road and more or less by accident discovered that we had a "wilderness" area right in our own backyard: it's called the Joe Domecq Wilderness Area, and is part of the larger La Grange Regional Park administered by Stanislaus County. We were intrigued and walked in.

The wilderness preserves about 270 acres of dredged lands and includes a pond, swamps, cottonwood and eucalyptus woodlands, and grassy meadows. Despite the horrific damage done to the original landscape, the environment has now recovered enough to provide a rich habitat for birds and other creatures. The preserve is minimally developed (rough trails, two picnic tables, no bathrooms), but there is plenty of land to wander about, especially if one is interested in birds.

As we explored, the woods were alive with bird songs. We meant to have a brief look, and stayed for two hours. I got a number of bird pictures, including one or two that I haven't seen before.

Before returning home, I walked out onto Old Basso Bridge, the old Highway 132 crossing of the Tuolumne River. It's across the street from the wilderness area. It's been replaced by a modern bridge and is reserved for pedestrians now. This area around the riverbank provides one more piece of habitat for the local animal life, including salmon during the right season.

It was a pleasant discovery, and nice to find that the abandoned barren lands can be rejuvenated. If you would like to see some of the birds we saw, make the jump below for some pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving and Safe Travels (with a last look at our newest national park)

Here's hoping that you all have a fine Thanksgiving holiday and that your travels are safe and fun. I offer up one of the things that I am truly thankful for: politicians that put aside their differences and agreed to establish Pinnacles National Park in 2013. I've been posting lately about the fascinating geology of the park, and I'm taking a moment to point out one of the other values of this particular park: a sanctuary for wildlife.

Pinnacles has been one of the most dependable localities for seeing Wild Turkeys (which are not exactly a native species, but they have become naturalized in this region). 

On our last trip we saw the antics of the Acorn Woodpeckers around the Bear Gulch area...

And were watched carefully by a Raven at Bear Gulch Reservoir...

Pinnacles is a treasure. If you ever have a chance to explore central California, be sure to add it to your itinerary! In the meantime, have a safe and happy time wherever you may be. I'll be on the road, so posts may be scarce.

Write About a Tree and it Falls Over: How it was in Yosemite today....

On our last trip to Yosemite in October, we had a delightful time witnessing the contrast between the vivid fall colors and a fresh new coating of snow. I also spent some time photographing a group of acorn woodpeckers working in their tree, an old dead ponderosa at the edge of Cook's Meadow (see the post by clicking here). The tree has been in this spot for a century or more, though it looked pretty unstable when we were last there. I should have known that writing about it would probably in the cosmic picture of things doom it. Here's how the tree looked today; I hope the woodpeckers are okay.

Meanwhile, winter is sort of wrapping up, with some snow in the high country this week, and clouds that were building up as we wandered about the valley. The falls were running nicely, but there was barely a speck of green anywhere (although the foothills are beginning to show a lot of color, especially poppies and fiddlenecks).

Half Dome was a no-show from the Tunnel View, but Bridalveil Falls looked nice, and had a huge pile of frazil ice at the base. Frazil forms when spray from the waterfall freezes and drifts down to the base of the falls.

 Yosemite Falls was also full of water and ice, and the wind was forming nice patterns of mist and shadow on the cliff face.
 In the later afternoon the rain clouds opened up, so we knew it was time to head on down the hill. As we were leaving, we could see the ghostly presence of the Cathedral Spires on the south rim of the valley. Winter isn't quite done with the Sierra Nevada...

And that's the way it was today.

Yosemite Valley: Winter and Acorn Woodpeckers

It's such a beautiful place. Yosemite Valley has so many moods that seem to change daily. On Saturday, we had a glorious time exploring the freshly fallen snow and the golden colored oaks and dogwoods under the soaring cliffs. Yet with all the incredible scenery, we also got to see a bit of Yosemite's citizenry preparing for the coming winter. No bears (darn), but some interesting birds.

Picture by Mrs. Geotripper

It started with that solitary dead Ponderosa Pine that is situated in the Cook's Meadow between the old Yosemite Church and Yosemite Village. The dead snag gave us a frame for pictures of the dry Yosemite Falls, but we noticed that things were moving about the tree. We realized after a moment that there were at least three woodpeckers hard at work on the branches and trunk.

A bit of research later revealed them to be Acorn Woodpeckers (I'm a geologist, not an ornithologist; I'll try to remember their names in the future!). The birds collect acorns and store them in the holes they peck in old snags like the one we were looking at.

The woodpeckers live in groups. One will often be guarding the acorn supply while others are out foraging. They actually chase insects, but the acorns represent a secure backup food supply.

I guess the one below thought we looked suspiciously like marauding squirrels...

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

The other birds we saw on Saturday were the ravens. They seem to do quite well in all seasons of the year, both here in Yosemite, and other parks across the American West, including Grand Canyon, Arches, and Death Valley.

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

If you have to hang out on a cold day, it might as well be in a place this pretty.

The days are short, and the sun was getting low. We decided to head up to Tunnel View to see the sunset. That's next...