Advantages to Promoting Other Local Businesses

The Painted Pony Resort with its 756 acres is an estate rental with the aim of providing a large facility for gatherings whether it be a wedding, workshop, or family reunion.  But the estate is not the only lodging business in the area.  Many other businesses offer local lodging targeting different market segments and it only makes sense to provides references to other establishments for online visitors looking for a place to stay in the area.  Both the Painted Pony Resort website and the associated Blogging from the Boot Heel maintain listings of other local lodging resources as a courtesy to online visitors searching for area lodging as well as provide a map showing lodging in the area, see below.

A recent analysis of the blogs quarterly visitor statistics showed that exit links to other local lodging sites comprised 17% (82) of the total exit links (483).  Of the 17% of exit links to area lodging 83% (68) were to other local businesses while the rest were to the Painted Pony Resort.  While the estate is appropriate for groups it does necessarily meet the needs of individuals looking for a place to stay, but the ability to find other more appropriate lodging is important.  Meeting the needs of potential visitors and guests is important not only maintaining the integrity of the area but also in promoting visitation.  Providing tools for online visitors about the Coronado National Forest and other public lands in the area as well as resources for visiting the area will not only encourage visitation but allow visitors to find the specific resources that best fit their needs.

Cultural Resource Inventory VIII, the First Land Patents.

 One of the missing pieces in the cultural resource inventory is information on the original European settlers on lands comprising the Painted Pony Resort.  Specifically, who filed the first land patents on acreage around the resort.  A search of the General Land Office records (GLO) turned up several names of individuals who patented land parcels that now comprise the estate.  Three names, Asa O. Garland, John B. Garland, and John W. M. Cornforth all applied for land patents in the early 1900's on lands now comprising the estate.  The foundations of 2 of these homesteads have been recovered, one belonging to Asa O Garland and one belonging to John W. M. Cornforth (both of these homesteads appear on the first topographic map of the area published in 1917).  The homestead on the parcel originally patented by the Cornforth's was notable for an electric range burner found among the scattering of artifacts and foundations.  This is consistent with notion that this particular homestead was in existence until the late 1950's when rural electrification reached the valley.  The Cornforth's are buried in the Rodeo cemetery and his marker may be viewed here.  Although no information on ownership of the specific parcel with the main houses has yet been uncovered, further research may locate the original patent applicant as well as patents for the eastern portion of the estate.

Previous cultural resource inventory posts:
http://bloggingfromthebootheel.blogspot.com/2013/04/cultural-resource-inventory-1.html
http://bloggingfromthebootheel.blogspot.com/2013/04/cultrual-resource-inventory-ii.html
http://bloggingfromthebootheel.blogspot.com/2013/05/cultural-resource-inventory-iii.html
http://bloggingfromthebootheel.blogspot.com/2013/05/cultural-resource-inventory-iv.html
http://bloggingfromthebootheel.blogspot.com/2013/05/cultural-resource-inventory-v-mimbres.html

Forty acre parcels with the names of the original settlers and locations of homesteads.

A Little Snow over the Holidays

2014 was a good year for rain in the high desert of southwestern New Mexico.  The Painted Pony Resort received 14.69" of rain this year and to top things off, the estate received its first snow fall on New Years day.  While the mountains received a light dusting of snow on Christmas day and additional snow over the next week in the high country, out in the valley, we were greeted by snow on the first morning of the new year.  Hoping for a continuation of the rainfall patterns which will result in beautiful spring wild flowers and poppies carpeting the valley.

A snowy New Years morning in the San Simon valley

Expanding Again

I have been fortunate to oversee the expansions of the Painted Pony Resort from an initial 80 acre complex with 9 bedrooms and and 13 beds to a 756 acre complex with 12 bedrooms and 17 beds.  But a recent decision to create a bunk room in the Bungalow will increase the number of beds available for family reunions to 21.  Family reunions can be stressful when trying to find room for all the children and the estate is responding to the need by dedicating a space for little ones.  Several sets of bunk beds are being placed in a large room in the bungalow.  This space served the original owner a closet but is now re-tasked as an additional bedroom for children.

Our goal is a family friendly environment with privacy for reunions and the 756 acres of deeded land surrounded by federal and state lands provides such an opportunity.  With access to both the Pelocillo and Chiricahua mountains it is a great place to hold reunions.

Water Management

Living in the high desert of New Mexico one would suppose that water management would not be high on the list of priorities but in reality water management issues are always a concern.  With only 2 periods of rain every year, the winter rains and summer monsoons, the area can receive a significant amount of rainfall in a short period of time.  On rangeland with sufficient grasses the water is slowed and while the occasional flash flood may occur it is heavily utilized rangeland where most problems develop.  On the main estate at the Painted Pony Resort water management has always been a priority and as a result the 4+ inches of rain received this fall from the remnants of hurricane Odile did little damage.  With this years expansion of the estate further east some of the new water problems are being addressed.  About 2 years ago the road across the riverbed at the north end of the estate, which drains the Peloncillo mountains, began to receive runoff and the road quickly deteriorated with a 3-4' gully forming down the middle. This was the result of a major arroyo changing course after filling in its' old route.  With the movement to the south the ranch road was the  easiest route for the water resulting in the rapid down cutting of the ranch road.  If the arroyo could be persuaded to instead move north all the road problems would be solved.  Fortunately, the owner is currently in residence and enjoys running the tractor and road grader.  So he created several diversions in the arroyo, kicking the flow back north expanding and enlarging my earlier efforts.  The results are that the water flow will move back north and hopefully refill an existing cattle tank on the neighbors property (which was fed by this arroyo) and the old channel will provide a source of sand and gravel for the roads around the estate.

Looking east up the heavily eroded ranch road.

Looking west at the first diversion above the eroded area shown in the first photograph.

Looking northwest at the main diversion channel in the old arroyo.

Looking east up the arroyo.

An Experiment in Photography - Saturation and Desaturation

The modern digital camera is an incredible tool, but like all cameras it is really just an instrument to collect data.  While many camera manufacturers make claims about the ability of their camera to make the perfect picture, in reality it is the person who makes the image using a camera to collect data about the scene.  Once the data is collected it must be processed to create a final image that reflects the photographers intent, weather it be a realistic reproduction of a scene or imparting an idea or emotion to the viewer.  What used to take place in a dark room now takes place on a computer with a digital camera.  Specialized equipment was replaced with equipment available to everyone.  The results are many mediocre images made with digital artistic applications, but also some truly spectacular images of the world around us created by everyday people.

The creative act of photography begins not with a camera but with the human mind.  For me it is the visualization of a final image while looking at a scene.  Observing the play of light, shadow, and color and realizing the potential for an image.  On many occasions, whether flying or walking I will suddenly see an image while just looking around.  It will flash in my mind as my head is turning and I will stop, back up and find the specific view that grabbed my attention and being composing an image in my mind.  Then it is out with the camera and start collecting data.  I try to cover the whole scene, overlapping the edges with several images to ensure I miss nothing that later might be useful during data analysis and realizing that the final image will be cropped into a proper and pleasing scene.

Once the data is collected it is back to the computer where all the images are combined with an image compositor into a single large image of the scene.  The image is then examined and cropped to produce a final view which began in my mind.  The next step is processing which involves a decision on whether the scene is to be a reproduction of reality or will try to impart an idea or emotion.  I generally strive to communicate an idea or emotion with my images, with the goal of highlighting the beauty of the Chiricahua and Pelocillo mountains.

The digital manipulation of color is frowned upon by many but I would argue that: 1.  Everyone sees the world differently and my interpretation of reality does not necessarily match yours.  2.  The cameras ability to reproduce reality is flawed by it's software (it represents the view of someone else) and its' hardware.  While I generally do not manipulate color, sometimes when trying to evoke an emotion I will alter saturation levels, either of all the colors simultaneously or individual colors to bring out a specific highlights.  The image below is one I have been working on for about a month, exploring different methods of presentation to evoke different ideas.  In this case the original dataset I collected was altered by selectively saturating or desaturating specific colors which resulted in an artificial, but personally pleasing interpretation of the Chiricahua mountains.

Original 5-image panorama stitched and cropped but unprocessed.

Selective saturation and desaturation of individual colors in this panorama of the Chiricahua mountains (click image to enlarge).

Adventures in Welding - Continued

My first foray into welding came last year when I resized a tooth bar to fit the new tractor.  With no experience it was a steep learning curve but the job got done and the tooth bar works well so it was time for another welding project.

One of chores around the estate is road maintenance.  With about a mile of road on the main estate and 3 miles of road leading to the estate the roads take considerable effort to keep from becoming washboarded or washed out.  One aspect of this maintenance is redistributing gravel along the road.  Gravel has a lifespan and I rake the roads to keep the gravel evenly distributed but it still breaks down over time and having gravel shipped in to to recover the roads is not inexpensive.  Early on, railroad bed material was spread in some areas along the road leading to the estate, but this material is old slag from the smelters and is sharp edged.  While it wears well it is hard on vehicle tires and I have been contemplating using gravel from the arroyos as a substitute for gravel and railroad bed material, hence the newest welding project.  Needing a way to sort gravel from large stones the idea of a gravel sorter came to mind.  I designed a sorter that would sort big rocks from gravel and also produce sand.  Realizing the materials for the project would run several hundred dollars I decided to use material already available, that is fencing material recovered from the additions to the estate, in other words t-posts and old gates.  Material was gathered and I started welding.  But I quickly noticed I was burning holes in the lightweight gate material and some t-posts.  Confused, it eventually dawned on me that I had the current set to high on the welder.  While the higher setting worked fine for the 1/4" steel of the tooth bar it was to high for t-post and gate material.  A simple mistake an experienced welder would not even think about but which took me several days to figure out.  Reducing the current solved the problem and the single tiered gravel sorter was assembled.  Now with this new tool, gravel for the roads can be made from available materials from arroyos on the estate.  It certainly will save time and energy since the last project of making sand for the Rustic cabin was done with a shovel and screen over the tractor bucket.

Gravel sorter under construction

Sorting gravel at the Painted Pony Resort

Sunrise and Sunset

The San Simon Valley gets spectacular sunrises and sunsets.  Flanked by the Chiricahua mountains to the west and the Peloncillo mountains to the east, those in the valley are treated to an abundance of beauty every morning and evening.  The view below is a 3 image panorama of wispy clouds reflecting the rising sun which has yet to climb above the Peloncillo mountains.  Some folks have said they prefer the Peloncillos at sunset but I find sunrise the most spectacular especially when there is some cloud cover to reflect the sunlight.  Both times of day either mountain range has something new to see and I'm constantly recording something new I have never seen before.

Sunrise over the Peloncillo mountains from the Painted Pony Resort

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Addendum:

Two days later after a day of light rain, the warm temperatures combined with water vapor resulted in low wispy fog at sunrise.

Wispy fog over the Peloncillo mountains in the San Simon valley.

Presentation

Living and creating art in the wide open spaces of the desert southwest naturally leads to the production of big art.  The sweeping landscape views just beg to be interpreted.  One result is that locally produced artwork also tends to be big.  As noted previously, murals are produced locally as a response to the big landscape that surrounds anyone who lives or visits the area.  Taking that step myself I decided to reproduce a recent image of the Chiricahua mountains as a Giclee canvas print (pronounced "Zee clay") but this image spans 10 miles of landscape and was going require a large canvas for reproduction.  After some searching I found a firm (Canvas Pop) that could reproduce the image at the scale I wanted.  Shown below is the dining area in the main house of the Painted Pony Resort with a signed and dated 5' long reproduction of the image.  I was pleased with the final results and the image makes a fine addition to the dining area, though I suspect I could have made it even bigger without any problems.

Dining area at the Painted Pony Resort with the newly installed 5' Giclee canvas print.

A closer view of the Giclee print

Photographing the Same Subject Over and Over

I frequently take and post images of the eastern side of the Chiricahua mountains as seen from around the Painted Pony Resort outside Rodeo New Mexico.  I have so many images of the same subject that a slideshow entitled "The Many Faces of the Chiricahua Mountains" was created.  The goals in constantly photographing Portal Peak and the eastern Chiricahuas are to create the perfect image as well as photo-document the changes in the landscape that create different moods I experience when observing the mountain range over time.  But what constitutes a perfect image of the Chiricahua mountains?  

From my perspective, several factors are important.  The first is scale.  Scale in this case refers to the physical distance encompassed in the image.  The landscape image below spans 5.75 miles in length, Cave Creek Canyon south to Sulphur Canyon, and 4000' in height, the floor of the San Simon valley to the top of the 8000' Portal Peak.  Since most cameras do not capture scale without forcing the subject into the background my landscape images require construction in a post production process.  A good image editor is required to piece together segments of the landscape taken closeup into a final product that recreates what I see with my eye, is pleasing to view, and encompasses the whole scene.  Since I shoot hand held with an inexpensive point and shoot camera this takes composing the final image in my mind and then collecting the individual elements for later construction.

The second factor is lighting.  Early morning just at sunrise is always the most productive time to capture images of the eastern flanks of the Chiricahua mountains.  The long light of the rising sun creates a series of colors, some lasting only a moment, across the flank of the mountains.  Starting in the reds the colors move in shorter and shorter wavelengths through the blues until the reflected colors begin to wash out.  

The third is color.  This is of course related to the lighting.  But in some cases, especially when clouds are present over the mountains and the shadows stark a presentation in black and white is more striking and evokes stronger emotions so I choose to desaturate the image after increasing contrast to to further enhance the elements of light and shadow.  

Finally depth.  A number of tools are available to enhance depth in a photograph and perhaps the most common is depth of field.  I have chased after techniques that enhance depth in 2 dimensional images to create a more realistic 3 dimensional image in the belief that good depth enhances the viewers experience. The image below shows good depth with dark clouds creating shadow over the ridges in the background while the foreground ridge line is complete sunlight.  This contrast in shadow naturally enhances the appearance of depth in the image making the almost 6 miles of ridge line stand out and away from the shadowed background.  This difference in shadowing was the result of the partial cloud cover present at that time and in combination with an old photographic technique developed in Germany in the 1930's, further enhances the depth.  Unsharp masking creates an apparent increase in resolution and is a useful tool for creating an image with increased depth helping the foreground ridge line jump out of the image. 

These are all easy to apply tools that anyone can implement to create images that capture the imagination and convey the emotions generated when viewing the scene.

Almost perfect, click on the image to see a larger version or follow this link.

Addendum:
More work with the original panoramic image data set has resulted in this new image.  Spanning further south and north, both Portal Peak and Darnell Peak are visible and the scene shifts from just Portal Peak to the whole east flank of the Chiricahua mountains.