Monsoon Season

The monsoons finally arrived at the Painted Pony Resort.  After a few light showers around the 4th of July there was no measurable rain at PPR until yesterday when the facility experienced a good summer monsoon downpour.  Although lasting only about 30 minutes it brought between a half and three quarters of the inch of moisture.  The rain was a welcome sight and it was frustrating watching rain fall all around the valley but not at PPR.  The desert is already starting to liven up and wildlife becoming very active.

A Monsoon Afternoon

Chiricahua Peloncillo Heritage Days 2012

This years annual Chiricahua Peloncillo Heritage Days will kick off with a reception and keynote speaker on Friday evening September 7th at the Chiricahua Desert Museum and this years talks will again take place on Saturday and Sunday at the Chiricahua Event Center.  Sponsored by the Wildlands Network it should be another great celebration of the area.  Mark your calender and make plans to attend it should be another great event.

Telescopes at the Painted Pony Resort

Amateur astronomy is a popular activity in the boot heel of New Mexico and southern Arizona with a number of research telescopes such as Mount Graham International Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory in the area as well as several subdivisions devoted to astronomy.  Dark skies without light pollution combined with a good view of the southern sky has made the area a haven for the astronomer. It is one of the reasons PPR keeps the outside lighting to a minimum and flash lights are recommended when walking between buildings at night.  The Painted Pony Resort has hosted several groups of Canadian astronomers over the past 2 years who arrived with their equipment to capture images of the southern sky.  In addition, most guests have commented on the bright clear night sky in their reviews of PPR.  To supplement the family centered activities at the Painted Pony resort, 2 telescopes are now available for guests to use while in residence.  A 4.5 inch Meade reflector and a 10 inch Orion Dobsonian telescope.  The 4.5 inch telescope is suitable for point and shoot visualizations of the planets, while the 10 inch is computer controlled with a database of 14,000 objects.  Two camera mounts are also available for use by guests to try their hand at astrophotography.  A mount for digital cameras and iphones can be used with the scopes to capture images from the night sky over the Painted Pony Resort as a remembrance of their time in the San Simon Valley.

4.5 inch Meade telescope

10 inch Orion Dobsonian with computer control

Another Kid Friendly Family Reunion

Another family reunion is underway at the Painted Pony Resort and this one is all about the children.  A kiddie carnival was set up in the courtyard and 2 jumpers were rented for the kids to play in during the carnival.  Family centered activities are the core of family reunions and the with 80 acres and 3 buildings people can spread out and have private time or congregate and participate in group activities.  A family Olympics is also planned and the ping pong, pool table, and basket ball court will see lots of activity.

Carnival Preparations

Jumpers for the kids

Artist Workshop at the Painted Pony Resort

It was a busy week with artist Gini Lawson and a group of painting students in residence at the Painted Pony Resort.  After breakfast students would scatter about the property to paint and then meet back several hours later for lunch.  While during the heat of the day, when the light was not conducive to painting, they all took time to relax at the pool or read, then back to painting in the late afternoon.  Gini was quite active visiting each student as they worked and as a group they discussed artwork being created.  The Students worked in oil and watercolor and an example of a thank you from one of the guests is shown below.  Gini's husband created all the meals during the workshop and even made ice cream several evenings for the students.

The group also took a hike along Cave Creek Canyon midweek to observe some of the other landscapes in the area and paint some in the canyon as well as creating a balancing stone sculpture of the Mule Ears. Of course the telescope came out for some night sky viewing as well.  The students accomplished a great deal and everyone had a great time at the Painted Pony Resort.

Addendum:  Other artwork created during the workshop may be viewed on Gini Lawson's Facebook page.

A watercolor of the landscape

Dinner preparations

Cycling around Portal Rodeo and the Chiricahua Mountains

One of the best ways to see the local sights is slow and in the out in the open and cycling is one way to achieve this goal.  Ranging from 30 to 200 km in length there is a ride for every skill level in the area ranging from open high desert rides to treks through the Chirichaua Mountains.   Below is a compilation of bike route maps available to those interested in some cycling.

Portal Cave Creek Paradise loop

Portal Community Rodeo loop

Portal to Fort Bowie loop

Portal Chiricahua Mountains loop

Portal to Paradise loop

Portal through Lava Douglas loop

Coronado National Forest Mountain biking trails
Red Rock Canyon Trail #223

Nature Deficit Disorder, the Cure is Here.

Coined by Richard Louv in the 2005 book "Last Child in the Woods", nature deficit disorder is a description of a trend occurring in young people as well as adults.  Simply put, as people become more urbanized a disconnect begins to develop between individuals and nature.  Children no longer spend as much time outside exploring nature but rather spend more and more time indoors.  Playing video games, watching TV, or on the computer.  According to Louv, the result of this disconnect is a variety of behavioral problems and a limited respect for their natural surroundings.

Based on these observations the question arises, what can a parent do to counter act this trend?  How can parents expose their children to nature when so many other demands on time exist? 

While cleaning after a recent 4 generation family reunion held at the Painted Pony Resort the item shown below turned up.  It was found in one of the courtyard planters.   A clear plastic box with a removable top and air vents along with a magnifying viewing port.  All hanging from a string just the right length to hang around a little ones neck.  It’s an insect collecting box.  An interesting find and its presence is very telling.  The insect collecting box is not something that would attract the eye of a child under the age of 10 in a store.  It is not particularly flashy, no electronics or flashing lights, just a simple plastic box for collecting and viewing insects.  This suggests that the purchase was not made by a little one but rather a little one’s older relative and this relative wanted to expose a child to nature, specifically entomology.  Clear evidence of a parent's awareness of nature deficit disorder and their attempt to combat it while enjoying the surroundings at the Painted Pony Resort.

A child's insect collection box

Another Flying Tree from the Chiricahua Mountains

The recent hike on the Greenhouse trail in the high country of the Chiricahua Mountains provided another opportunity to look for more flying trees.  As previously described, the phenomena of flying trees seems to be confined to higher elevations in the Chiricahua Mountains and specific to several species of pines.  Over the winter, hiking was confined to lower elevations and the prospects for observing flying trees was minimal.  A previous trip on a workday with the Friends of Cave Creek Canyon on the Greenhouse trail resulted in an image of a flying tree so time was taken to explore the same area, at the wilderness boundary, to look for additional examples of flying trees.  After some searching, the image of another flying tree shown below was captured.  The repeatable observation of flying trees at a single location over time may suggest flying trees cluster in specific areas.  Since various species of pines cover the upper elevations of the Chiricahua mountain range it is unknown whether this is an indication of specific habitat requirements, or related to wind patterns on the lee side of the ridge, or simply a result of sampling error.  Additional observations are required to distinguish between these  alternatives.  Additional images of flying trees may be found through this link.

A flying pine tree along the Greenhouse trail

The Solar Eclipse in Rodeo New Mexico

Although Rodeo and the Chiricahua Mountains were not in direct path of totality for the eclipse on Sunday, it was still a spectacular viewing opportunity.  The passage of the moon across the sun reached it's peak at about 7:30 PM local time and as the event progressed it grew progressively darker.  Without a solar telescope or adequate filters no direct photographs were attempted.  Instead a pin hole camera approach was used to cast a shadow of the eclipse on the wall.  In reality, the holes in the window blinds served as the pin holes and since these are spaced evenly down the blinds it cast a multiple shadows of the eclipse on the opposing wall.  So instead of a single image it was possible to capture multiple linked images of the eclipse.

Multiple shadow images of Sunday's eclipse

East Turkey Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains

There are 2 Turkey Creeks in the Chiricahua Mountains, one on the west side and one on the east.  Upper eastern Turkey Creek canyon was the goal of the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club this week.  Turkey Creek flows from Long Park at the top of the range down and east swinging north through the lower elevations and the town of Paradise then out into the San Simon Valley.  A popular spot along Turkey Creek is just south of Paradise where there are several pools constructed by campers and a waterfall.  But the remote upper section of Turkey Creek more beautiful and heavily forested.  The Canyon itself has no trail and requires hiking on some steep slopes above the many plunge pools along the route, but the scrambling is worthwhile.  Just a little over a mile and 1000' up is a nice 70' waterfall that cascades down a cliff face and then flows over another small 10' drop.  For those more adventurous a climb up and around the waterfall leads to a second smaller falls above the first and eventually to Long Park.  Although the area was only lightly burned in last years fire a large amount of water has flowed down the canyon since last year and a new side canyon was noted by one hiker who had not been in the area since the fire.  The route up Turkey Creek may be found here.

One of many plunge Pools along Turkey Creek

70 ft waterfall