Wednesday Walk Elephant Tree Edition
That's kind of a cowardly title because spoiler alert there is only one picture of an Elephant Tree in the lot. But it's the reason for the trip which turned into a lot more driving than walking (we still got our exercise) because of washed out trails. We never did get where we started out for.
This is in response to a Challenge by @tattoodjay to take photographs of things on a walk. Things you don't normally see. I really like the challenge and the challenger so here I am again.
Of course Sam went on the walk. It truly wouldn't be a walk without Sam. This is Sacred Datura that he is walking in. Sacred to many native communities, but particularly the Navajo in this context.
We were looking for Elephant Trees. In fact, we were heading for a specific area to check the welfare of the Elephant trees after the huge rainstorm associated with Hurricane Rosa last week. We started running into washed out trails almost right away. This is the first time we got out of the rig to try to navigate through a wash out. We found huge patches of Datura, which others might call Jimsonweed. Quantities that are normally not seen in this part of the world.
We couldn't clear this wash, so went to turn around and Erv stopped suddenly and jumped out. He said he'd never seen a desert willow this close to Yuma. It is normally found to the east and north. But there was this one, and it had obviously been there for years. Forcing Erv out of his normal path had led to our second discovery of the day.
We decided to try another trail to another area. This is the good part of the trail, we couldn't get through here, either and Erv ended up backing out. About a half mile. But you can clearly see what we were headed for in tis picture.
This is Ocotillo. Normally it is just sticks of concertina wire, but give it a little moisture and it turns green like this within a week. That is taken from the same place as the last shot, just turned around. My house would be off the screen in the right center.
We finally gave up on the real back country stuff, and went to a very popular hiking trail parking lot. We didn't use the trail, but Erv has a monitoring station nearby. It's not easy walking.
This wash is primarily Palo Verde and Ironwood populated. There is, of course, some creosote and other things, including Elephant Trees.
Where we soon found this object of our attention. This is a young Elephant Tree that is part of Erv's monotoring project. He says it's a male tree, I didn't ask.
And this concludes the walk. I will do further posts on the Elephant Trees themselves and the rugged conditions they live in, but this was all about the walk. The #Wednesdaywalk. Thanks for coming along.
All words and photos in this post are mine. For better or worse.
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Sounds like the rain really reeked havoc on those trails. Nice shots and was that a deer up the trail where you had to back out?
The rain battered those trails pretty badly in places. Next time out we'll carry a couple of shovels. Erv's PU is pretty new, and he doesn't force the issue much, either.
That's Sam in that picture in typical Sam pose. Nose down. He is a hound through and through and can run with his nose 2 inches off the ground.
What a cool walk, I love the shot of Sam with all his footprints all around him
I dont think I have ever heard of or seen an Elephant tree so that was cool to see
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk tip!
Hey! I remember you talking about doing this post, and you did! Great walk. You cracked me up with this line:
There will be more. My friend Erv is just obsessed with the things. He's starting to learn some things that are unknown in the taxonomy and the growing of them. It's semi retired botanist heaven. I just like walking along and seeing stuff. I'm thinking the 'Yuma Elephant Tree Project' (it really is a thing) will have some sort of a Steemit prescience. Thanks for stopping by!
yay! such a cool post. I have two favourites photos - the first where you can see Sam's cute little pawprints on the sacred Datura (why is it sacred? I see it is poisonous and also psychedelic), and I also love the photo with the sun on the hills in the background.
Navajo words. They use it for medicine and ceremonies. They have generations using it and they call it 'Sacred Datura'.
There was a huge flood right where Sam is in the photo, and his are the first tracks you could see. We also saw deer and javilina tracks. I've never seen a javilina this close to Yuma, but obviously there are some around.
Cool thanks for sharing @bigtom13
Datura a sacrament to some tribes like the Mohave I hear. Or it used to be, maybe check with @eaglespirit.
/FF
I know it is for the Navajo, and others in this part of the world honor it also. That is much the largest patch I have seen here in Yuma. It no doubt helped that the floods washed away a bunch of debris in this area.
Thanks for stopping by. We will get to more flora of the area I promise!
@bigtom13
I don't know about Navajos, but last time I was kickin' It on the "rez" with my Mohave buddies, beer was the drug of choice, some dude handed me some pipe but I said no, it was containing "ice"and that guy was not Mohave but "Mexican" (and I didn't smoke any thank god)...
There where/are European witches/Warlocks that use these plants still...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_ointment
/FF
Do you take photos with your phone or a camera? Really nice photos! Also looking at the landscape in your area, I can't help myself from asking how many snakes have you seen there?
These were all taken with my Nikon D3300. You sometimes get a mix between that and my phone.
There are some there. It's so rocky that it's hard to sneak up on them so they tend to leave. When the temp is under 50F you will see them lying on trails sunning themselves. Not as many as you might imagine.
Fantastic walk! Looks like you got some fantastic photos of it, and I think you walking companion is a sweetie. :)
Thank you. You are correct! My walking partner is just way better than average, it's always a joy to have him along.
Looks like you and Sam had a really nice and pleasant walk. You took some nice pictures even with the misleading title lol, at least one tree is all you needed. Oh and, that trail looks amazing 💚
There will be more photos of Elephant Trees, probably to the point that you get tired of seeing them. I'm sure that Erv's Yuma Elephant Tree Project will have a place on Steemit. They tend to be found in very interesting hard rock draws.
Thanks for stopping by!
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