Archive for the ‘Photo Essay’ Tag

Hiking Turkey Run On Mt. Lemmon   3 comments

Turkey Run Gallery by kenne

I was originally scheduled to lead the SCVN Turkey Run Trail hike tomorrow. However, because of some nagging leg problems,
I had to bow out. Instead, I did hike Turkey Run with two friends (Tom and John) last Friday. Usually, by this time of year,
there are plenty of wildflowers, but not this year. The gallery contains cow parsnip, New Mexico Locust, and silverpuff.

— kenne

Aspen Loop One Year Out After The Big Horn Fire   7 comments

SCVN Friday hikes on Mt. Lemmon have

Begun with more excitement than usual,

Last year’s hikes being a casualty of the

Big Horn Fire and the pandemic.

Marshall Gulch #3

Marshall Gulch Parking Area

Leaving behind morning temperatures

In the mid-eights, we gathered at Marshall Gulch

To hike the Aspen Loop, combining the Aspen

And Marshall Gulch trails for a 4.3-mile hike.

 

Marshall Gulch survived the fire, as did

Most of the trail. But the Aspen Trail

Wasn’t so lucky with parts that burned

From the 1993 Aspen Fire burning again.

Aspen Trail (June 15, 2015)

Over the years, I watch aspens and pines

And many other native plants return

Among the charred remains of the Aspen Fire

Only now to experience that same fate.

Last year’s fires were followed by the driest year

On record, delaying the reclamation process

And trail clearing to provide for safe hiking

On the grayest powder covering the trails.

The mountain ferns were among the plants

To return only weeks after containing the fire,

Providing hope to those grieving over the lose

Of so much beauty found on these mountain trails.

Now so exposed, the trail seems longer

Each step requiring a watchful eye

For this out of shape hiker, navigating

The loose gravel and ankle turning rocks.

Just beyond the ridge, a line of trees

Was missed by the very erratic wildfire

As if it turned on a dime, redirecting

The firefighting crew from Montana.

Soon the trail turns away from the freshly

Scared land rambling among tall ponderosas

Shadows formed by the whole clear

Cloudless sky moving across the trail.

Images by kenne

I’ve hiked the trails on Mt. Lemmon

Now ten summers, where troubles cease,

untangled silent knowledge contemplating

A void in a world that exceeds stillness.

— kenne

Old Ghost Town South of Santa Fe   Leave a comment

Madrid New Mexico — Images by kenne

Although Madrid still likes to consider itself a ghost town, it represents a unique example of resurrection.
In the 1920s and 30s, Madrid was as famous for its Christmas lights as for its coal, and airlines used to reroute
traffic during the holidays to show passengers the sight. Coal became important in the 1880s, but when the demand
for coal diminished after World War II, long forlorn rows of identical company houses stood empty.
By the 1970s, the sound of hammers could be heard throughout the town from renovations to these houses.

Today Madrid is a creative community with more than 40 shops and galleries, several restaurants, a spa and museum.
— Source: https://www.newmexico.org/places-to-visit/ghost-towns/madrid/

Santa Fe Plaza Street Scene — Photo Essay   Leave a comment

Santa Fe Plaza Street Scene — Photo Essay by kenne

Desert Willow Blossoms   1 comment

Desert Willow Blossoms Along the Tanque Verde Wash Trail — Images by kenne

Walks come earlier

As desert days get hotter

Out of bed by five.

— kenne

Early Blooming Wildflowers on Mt. Lemmon   Leave a comment

Early Blooming Wildflowers on Mt. Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains (May 17, 2021) — Images by kenne
Click on any image to see the flowers with descriptions in a slideshow formate.

Tanque Verde Wash Trail- Photo Essay   1 comment

Tanque Verde Wash Tail — Photo Essay by kenne
(Click On Any Image To See In A Slideshow Format

I have been walking the trails along the Tanque Verde Wash for over ten years,
taking many photos of the art and still have no idea who is the artist(s) —
for me, it’s a mystery.

— kenne

Raven At Cienega Creek — Photo Essay   3 comments

Raven At Cienega Creek — Photo Essay by kenne

Tanque Verde Wash Art — Photo-Essay   4 comments

Tanque Verde Wash Art — Images by kenne

Loma Alta and Coyote Wash Trails   Leave a comment

Straggling Saguaro — Photo-Artistry by kenne

The spring weather in the Sonoran Desert is alluring, with beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.
However, many drought-resistant plants are dying, very few if any wildflowers are blooming due to a troubling
draught in the Sonoran Desert. What makes the Sonoran Desert so diverse and beautiful are two rainy seasons,
summer monsoon storms and steady winter rains. The two seasons still exist, but half the normal amount of rain.

— kenne

Loma Alta and Coyote Wash Trails (March 19, 2021) — Photo Essay by kenne

 

 

Ventana Canyon   1 comment

Ventana Canyon — Images by kenne (Click On Any Image for Slideshow View)

Gustu Restaurant Tasting Experience — La Paz, Bolivia   Leave a comment

Gustu Restaurant Tasting Experience — La Paz, Bolivia  — Images by kenne (Click On Any Image To See In A Slideshow Format)

In August of 2019, we spent some time in La Paz, Bolivia, before flying over the Andes to the Madidi National Forest in the Amazon. While in La Paz, we went to the Gustu Resterarent. Opened by Dane and co-founder of four-time World’s Best Restaurant, Claus Meyer, in 2013 with grand ambitions to boost investment and training in Bolivia while also propelling the country on to the world’s gastronomic map. We choose one of the tasting menus. The food was artistically presented, each providing a memorable tasting experience.

— kenne

 
 

Following The Old Stagecoach Route Though Doubtful Canyon   10 comments

Doubtful Canyon Ranch — Image by kenne

Today ranches exist along the narrow privative road through Doubtful Canyon.
In the 1860’s the Butterfield Overland Stage route went through the canyon.

Apache Raiders made passage through the canyon very ‘DOUBTFUL!’
In April 1861 the Giddings’ Party was ambush near Steins Peak stagecoach station.
Cochise and his Apaches killed nine men, but reserved the worst torture for those captured alive.  

Doubtful Canyon Ranch

In 2012, Tom, Steve, and I decided to follow the old stagecoach route through Doubtful Canyon, which we began in the small ranch town of San Simon. Once making it through the canyon, we planned to stay overnight in Lordsburg, New Mexico.
The old road, now used primarily by area ranchers, is very premature. There were some places. 
The road was so narrow that you could not pass through without the bushes scraping the sides of the truck.
Still, other places were wide-open rangeland having only an occasional gate we would have to stop and open.

Our goal was to find the Giddings Grave Marker, which was marked on our maps. We also knew the location was on the lowest northwest slope of Steins Peak. Even though we scattered out, crisscrossing the area, we were not able to find the marker. Here’s a picture of the area where the grave sits, which I found on the Internet.

John Giddings Marker

Doubtful Canyon Panorama

A Christmas Family Album   12 comments

(Click on any image to see in a slideshow format.)

Christmas Over The Last Couple of Decades — Images by kenne 

Pelican Suite   Leave a comment

Pelican Landing in Waters Near Puerto Penasco — Image by kenne

Slideshow of Pelican Taking Off in Waters Near Puerto Penasco — Images by kenne