Archive for the ‘Sabino Creek’ Tag
Yesterday (08/05/20), I drove up the Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon. The highway was opened to the general public last Saturday morning for the first time since the Bighorn Fire began in early June. The mountain town of Summerheaven, successfully protected from the fire, is now open for business, although still having to follow HOVID-19 business regulations in Arizona.
Oracle Ridge and Mt. Lemmon Fire Station
Before entering Summerheaven, there are two ridges going north; Red Ridge and Oracle Ridge. Both ridges were severely burned during the 2003 Aspen Fire that destroyed almost all the homes in Summerheaven. Over the years since the Aspen Fire, the forest canopy has still not returned on these ridges. However, a lot of ground cover containing some bushes and small trees had returned. On June 17th, the two ridges were again burned. On June 19th, I posted two time-delay videos of the fire coming through the area pictured in the above photo. The fire station and most of the pines behind it were spared — not true of the storage building and new growth since the 2003 fire. It has now been 50 days since the fire occurred. Note how green the scared area has become with the return of ferns on the mountain slopes.
Except for the highway and Summerheaven, the public is not allowed to go anywhere in the National Forest. From what I was able to observe from the highway, most of the hiking trails with trailheads near the highway are ok, at least partially. Parts of Lower Butterfly Trail and Green Mountain Trail don’t look good from a distance.
My guess is that the trails in the forest around Summerheaven were burned like the two ridges north of Summerheaven. From a review of burn scar maps, the Marshall Gulch area to the north and west, which would include Carter Canyon, has been badly burned. For those of you who hike this area, It’s possible a lot of the Marshall and Mint Springs trails were destroyed. We may not know until November.
Since Sabino Creek originates along the Marshall Gulch Trail, the monsoon rains can result in a lot of potential flash flooding coming down through Sabino Canyon. So far, the rain amounts are very below average, but we are still in the monsoon season.
— kenne
Slideshow
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Images Taken From Catalina Highway by kenne
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Sabino Creek Has Two Ducks — Image by kenne
Sabino creek has two ducks.
Winter rains and spring
Snowmelt on the mountains
Increasing the streamflow
Of a frequently dry creek
Attracting additional waterfowl.
— kenne
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Sabino Creek Below The Dam In Sabino Canyon — Image and video by kenne
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Sabino Creek Art — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Sabino Creek
Spring brings the sound of
Water running in the creek
Deer walk to the edge.
— kenne
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“Moments Alone” (Sabino Creek) — Image by kenne
Moments alone
looking for answers
in deep caverns
of my soul,
only to see them
blurred by others
as water
in the stream
of life
rushes by.
— kenne
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Students Panning For Garnets In Sabino Creek — Infrared Image by kenne
One of the programs taught by Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists to elementary
school children is geology called “Strike It Rich.” They learn how the Santa Catalina
Mountains were formed and the minerals contained in the “gneiss” rock.
The primary activity is panning for garnets (sand rubies) in Sabino Creek.
The students uncovered the link between the towering granite cliffs
above the Tucson Basin and all that lies below.
— kenne
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One of the subjects we teach is geology, how the Santa Catalina Mountains were
formed, and the importance of water in the formation of Sabino Canyon. Twelve
million years ago, the Santa Catalina Mountains were just a range of hills, but the
earth’s crust in western North America was being stretched. What resulted were
huge blocks with steep vaults forming an up-and-down landscape called the
Basin and Range Province.
Naturalist, Kenne Turner with 3rd Grade Students (Sabino Canyon Dam Area)
— Images by Teacher
Sabino Canyon is composed of a hard metamorphic rock called “Catalina gneiss.”
Gneiss contains rock and five minerals; quartz, mica, feldspar, magnetite, and garnets.
Over time water and earthquakes have eroded the gneiss rock carrying smaller rocks
and minerals down streams like Sabino Creek. The minerals are deposited along the
creek edges, which created a natural laboratory to learn about the minerals by panning
for garnets. Need I say, kids love panning for garnets.
Students panning for garnets in Sabino Creek.
“For many Tucsonans, the canyon is an old friend. We are on a first-name basis.
On a sunny weekend morning, we say, simply, “Let’s go to Sabino.
— from Sabino Canyon: The Life of a Southwestern Oasis by David Wentworth Lazaroff
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View of Sabino Canyon Dam Area — Image by kenne
The view from the top
A creek carrying snowmelt
Spring flowers emerge.
— kenne
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Sabino Dam, January 2020 — Image by kenne
A crown of gold
over water flowing
from recent snow
melting on Mt. Lemmon.
Down by the creek banks
water a fading red residue
from the leaves of fall now
under the mountain snow.
Now and then
pieces of the crown
slowly begin to fall
leaving a nakedness.
Alone a trail above the dam
visitors walk near the water
drawn by nature’s presence
exchanging moment mysteries.
— kenne
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Sabino Creek is flowing in the new year due to some winter rains
and new snow melting in the mountains. — Images by kenne
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Fall Colors Along Sabino Creek in Winter (January 2020) — Image by kenne
Water in the creek
Frost at night in the canyon
Color cottonwoods.
— kenne
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“Fall Drifting Away” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Fall drifting away
On the creek above the dam
Filtered through the sun.
— kenne
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A Dry Sabino Creek In Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (October 17, 2019) — Image by kenne
Once upon a time
Water flowed over
Large and small
Boulders now left
Bathing in the sun
Thirsting for a kiss
From mountain water
Now gone underground.
— kenne
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“Boy Painting In The Woods” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“I’ve often lost myself,
in order to find the burn
that keeps everything awake”
― Federico García-Lorca
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Panning for Garnets in Sabino Creek — Image by kenne
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder . . .
he [or she] needs the companionship of at least one adult
who can share it, rediscovering the joy, excitement, and
mystery of the world we live in.”
— Rachel Carson
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