March 7, 2020
When I signed up to help with the bus tours, two of them looked really interesting. One was the tour of Blanca Wetlands - see last post - and the other was a tour to Elephant Rocks with a promise of a little history as well as a demo of flint knapping. So this was another official working trip but filled with personal enjoyment.
Our leader was Shawn Noonan, from the BLM. He recruited two helpers from the bureau, but I never wrote down their names so I'll have to try and document them later. I think our guide on the hike was Clayton. I didn't get to the knapping demonstration until after the knapper was introduced.
We got a little of the history of the site. It all began with the mother of all volcanic eruptions, that is the largest EVER, spewing about 3,107 cubic miles of magma in a magnitude 9 or better eruption, about 27 million years ago. This produced the Fish Canyon tuff, which has been weathering ever since. The weathered rocks look like herds of elephants, hence its name. The monolithic boulders stretch for five miles.
About 15,000 years ago, this site was used by monstrous grazers, including the columbian mammoth, which stood up to fourteen feet tall and whose tusks were up to 16 feet long. Joining them were the huge Extinct Bison grazing in herds across the landscape. Word is that there are rocks polished by those huge mammoths, ten or more feet above ground. Today the grazers are mostly mule deer and elk.
This was another great tour. It is also a pretty good birding area in the spring and summer and holds some species not found in the lower parts of the valley.
On a personal note, I'm finally taking time to write this - after thinking it was in the queue, on March 25, 2020. It now seems like a dream or something that happened years ago. Since then, we have really been impacted by the virus. I was just getting instructions to work alone from Fish and Wildlife, when my friend, Cindy, posted that she had just lost her scheduled caregiver that she had lined up for her recuperating period of hip surgery. I talked to my boss and got permission to go stay in California for at least three weeks. I quickly packed up, finished my current assignments, then drove most of a night and a day to reach her. She had gotten her surgery while I was in route, and then got out of the hospital the following afternoon. I rushed to stock up on groceries before going to pick her up.
Today I learned that I can't come back to the refuge until all this is over, so I'll be stuck in California for the foreseeable future. And yes, Cindy is making remarkable progress, says she is hurting less and moving better than before the surgery, and is working half time from home.
When I signed up to help with the bus tours, two of them looked really interesting. One was the tour of Blanca Wetlands - see last post - and the other was a tour to Elephant Rocks with a promise of a little history as well as a demo of flint knapping. So this was another official working trip but filled with personal enjoyment.
Our leader was Shawn Noonan, from the BLM. He recruited two helpers from the bureau, but I never wrote down their names so I'll have to try and document them later. I think our guide on the hike was Clayton. I didn't get to the knapping demonstration until after the knapper was introduced.
We got a little of the history of the site. It all began with the mother of all volcanic eruptions, that is the largest EVER, spewing about 3,107 cubic miles of magma in a magnitude 9 or better eruption, about 27 million years ago. This produced the Fish Canyon tuff, which has been weathering ever since. The weathered rocks look like herds of elephants, hence its name. The monolithic boulders stretch for five miles.
About 15,000 years ago, this site was used by monstrous grazers, including the columbian mammoth, which stood up to fourteen feet tall and whose tusks were up to 16 feet long. Joining them were the huge Extinct Bison grazing in herds across the landscape. Word is that there are rocks polished by those huge mammoths, ten or more feet above ground. Today the grazers are mostly mule deer and elk.
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| Our leader, Shawn helping a visitor get the layout of the area |
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| Shawn talking to us about the area |
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| The talk from the knapper, about the kinds of rocks used for tools, with examples on the table |
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| Knapper, starting to demonstrate how to make a point |
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| Safety is important He caught most of his shards in the bin |
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| He also made is knapping tools |
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| Closeup of a chip that will become a point |
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| We divided into two groups to go on the guided hikes |
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| I was a little late to catch the best light on the beautiful sceenery |
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| I think our leader is named Clayton. He made us understand the area much better |
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| Hiking with interpretative stops was great. |
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| The only child on the tour was this nine year old who reminded me of a puppy gambling back and forth across our trail |
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| Took this picture when almost back from the hike |
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| Shawn looking at the interpretative display on the large ungulates that once roamed here |
This was another great tour. It is also a pretty good birding area in the spring and summer and holds some species not found in the lower parts of the valley.
On a personal note, I'm finally taking time to write this - after thinking it was in the queue, on March 25, 2020. It now seems like a dream or something that happened years ago. Since then, we have really been impacted by the virus. I was just getting instructions to work alone from Fish and Wildlife, when my friend, Cindy, posted that she had just lost her scheduled caregiver that she had lined up for her recuperating period of hip surgery. I talked to my boss and got permission to go stay in California for at least three weeks. I quickly packed up, finished my current assignments, then drove most of a night and a day to reach her. She had gotten her surgery while I was in route, and then got out of the hospital the following afternoon. I rushed to stock up on groceries before going to pick her up.
Today I learned that I can't come back to the refuge until all this is over, so I'll be stuck in California for the foreseeable future. And yes, Cindy is making remarkable progress, says she is hurting less and moving better than before the surgery, and is working half time from home.
