A Photo Hike in Panum Crater

 Photo-exploring a dormant volcano

Since witnessing the fiery red lava fountains on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano from the air, I have always had a fascination for volcanoes.  It was just by chance that I decided to relocate to an area in Northern Nevada that is an hour's drive to the Mono Craters which are the youngest volcanic chain in North America.  

 Located in Mono County the Mono Craters are a volcanic chain of craters, domes and lava flows that stretch 25 miles in Eastern California from the northwest shore of Mono Lake to Mammoth Mountain.  

My goal with weather permitting is to explore as many of the Mono Craters as possible.  In early April between spring storms, I began my photo-exploration to the Panum Crater which is the most accessible of all craters.

Panum Crater is a 650 year old dormant rhyolitic volcano that formed over two stages.  The first eruption blew out cinders, ash and pumice, forming the outer rim.  

In the second stage, lava continued to rise and eventually formed a hardened dome or Plug Dome.  The hot molten lava squeezed up through cracks in the dome forming obsidian spires.  The spires toppled under their own weight, leaving colorful bands of pumice and obsidian. 

A hiking trail, the Rim Trail runs along the outer rim of Panum Crater. 

 Following the walking path is taking a step back in time, which lies over fine gravel that is composed of small bits of pumice, ash, obsidian fragments and granitic pebbles that were ejected during the eruption. Due to the sharp, glass like edges on the obsidian, it is best to wear sturdy, enclosed shoes. 

  

 Along the Rim Trail colorful rocks with green hues are stacked like a crumbling fortress that overlook a scenic view back toward pumice slopes.

An additional trail, the Plug Trail leads up to the center of Panum Crater and the lava dome. 

 Climbing higher, just past the Crater's slope a nice view of Mono Lake comes in to sight.  

Continuing up to the summit of the dome the trail becomes narrow, requiring careful footing.  

Jagged rocks colored with streaks of pumice and black obsidian reach toward the sky and must be what remains of the collapsed spires. 

Dark obsidian shines in the light and stands out against the grey pumice.  

Obsidian was used by the Native American Paiute Tribe for making arrowheads. 

Swirls of obsidian and pumice lie forged together giving the appearance of cooling magma. 

An abstract palette of nature's creative design. 

As the day wears long, a breeze reminds me that it is time to carefully plot my steps back down this sharp, rocky trail.  What an adventure this has been!  To stand inside a dormant volcano and experience the creativity of nature.  Descending the Plug Trail, the  view of the Eastern Sierra come into sight.  I can hardly wait to come back and explore one of the other Mono Craters.  Follow my Blog and check back often to see where my photo-adventures have been.

 

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Rhyolite, Nevada, A Glimpse Back in Time

 Foundations from a by-gone era

What brings about the feel of the old west more than standing alone among the ruins of a once prosperous mining town surrounded by colorful mountains that have seen their share of gold?  As a gentle breeze moves across my face, I can close my eyes and almost hear the sounds of 10,000 residents coming and going from the numerous salons, restaurants and large school house. 

 Rhyolite is one of my favorite ghost towns to wander through and explore because most of the structures are well preserved and still standing tall against the colorful mountains. Also, Rhyolite just happens to be located slightly off the road on the way to the eastern entrance of Death Valley National Park.  

In 1904, two prospectors Shorty Harris and E. L. Cross happened upon a hill with so much quartz that it was "just full of free gold".  This area was only five miles from the Beatty Ranch which evolved into the small desert town of Beatty and is one of the last outposts for supplies before entering Death Valley from the east.  One of the first mining camps was called Bullfrog and soon the rush was on! A town site was laid out nearby named Rhyolite due to all the silica-rich volcanic rock in the area. 

Rhyolite was one of those boom towns that grew almost over night with saloons, restaurants, boardinghouses and by 1906 Countess Morajeski opened the Alaska Glacier Ice Cream Parlor!  

  

The John S. Cook & Co. Bank building was 3 stories tall.

The Bank cost $90,000 to build and had a safe that could hold one million dollars in coin. 

Rhyolite two story school house and large auditorium with enough space for 250 children.

The HD & LD Porter Store that sold everything a mining town could need, their slogan was
"We handle all things but whiskey".

In the distance is the Las Vegas and Tonopah Train Depot.

Rhyolite Jail House and the stories it might hold! 

 The town had a pretty prosperous "red light district", drawing the ladies from larger cities like San Francisco.  

Times were good for Rhyolite until the financial panic of 1907, banks began to fail and the mines started shutting down. 

 Thus began the demise of Rhyolite, businesses slowly closed their doors and the population dwindled down from the 10,000 to just 611 residents. 

Today, Rhyolite stands as historical testament of a by-gone era that was once a prosperous mining town in rural Nevada.  

What a privilege it is to wander around and admire the remains of buildings that refuse to succumb to the harsh desert conditions.
        

http://www.bonnierannald.com

For additional information:

http://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/rhyolite-ghost-town.htm

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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2016 Death Valley Wildflowers in Higher Elevations

 

Part 3, Highlighting the Super Bloom North of Furnace Creek

Death Valley harbors one of the most extreme environments on planet Earth, however when the conditions are just right, nature thrives.  Thus was the case this February in 2016 when El Niño brought enough rain and at the best time for numerous wildflower seeds that have been lying dormant for years to germinate and produce a Super Bloom.  I was fortunate to travel to Death Valley during this rare event for a photo shoot of the wildflowers.  On Part 1 of my Blog Post, I highlighted the various locations where the flowers were blooming from the Badwater Road to the Beatty Cut-off Road.  In Part 2, I focused on the individual flowers that were in bloom in the southern part of Death Valley National Park.  

 In Part 3 of my Death Valley Wildflower Super Bloom blog post, I will focus on a number of flowers that I found in the higher elevations.  

Death Valley has elevations reaching from the lowest extremes at Badwater Basin, 279 feet (85 m) below sea level, to  Mount Whitney which rises to 14,505 feet (4,421 m) in altitude.  During my photo-explorations for the wildflowers at the higher elevations, I only reached heights between 1,000 feet (304.8) and 4,950 feet (1,510 m) above sea level.

After departing the Furnace Creek area and the fields of Desert Gold that Death Valley is famous for, I traveled up Highway 190 to where the bright colors of Golden Evening Primrose began to accent the roadside. 

  Golden Evening Primrose (Camissonia brevipes) is also known as the Easter egg flower with its bright yellow cups.  Blooming in early spring, its delicate fragrance adds a gentle touch to the harsh environment. 

 

Like with an artist's palette of color, lavender and purples of Caltha-Leaved Phacelia (Phacelia calthiflora) grow along with the Golden Evening Primrose.

  A member of the Boraginaceae family these bell shaped flowers grow in the mid-range altitudes but below 3281 feet (1,000 m). 

 The beauty of the Caltha-Leaved Phacelia must be enjoyed from a distance, because as with the Notchleaf Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata) contact with the hairs may result in a skin rash similar to poison ivy.  

Trekking back through a wash reveals delicate, tiny white flowers of Cryptantha. 

 This plant is related to the "Forget-Me-Not" in the Boraginaceae family and also known as the Popcorn flower due to the flowers growing in clusters like the popcorn snack. 

Sheltered by rocky depressions in the wash are a number of Desert Five-Spot flowers in various stages of opening. 

 Growing below 4,000 feet (1219.2 m), the flower petals are only open in the afternoon and close at night. 

 A member of the Mallow family, Malvaceae, this flower is also known as the Lantern Flower, for how it resembles a glowing lantern when light passes through its delicate petals.  

Growing conditions for the 2016 wildflower season were just perfect for the Lesser Mohavea (Mohavea breviflora) to thrive.

 Usually considered a "belly flower" since it grows so close to the ground, many of these plants were growing like small bushes.  The Lesser Mohavea is also known as the golden desert snap-dragon. 

  

Much to my delight among all the 20 different species of wildflowers that were in bloom, some Creosote Bushes were just starting to flower.  Five petal yellow flowers and small fuzzy seeds make this bush stand out against the Mojave Desert landscape. Also known as Greasewood, this plant may live from 30 to 90 years of age.

My timing was just about perfect for the 2016 Super Bloom and catching as many different flower plants as I did.  I have since learned that rising temperatures and a vicious wind storm have taken their toll on many of the wildflowers that I was able to photograph.  Most of the remaining wildflowers are found in the higher elevations or in sheltered canyons.  What a thrill to be out in a huge natural garden enjoying the fragrance and colors in one of the most inhospitable places on the globe. Follow my Blog and check back often to see where my next photo-adventure will take me.   

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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