A prominent bush round these parts, getting on the end of bloom season. Mixes in well with sage. Marking a transition from fall to winter, the flowers will give way to fluffy seed pods during the winter. Wide-spread from the western Great Plains to the Sierra/Cascades, from British Columbia to Mexico, from sea level to 9,000 ft in the Rockies, the plant is a source of natural rubber - although not in economically-feasible quantities.
It has been used as a source of dyes and medicine; sometimes smoked, sometimes a food source.
As "western" a plant as sagebrush or mesquite, it is a source of food for birds, antelope, rabbits, and other small mammals throughout the winter.
Best shot I have from the observation point second runaway ramp visible several million cu yds of rock moved in the building of I-70
photo by illinoisbeekeeper looking east towards Green River
From a highway marker at 38° 56.025′ N, 110° 28.347′ W
They call it the San Rafael Reef, a 30-mile-long stone barrier, a sawtooth ridge at the eastern edge of nowhere. For centuries, only the most intrepid travelers found their way through its narrow slot canyons and on to the Green River crossing. The early Spanish explorers detoured 20 miles north to avoid the forbidding wall. In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad also avoided breaching the Reef, laying track just east of its sheer walls, north to Salt Lake City. In 1957 the decision was made to increase the nation’s interstate highway system and I-70 was engineered to bisect the San Rafael Swell. Here, at Spotted Wolf Canyon, workers could stand and touch both walls of the canyon before construction began in October 1967. Engineers and surveyors used body harnesses and ropes to work as high as 400 feet above the canyon floor. Crews excavated 3.5 million cubic yards of rock from the area at a cost of $4.5 million for eight miles of road. On November 5, 1970, the Utah Department of Transportation opened the 70-mile section from Fremont Junction to Green River for two-lane traffic. Two more lanes were added in the mid-1980s.
The two lanes were added later but until they built the other two lanes, a large road cut, visible for miles, sat with no road through it.
DT: A long time ago when I travelled quite a bit between the eastern Sierra and the West Slope, I-70 was still essentially a 2-lane highway with no services between Green River and Salina where 70 ended at a pile of dirt at the Salina exit (as US50 west from there), a bit over 100 miles. My travel eccentricities caused me to "camp" off the road a bit and - as a "normal" 2-lane road, I could find a place to pull off and head out into the dirt a half-mile or so and crash for the night.
Can't do that anymore - I-70 became civilized with fences, limited access, rest areas, and paved parking. But that 100-miles of road is still one of my favorite stretches of Interstate in the country; far different than the eastern end (in Baltimore).
I-70 now is complete and heads south from Salina, essentially nullifying US89 between Salina and Sevier, to end at I-15 at Cave Fort. US50 still splits off from I-70 at Salina heading west across Nevada to its end at I-80 in Sacramento.
A few weeks ago, I posted a song "Wrath" credited to Rager with a note to myself "aka ghostsniper". Was that you? If so, where did I get a copy of that tune? I thought it good enough to add to my collection but I didn't make a note as to where or when.
A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: Two Steps From Hell - "Blackheart" 2012
Two Steps From Hell is a manufactured group, formed in 2006 by a pair of Norwegian composers who had moved to LA for the purpose of providing music for film trailers. Their compositions have been described as "epic music" and have appeared in trailers for movies such as Star Trek and Harry Potter. Fans of the music requested the compositions be released for purchase so the composers began releasing albums. This composition is from their 4th album, "Skyworld", which is the first to contain music created for public release instead of film soundtracks.
The pair separated in 2024, ending "Two Steps From Hell".
"Hair-Raising Case: White Baltimore Arts Executive Fired For Wearing Cornrows" It was not deemed a fun hairstyle choice adopted on a vacation but rather a despicable case of cultural appropriation that warranted her termination.
despicable! I'm willing to bet the blonde in the lower right is OK with them.
they be mostly white folk ...
Then again, theatre people are a bit off-balance anyway (been there, done that: I hold a theatre "degree" - aka "party")
At a bit over 10,000 ft, the silver-based town was formed in the mid-1870s with a post office established in 1879. The town had a peak population of about 2000 with the Revenue mine and mill (employed 600 men) the primary employer. The mill existed to serve the mines further upgrade; the Virginius mine being the primary producer ($28M to 1919). "Fame" eluded the Revenue as the Camp Bird mine outproduced the Revenue and attention was drawn to it.
The mill burned in 1915, the post office closed in 1935, and the town faded away.
A few structures such as these still existed when I took this photo but many had already collapsed from snow loads. I had first visited the site in 1979 but haven't been up there for a number of years now; a quick glance at Giggle Maps appears to show the Revenue mine as active again and no signs of the town itself.
"Sneffels August 1885"
Revenue Mine and Mill - 1897
Now a popular recreation area ... the road is still dangerous but has been improved over the years; not good publicity to lose a few tourists over the edge every year.
going up
headed down That overhang used to have less clearance but was carved out a bit in the 80s to allow passage of trucks from the Ruby Trust mine - since closed again It's a fun drive in the winter ....
