Making the Best of Our Waste Water

On my way into a local nature preserve, I was tickled by the comments of a couple of elementary school aged kids directed to their grandparents.

A Double-crested Cormorant catching lunch downstream of the Las Vegas Wash bridge.

“Guess what we saw!” A boy exclaimed. Without waiting for a response, he gushed, “We saw a frog as big Jamey’s head!”

Not to be outdone, the little girl added, “We saw a big bird swallow a huge fish!”

As an educator, a nature lover and an East Las Vegas resident, moments like this make me proud to live in a community that has created such a wonderful place out of what was once a wasteland. When I walk in the wetlands I am surprised by a different treat every time I visit. Last Wednesday I had an extended encounter with a Belted Kingfisher that was flitting back and forth along the Monson Channel.

A Belted Kingfisher waits for unsuspecting fish to pass by below.

On another visit, one of the ponds northeast of the Duck Creek Trail head was partially drained making it ideal for viewing all sorts of interesting shore birds such as American Avocet, Black-necked Stilts, Sand Pipers.

I have seen Great Horned Owls, beaver, coyote, all kinds of ducks, raptors and other wildlife.

I enjoy walking quietly by myself or with my wife, observing nature quietly. Others come to the park and participate in organized classes and activities geared toward learning more about what the park and its nature have to offer.

By contrast, sixteen years ago, when I first visited the area that is now the Clark County Wetlands Park, all I saw where old discarded tires, piles of trash, abandoned cars and shanty towns amid miles and miles of tamarisk trees.

The powers that be be saw what was happening to the area, the wildlife including endangered species, and the water that was running through the area back into Lake Mead. They decided to clean up the area and restore and develop it into a series of mitigation ponds and natural habitats that would help clean up the waste water from Las Vegas as it heads back down Las Vegas Wash into the source of drinking water that is Lake Mead.

Now, if you walk through the park, you feel as though you are in a completely natural area with all of nature's creatures living out their lives in the natural way. There is evidence of  the daily struggle between prey and predator.

Unbridled human impact.

If you want to see what the Wetlands Park used to look like, all you have to do is look at the area next to the road between Sam Boyd Stadium and the Duck Creek Trail Head. This area is not part of a nature preserve and it is not maintained or cleaned up, so it is a good example what happens to nature as a result of unbridled human impact.

Sunrise looking down Las Vegas Wash as a Blue Heron looks for breakfast.

The governmental agencies that have partnered over the past two decades to create and maintain this great resource,  have done a commendable job. I look forward to seeing the park in another five or ten years after all the recently planted trees along the wiers mature.

Keep up the good work!

Birds in the Desert

12-22-2015 Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) - Visitors Center at Corn Creek.

I got a Facebook event invitation to attend a beginners bird walk at the visitor center and figured, what the heck, maybe we will see a road runner or two. I thought it will be nice to get out walk around in the desert even if we don't see much. I was sure surprised when we ended up seeing 17 different bird species, and saw a few birds that my wife and I had never seen before.

Western bluebird male watches over the other females nearby.

The Corn Creek Visitors Center is just a few miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada, just off of US95. I am told that it is one of the best places to see the most species of birds, particularly in Fall and Spring. We were assisted in identifying a list of birds by a DNWR Volunteer, Michele Reyes. She helped us find and identify the following: Ruby-crowned kinglet, Western bluebird, Sharp-shinned hawk, Verdin,  Ruddy duck, Bufflehead, Say's phoebe, Cedar waxwing, Spotted towhee, Dark-eyed junco, Song sparrow, White crowned sparrow, American robin, Common raven, Northern mockingbird, Phainopepla, and one other bird which shall remain nameless because I forgot to write it down. Incidentally, we did not see any roadrunners.

A Say's phoebe looking for bugs.

Not only is the Corn Creek Visitor Center a great place to see birds but it is a nice place to walk around in shade and it is a great place to learn about the desert habitat and the plants and animals you might get to see while you are exploring.

I highly recommend a trip out to the DNWR and any of the bird walks and other interpretive activities they have going on.

Fall Color -- It's Not Too Late

It’s not too late for some fantastic Fall color. You just have to drive a few hours north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 to St. George then head east  toward Zion National Park. Turn north on Kolob Terrace Road at Virgin, Utah. Kolob Terrace Road will lead to Kolob Reservoir. Go past Kolob Reservoir and up Kolob Road into the high country. Eventually this dirt road will take you up to the outskirts of Cedar City where it is an easy trip back down Interstate 15 to St. George. It is well worth a day trip out of Las Vegas. You better hurry though because it will probably start snowing up there pretty soon. 

Hundreds of old aspen groves ignite the rolling hills with hues of bright yellow and goldenrod.

When you miss the changing seasons living in the desert for a while it is refreshing to have such beautiful country only a few hours up the road from Las Vegas. 

This is ranch country and feels like the set of an old western movie. The travel is all on rustic dirt roads. You will see horses, cattle, deer and maybe an elk or two.

This is a perfect get away for the middle of October. The weather is expected to be nice for a few more weeks so get out there and enjoy what nature has to offer.

As usual bring plenty of water , food and warm gear in case of emergencies. There is no cell coverage for much of the way.

Sculpting With Light

Composing a photograph at times is much like sculpting with light. The photographer removes unnecessary elements to bring out the beauty trapped within the subject. This process is most evident when creating an image from a natural object that can be captured in a way that makes it look a lot like some other creature.

More Creatures from Devil's Fire

Not long ago I visited Devil’s Fire which is where I had the revelation mentioned above. 

As a photographer, as I “work a subject”, I  move around an object, removing extraneous items from my composition until I have an image that satisfies my artist eye. It is not unlike the process a sculptor uses when chipping away at a slab of marble until a work of art is revealed.

This formation reminds me of an eagle. Devil's Fire is sometimes called Little Finland

When I walked around in Devil’s Fire, I was overwhelmed with fascinating rock formations that were all calling to me at once claiming to have artistic compositions trapped within. One in particular was of interest because of its name, The Raptor. I spent an hour, at least, viewing the rock from every imaginable angle, trying to take my photograph from a position that captured the spirit of my vision. I imagined that instead of a raptor, the rock could represent a phoenix rising from a dying fire. The dying fire being the setting sun.

I am drawn to naturally occurring inanimate objects that remind me of other living things. I visited the Racetrack in Death Valley recently and saw a rock that reminded me of a frog.

A Frog -This rock traveled one hundred yards or so, propelled by natural forces, ending up in the middle of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley.

I hiked up the Bristle Cone Trail on Mt. Charleston to see the ancient bristlecone trees. I saw dragons everywhere I looked.

Bristlecone Dragon on Mt. Charleston near Las Vegas, Nevada.

People see animals in many of the rock formations at Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas, Nevada.  There are elephants, poodles, crocodiles and many more.

Poodle? Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas, Nevada.

What do you see when you look at strange shapes in the rock or ancient wood?

The Elephant at Valley of Fire State Park.

I tried to put teeth in the mouth of this crocodile by positioning my camera to get the jagged mountain top in the croc's mouth.

Solitude or Social Nature?

Which do you prefer, communing quietly with nature by yourself and maybe one or two other people or do you like a bigger group of friends with music, noise and a lot of social interaction?

A few months ago I returned to Kanarra Creek, one of my favorite waterfall/slot canyon areas and was shocked by the sheer number of hikers squeezed into every nook and cranny of the canyon.  My wife and I went to visit Zion National Park over Spring Break and again, I was shocked at the number of hikers we encountered, hundreds cued up to board busses for the shuttle ride .

Kanarraville Falls on Labor Day Weekend.

This got me thinking about the “nature” experience whether or not I can enjoy visiting National Parks anymore.

I like to listen to the sounds of nature like birds chirping, cicadas buzzing, the wind blowing through the treetops and the rustle of dry vegetation as an animal brushes against. I can’t hear these sounds if the animals are scared away and the noise of people yelling,  laughing and singing overwhelm the sound receptors in my head.  I like to witness and feel what nature is like with me as quiet participant sharing space with all of god’s creatures without the overwhelming influence of the human being.

This is only one kind of nature experience for me. When I think about it long and hard, I have to admit that I enjoy camping with a group of friends, sharing campfire cooked meals, beverages and marshmallows roasted on a stick. This is a uniquely human social experience. There is some kind of special bond that develops between people who “rough it” together in a natural setting.  This is all about sharing experiences with other people and is not really about sharing with other creature unless you count squirrels, blue jays and the occasional bear that roams through your campsite.  I have all kinds of fond memories of camping with large groups.

I think the disappointment I felt when visiting Kanarra Creek was because the previous visit was full of solitude so I expected that and when we didn't experience it again it was a let down.  I now realize that if I want solitude in Zion, I will have to plan a visit in winter when the park is not crowded or hike on trails that are less congested like The Subway or Kolob Arch.

All is not lost…I just need to plan better for the kind of experience I wish to have.

Which do you prefer? If I had to pick one, I would go it solo.