tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post3632707229244428349..comments2024-02-06T10:31:24.491-07:00Comments on Watching the World Wake Up: Yellow Flowers are ComplicatedWatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-81975315106390353262008-09-17T19:53:00.000-06:002008-09-17T19:53:00.000-06:00Aristata- yes I just recently visited (again) Grea...Aristata- yes I just recently visited (again) Great Basin NP- I'm a huge fan of the place! I blogged about our most recent visit here: http://watchingtheworldwakeup.blogspot.com/2008/08/hydrology-road-trip-part-2-into-heart.html under "Basin #3", and referenced an earlier trip here: http://watchingtheworldwakeup.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-and-everything-after.html<BR/><BR/>I sympathize with your complaints. Best advice for altitude: drink lots of liquids, early and often. For wind, either sleep in the back of a pickup/SUV/station wagon, or if it's cold enough, sleep outside and zip the bag over your head. I avoid tents- they're just too loud in the wind. I've also had success in high winds sleeping under a rock overhang, or with my head sheltered by a large tree- again always without a tent.Watcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-36186943158818496742008-09-12T20:49:00.000-06:002008-09-12T20:49:00.000-06:00Yes, my handle, aristata, is an epitaph from the p...Yes, my handle, aristata, is an epitaph from the pine species! I've met others who have associated it with other genera, but when first asked for a user name, ~18 years ago, I wanted something botanical and looked out over my yard until my eyes fell upon a P. aristata, one of the young plants in my dwarf conifer collection. Aristata. Sounds so aristocratic -- of course, that's me! Little did I know the botanical meaning at the time. I will say it's an uncommon handle since it's only been refused once in the past 15 years as I've registered for one thing or another online.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of which, I read with interest your account of the foxtail (bristlecone) pines. I've only seen one species of the group, P. longaeva, and made a special trip to see them based on the stories from a roommate who had once worked as a Parks Service employee -- at Great Basin National Park. If you've been there, I'd love to read about your experiences. I remember driving from the desert basin up the side of the mountain , Wheeler Peak, el. 13,000' +, and passing through one vegetative zone after another. It was so exciting to see the familiar species as well as the strangers on the way up. At the time there was only one puny little spot to pull over, which I missed. Complaint #1. <BR/><BR/>I set-up camp at 10,000' in the developed campground and set out to hike up to the pines another 800' or so to see the bristlecones. I believe the rock was all granite, or perhaps gneiss, very pretty, and I had that special feeling of wilderness, being in a extraordinary natural setting among the pines, when Complaint #2 hit me: altitude sickness. I went to sit on a large rock and nearly kept going down and fell on the ground, but caught myself in time.<BR/><BR/>Regrettable, I headed back and, still feeling a bit ill, while starting dinner was hit by Complaint #3: the wind, the ferocious wind! The mountain gets it, the little town at the base of the mt. gets it -- all due to the chilled lofty heights of the Peak and the warm desert air at its base, but you could explain this better than I.<BR/><BR/>End of aristata story, but despite the complaints, Great Basin Ntl Park is one place I want to revisit.aristatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06669347735866738810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-56815917942612083972008-08-14T17:57:00.000-06:002008-08-14T17:57:00.000-06:00Aristata- glad you liked the photos. Northern ID i...Aristata- glad you liked the photos. Northern ID is one of my favorite places- lucky you! Good luck with the landscape- sounds like a great project.<BR/><BR/>P.S. Love your handle! (I'm thinking Pinus aristata...)Watcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-83318413130927163482008-08-01T22:47:00.000-06:002008-08-01T22:47:00.000-06:00Excellent photos of balsam root vs. mule ear, esp....Excellent photos of balsam root vs. mule ear, esp. side by side. I'm coming from many years in NW WA, now in N. Central ID, and am slowing getting to learn the native flora. This includes collecting seed and trying to grow them on to landscape my place.<BR/><BR/>Just collected some BR seed late this evening and came across your site. More later... <BR/><BR/>PS: I had a plant systematics class last spring; love plants!aristatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06669347735866738810noreply@blogger.com