Monday, May 20, 2013

Here and there, this and that

Road trips are special.  Conversation is random and wildly varying, depending on the terrain, weather, people you meet along the way, and purpose of the trip.  Thoughts bounce around and exit via the mouths of travelers, and sometimes total quiet envelops the vehicle, leaving only the noise of the highway beneath the tires.  This blog features images equally random.

Fred and I took a road trip this weekend, for the purpose of photographing a wedding in Alpine, Arizona.  We drove along I-40 to Grants and headed through El Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area, and onward through Quemado to the White Mountains of Arizona.  Here is a detail  from the Sandstone Bluffs area of El Malpais.



After departing El Malpais, we saw how extremely dry it is in western New Mexico. However, as the elevation increases and you enter the White Mountains, the dryness almost shockingly gives way to water, and, in comparison to the high desert below, lots of it.  But what we noticed next was unexpected -  the smell carried by the wind of burned forest, still hanging heavy in the air two years after the Wallow Fire, a devastating event that consumed over 538,000 acres in eastern Arizona.  Blackened, bare trees are everywhere. The Ponderosa pine, spruce, and Douglas Firs did not fare well.




But in many areas, the mountainsides are dotted with bright spring green.  Thousands upon thousands of young aspen are rising to their genetics as a succession species to help heal the land after fires.  The bark of many old and noble aspen was actually burned at the bottom but the trees still live.


                                                


Throughout the weekend, we stayed at the Alpine Inn.  Ann and Burke Masterson, innkeepers, are world-class hosts, and their breakfasts, which included the likes of homemade apple pancakes with cinnamon and vanilla whipped cream, biscuits topped with eggs, sausage, and chipotle gravy, and homemade apple strudel, kept us going all day!  We highly recommend staying at the Alpine and spend some time talking with Ann and Burke.  They have traveled widely and hold a real appreciation for the people and food of the countries they visit.  Here is a shot of their place.




The Mastersons as well as Lisa and Steve, owners of the newly opened and excellent Foxfire Cafe in Alpine, are four of the reasons why Alpine continues to thrive despite the fire.   

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

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