#212 About Trees

Birks of Aberfeldy, Scotland (2011)

Birch Bark, Branklyn Gardens, Perth, Scotland (2011)

 

Trees are the topic for this edition of the travel blog. Since I’m not traveling much right now—winter, getting ready to move, health problems—I’ve been reviewing lots of old photos.One of the things I noticed was that over the years I’ve taken many photos of trees and that they still hold my attention. So, for this post I found some noteworthy facts about trees to share with you and I’ve some photos to go along with them. I hope that reading this blog will be as worthy of your time as it was fun for me to put together.

Smoke, Mulino, OR (2010)

Fact: About three trillion trees currently exist, and trees didn’t exist for the first 90% of earth’s history.

Birch Forest, Cairngorm Nat'l Park, Scotland (2015)

Fall in the Scottish Highlands near Braemar (2017)

Canadian Rockies (2014)

Fact: Earth has 46% fewer trees than it had 12,000 years ago.

A Tree Grows in Edinburgh (2017)

Burned Forest, Canadian Rockies (2014)

Fact: There are more than 60,000 known species of trees.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah  (2016)

Tree and Horse in Fog, Dartmoor Nat'l Park, England (2013)

Painted Hills National Monument, OR (2013)

Beech Tree Lined Entrance to Drummond Castle, Crieff, Scotland (2018)

Fact: More than half of all tree species exist in only one country.

Gnarled Juniper, Bend, OR (2015)

Fact: Trees are among the oldest living organisms on earth, and never die of old age. A bristle cone pine has been found that is more than 5,000 years old.

Old Scots Pine near Aviemore, Scotland (2012)

Fact: A large oak can drink 100 gallons of water per day. A large sequoia can drink 500 gallons per day.

Golf Course Oak, Central Scotland (2013)

Fact: The tallest tree, Hyperion in California, is a coastal redwood that is 380 feet tall.

Mt Washington, OR (2015)

Benefits of Trees (The Nature Conservancy):

Trees eat green house gases that cause climate change.

Exmoor, England (2014)

Provide a home for wildlife.

Cottonwood near Taos, New Mexico (2018)

Cool down your life—natural air conditioning.

Sma'glen, Scotland (2016)

Filter our water.

Reflection near Aviemore, Scotland (2014)

Provide a renewable building source and promote a strong economy.

Provide a good source for food.

Winter Apples near Mt Angel, OR (2013)

Besides being damned beautiful, remember what Scotsman/naturalist John Muir said about them, “Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”

Lone Pine, Mt Shasta Nat'l Park (2016)

#208 SW Fall 2023, Part 2

 

SW Fall 2023, Part 2

Along the Rio Grande River between Santa Fe and Taos, NM.

This post continues our story of our fall trip to Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico with pictures I hope will give a sense of the beauty we find in the American Southwest. I’ve already presented images of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, but we also took a couple of day trips from Taos hunting for special scenery. In previous trips to the Taos area I’ve taken photo tours with local professional photographer Geraint Smith—both were fantastic experiences. 

A Geraint Smith photo we purchased last year at a Taos gallery now hangs in our living room.

In fact, they were so good that I thought I could find the great scenery myself. Boy, was I wrong. This time I found good photo subjects, but more than anything else I proved how valuable the knowledge of a professional guide can be. I owe Geraint even more thanks. Please take a look at his work on his website [ https://geraintsmith.com ]. Let me know if you enjoy the following tour of the areas around Santa Fe and Taos.

Another view along the Rio Grande.

Camel Rock. Between Santa Fe and Taos just off the freeway is a rock formation worth noting. Camel Rock is a 40 ft by 100 ft chunk of sandstone that (with a little imagination) resembles a camel. The view of this 450 million year old structure is better from the parking area than the close-up view at the end of the short trail up to the rock. 

A view from Camel Rock.

The Camel

The camel image was stronger before a large piece fell off in 2017.

Arroyo Hondo Cottonwood Tree. One of the scenic spots Geraint took us to on our last tour with him was a spot we revisited (after driving past it twice). It’s a particularly picturesque lone cottonwood tree just off Hwy 522 north from Taos just before reaching Arroyo Honda, a small unincorporated village. We past the village on our way toward Colorado and when we drove the Enchanted Circle. 

The tree is lovely particularly as it changes into its fall colors. We were a little early this year, but it’s still  a photo worth a stop.

Last Year's Colors

Garcia, Colorado. One of the spots we visited with Geraint was, according to residents, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the state. Garcia (7730 ft) is a small village off Colorado state highway 159 (NM 522). 

The area around Garcia is criss-crossed by a multitude of small paved and gravel roads. 

Ute Mountain, CO

Anne and I found some good photo subjects, but missed some of the great subjects of the year before.

Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway is an 84 mile loop into the high scenic area in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The route goes from Taos north (the way we did the circle) on NM 522 to Questa where you take NM 38 through Red River to Eagle’s Nest. From there drive NM 434 to Angel Fire where you catch NM 64 to go back to Taos.

Climbing up to the first mountain pass.

The route goes through mountain passes as high as 9500 feet and large valleys or plateaus.  

Both Red River and Angel Fire have well developed ski area and the road encircles Wheeler Peak, the highest mountain is New Mexico at 13,161 feet. We stopped in Angel Fire for lunch, but instead of going to the tourist restaurant (fancy and expensive), we opted for J & A Cafe, a rustic off the main road local's spot which was filled with locals. There we shared a fantastic lunch of fresh catfish and chips for $11.95.

When you drive the Enchanted Circle you are passing through scenery made famous by “Easy Rider” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” which were filmed in the area. The last adventure for us of the Enchanted Circle was the mountain road construction project about a mile out of Angel Fire. We wait almost an hour to drive the five miles of curvy construction up to the last pass over into Taos. I ended up being the lead car (after the working truck) and led a mile of traffic the last 18 miles of the trip.

The road into Taos, after the roadwork area, is a wonderfully colorful canyon, but there are very few turnouts and with a mile of cars behind me I wasn't about to stop. Anne did get this great view from our moving car.

NEXT: Museums and Friends in about two weeks. 

#198 Taos Photo Tour

You know we're in the SW, just look at the driver's hat.

During our trip to Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, we had planned to spend half a day on a guided photo tour with a local professional photographer. I had toured with Geraint Smith three years before and knew he was a good guide and instructor. Geraint was born in Wales and lived in the UK before coming to the US in 1978 as a young man. Moving to Taos in 1988 Geraint grew as a photographer and sculptural artist. With a huge and varied list of clients, 

Geraint's recent solo show at the Bareiss Gallery in Taos.

Geraint now shows his works at local galleries, produces photo prints of the beautiful Southwest, has a book on the market (Rio Grande del Norte: an Intimate Portrait), and guides photo tours and workshops year round. 

Our afternoon tour on Sunday, October 19, was to center around fall colors and composition skills. The tour started out by adapting to the only rain in several days; where we had planned to go wouldn’t be good for landscape photography. Geraint instead said, “How about we go to Colorado where the forecast is drier.” My response was, “You’re the guide.”

From Taos we headed north in Geraint’s 4-sheel drive small SUV. Our first stop was in Arroyo Hondo, a small village Anne and I had driven through a couple of days before. I hadn’t seen anything to make me stop and photograph, but he stopped on Hwy 522 and pointed out a spectacular cottonwood in full autumn color—a photographer’s dream. 

Using his iPhone camera Geraint showed me a possible composition and checked my shot with approval. The next stop was a little further up the road for a classic horse in the field photo. 

He reminded me to get the horse in focus while keeping the surrounding bushes softly out of focus. 

After a couple more stops along the highway, Geraint suggested we go to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, 

Neither Anne nor I had ever been in this area and we were thrilled with the view of the river and canyon.

The weather was still drippy, but the further north we went the better it was for photography—dry with clouds and sun. Our photo subjects now included abandoned buildings, 

quaint churches in small villages, 

Church in Garcia, Colorado.

local wildlife (especially birds},

Magpie

Red Tail Hawk

general landscapes, all with a background of either the Sangre de Cristos mountains or the closer 10,000 foot Ute mountain. 

Geraint Smith checking a composition.

I shot dozens and dozens of images trying to follow Geraint’s composition hints as well as throw in a few ideas of my own. 

Anne was all this time a participating member of the tour—watching both Geraint and myself, taking a few pictures, as well as actively taking part in the discussions.

It was a long drive home to Taos from southern Colorado with only a couple of stops. Our last photo opportunity was back in Arroyo Hondo at the grand cottonwood along the highway. 

The light was different—sun and clouds rather than gray overcast. The tree and surroundings were even more dramatic than when we started the tour. It provided a fitting ending to a wonderful day’s adventure. Thanks, Geraint Smith.

For more information about Geraint Smith, his photos and tours, see his website: www.geraintsmith.com. 

NEXT: More of our trip to the Southwest.