Mobile, Alabama: Fungus Foray at Historic Blakeley State Park

Petite white mushroom, Historic Blakeley State Park, Alabama. October 2021.

 

Mushrooms. Umami. Mmmm.

Despite their predilection for growing on dead stuff, mushrooms are often pretty, or at least intriguing, and to bite one is to transport me to a sensual reverie of flavor, aroma, texture, and chewiness. Earthy.

Fungi Farm, a local commercial mushroom farm, hosted a mushroom foraging foray at Historic Blakeley State Park in early October.

Mushroom, Historic Blakeley State Park, Alabama. October 2021.

 

'twas hot and sweaty work, but so satisfying to be in the woods. We were a group of at least 25 people.

One of my favorites was this velvety mushroom that reminded me of the so-soft lamb's ear leaves. And on its underside, you could leave your fingerprint. 

Mushroom, Historic Blakeley State Park, Alabama. October 2021.

Mushroom, Historic Blakeley State Park, Alabama. October 2021.

Major lesson learned from the foray: Bring a pocket notebook! Alan, a Fungi Farm principal, helped identify the mushrooms we found, and although the names of many remain rooted in my head, the matching of same with the samples are fuzzy. Like said mushroom above. But some names include (mixing common names and scientific names of individuals and genus) turkey tail, false turkey tail, boletes, russula, and .......

 Below is a sample of the group's foraging finds.

Mushroom, Historic Blakeley State Park, Alabama. October 2021.

A slide show below on my cumulative mushroom collection over the years and locales.

 

 

 ###

 

 

Alabama: An Afternoon in Fairhope

 

Wishing tree at Orange Street Pier. Fairhope, Alabama. July 2021.

As part of my due diligence in scoping out my next tourist-in-residency, I dropped down the eastern side of Mobile Bay to Fairhope. 

The brief visit sealed my heretofore provisional conclusion that living in a tourist town is not the right place for me. Let's assume "arts community" (a la Fairhope) = "tourist town" = congested streets, sidewalks, and woeful parking opportunities. Add to that a climate with mild winters and proximity to Florida beaches, we've got presumably high rent, assuming most long-term rental properties haven't already been swallowed by the succubus Airbnb. 

However, it is a good thing to live close to such a place for visits.

The Fairhope community has invested in walking paths that parallel the shoreline, public art, and thoughtfully-dispersed benches.

On this day, I stopped by:

• Orange Street Pier
• Mullet Point County Park (Baldwin County)
  
• Fairhope Municipal Pier (and up the sweetheart-candy-colored stairs to The Bluff at Henry George Park)
  

 

Lor', it was hot in Fairhope!

 

A slide show below: 

 

Alabama: State Parks Mission

 

Tannehill Iron Works Historical State Park, McCalla, Alabama. November 2020.

One of my goals in New Mexico (2012-2013) was to visit all of its state parks. I almost achieved that goal, falling short only by three. 

Alabama is a wondrously pretty state. It offers 21 state parks. In 2007, per this report from Resources For the Future, Alabama had the fewest number of state parks in the nation. Here, Alabama isn't last, but it's in the bottom five. 

Maybe that's good, maybe that's bad - the raw numbers take into account neither the per capita number of parks in each state nor the geographic size of each state. For all I know, Alabama has the highest number of state parks per capita in the US. 

Mission: Visit all of Alabama's state parks. 

But wait a dadgum minute! 

I don't see Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park on Alabama's official list of state parks. Surprisingly, Alabama's state park website doesn't seem to have a search feature, so I can't coax it out of hiding there. 

Thank goodness for wikipedia, which provides two databases: Alabama state parks and "other" "state" parks. Tannehill is in the "other" list. "Other" state parks are under shared or other management.

For my (and maybe your) future reference

• Alabama state parks overview chart (doesn't include the "other")
• Parks location map (doesn't include the "other")
• Wikipedia's two databases, which show both categories of parks: under Alabama's direct management and under shared/other management

A list view in alpha order from the StateParks.com Alabama page:

1. Bladon Springs State Park
2. Blue Springs State Park
3. Cathedral Caverns
4. Chattahoochee State Park
5. Cheaha State Park
6. Chewacla State Park
7. Chickasaw State Park
8. Claude D Kelley State Park
9. De Soto State Park
10. Elk River Lodge State Park
11. Florala State Park
12. Gulf State Park
13. Joe Wheeler State Park
14. Lake Guntersville State Park
15. Lake Lurleen State Park
16. Monte Sano State Park
17. Oak Mountain State Park
18. Paul M Grist State Park
19. Rickwood Caverns State Park
20. Roland Cooper State Park
21. Tannehill State Park (my first visit here)
    
22. W F Jackson State Park
23. Wind Creek State Park

P.S. 

I hope Alabama will change the name of Tannehill's entrance road from Confederate Parkway to something that respects the work of the enslaved women and men who performed the manual labor at the ironworks. Or a name that honors the natural beauty of the park.

 

Tucson, AZ: Catalina State Park

 February 2020

 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona. February 2020.

Catalina State Park offered an outdoor photography seminar by Bruce Turnbull, a nature photographer who winters in Arizona. 

 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona. February 2020.

 

I took notes. They are meager. I'll lay them here for my future revisiting. Obviously, any inaccuracies in the notes are mine and not Mr. Turnbull's. 

 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona. February 2020.

Wildlife

• 5.6 aperture
• 1/500 speed or faster (for something slow moving)

 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona. February 2020.

 

 Landscapes

•  SO as low as possible
• Speed 1/60 to 1/100, the bigger the #, the smaller the aperture
• Goal: same sharpness from foreground to background
• The larger the ISO, the grainier the photo

 

Don't go any slower than your lens size. 

 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona. February 2020.

 

With flowers or wildlife, you want your target to be in focus, but the background blurred - because you want your target to be the center of attention. 

 

Here is a slideshow of my Catalina State Park photos. What a glorious day it was.

 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona. February 2020.

Tucson, AZ: Quality of Life: Culture Pass

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

As someone who lives within a fairly frugal budget, I can tell you that access to some of Tucson's and Arizona's cultural, natural, and recreational amenities is expensive. To wit, for one adult:

Tucson Museum of Art: $12
Tucson Botanical Garden: $15
Reid Park Zoo: $10.50
Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens: $15
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: $22
Saguaro National Park: $20 per vehicle
Catalina State Park: $7 per vehicle
Coronado Recreation Passes: $5 per vehicle

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

 I remember how poor I was when my daughter was young. If that were today, and if I lived in Tucson, many places would be off limits to us because of the admission fees. There are many, many low-income families in Tucson.

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

In 2017, more than 18% of Tucsonans lived at or below the poverty line. Twenty-six percent of Tucson's youth lived in poverty. Normally, I would compare Tucson's poverty rate with the US average, but who cares? When it comes to access to arts and sciences cultural centers, parks, etc. in Tucson, it only matters how many Tusconans can't afford to reap the same experiences and knowledge that their more affluent cohorts in Tucson can.

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

This hurts us as a community, now and in the future.

If children don't know about - see, touch, hear, and talk to - painters, dancers, sculptors, scientists, naturalists, master gardeners, authors, astronomers, biologists, historians, engineers, mathematicians, technicians - how can they normalize these disciplines as accessible to them?

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

If we can maximize the experiential education of all of our children, and through that, maximize their potential lifetime earnings, it will reverberate through our communities, and to their children, and to their grandchildren.

Besides, access to centers of culture and nature are part of the Declaration of Independence: the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness.

Access to centers of culture and nature adds to our quality of life.

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

So ==> When I registered for my Pima County library card, I was mighty impressed to learn about the Culture Pass. Similar to what I'd do with a book, I can "check out" the admission for two people to Tucson-area arts, nature, and sciences centers - at no cost. I have one week to use the admission and then my "loan" automatically returns to the library. I can check out a new venue the following week; two "loans" per month.

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona. August 2019.

A companion program to the Culture Pass is the Field Trip pass program for Title 1 schools (schools that serve a large percentage of low-income students).

"The Act One Field Trip Program is a system and a solution for narrowing an opportunity gap that denies students from low-income families equal access to educational arts experiences."


Yes!


My first Culture Pass admission: Tucson Botanical Gardens. A collection of garden rooms that bid you to sit and be, to gaze and listen, without speaking, and without thinking too much.

Take a minute now, and be with me.

Missouri: Ozark Scenic Riverways, Part 1: Echo Bluffs State Park

Wild horse, Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

November 2017


I spent Thanksgiving weekend at Echo Bluffs State Park with my mother, two brothers, and a niece. My mom, a brother, and I stayed in the lodge; my other brother and his daughter camped in their camper truck.

Echo Bluffs State Park is a newly-minted state park that used to be a private youth camp, and there are many, many adults with fond memories of times spent at that camp.

The park is adjacent to Ozark Scenic Riverways, administered by the National Park Service.

There is a herd of wild horses at Echo Bluffs. The horses wander through the campsites at will. They poop there, too. Under normal circumstances, this might be an annoyance, but it's wild horse poop, so it has some panache.

Wild horse poop, Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

On my way to meet the family members, I drove by a dead snake. I, of course, turned around to take its picture.  I like snakes, and this was an especially pretty one. Given that it was November, I'm guessing it had sidled up to the road for warmth from the sun.

Dead snake, Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

Behind the lodge and cabins is Sinking Creek, which flows at the feet of Echo Bluff.

Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

I saw a fossiliferous rock. 

Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

A pretty sunset.

Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

Between you and me, I don't feel quite the same level of love that many express for Echo Bluffs, but I'm obviously not a reliable judge of fantastic-ness, given my ambivalence about Istanbul, which regularly hits top 10 lists of must-visits.  And it's possible that a quick trip in November doesn't show the park at its best.

So I encourage you to read this enthusiastic, well-written article about Echo Bluffs State Park. The author shares plenty of good pics, as well.

The Ozark Scenic Riverways area is beautiful, indeed. My camping brother, who's been to the area numerous times, directed our family quintet to his favorite spots.

One was Alley Spring and Mill, which is coming up in Part 2.

Arkansas: Lake Catherine State Park, Part 3: Squeaks and Squawks

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

October 2017
On the way to Missouri

Lake Catherine State Park

On Monday morning, squawking geese trundled into the lake. I guess, traditionally, geese honk, but that would mess with my alliterative gimmick for today's title, so I'm sticking with the squawking. I'd also like to throw in the possibility of "squacking," but that might be overmuch. Also, I can't guarantee I actually heard any squawking, honking, or squacking on said morning when the geese slid into the water, but let's say it could have happened.


On Monday afternoon, I took a guided walk in the woods. After a year in the high desert of El Paso, it was a wonder to be back in the land of the deciduous. 

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

The bridge offered up satisfying squeaks as one walked over it. As below:

As I walk over it again (in the video), maybe it's more of a creaking than a squeaking. But again, alliteration. You know what I love? That I can walk over this bridge again and again and again every time I watch the video. No, every time I feel and hear the video. Gosh darn, it makes me smile.

The bridge's squeaks and creaks remind me of the sounds of the carriage ride I took on Heybeliada Island off of Istanbul, here and here.

One of my co-hikers was a solo nomad like me! More on her later. 

In my campsite, a glittery butterfly drew my eye. Sadly, it was dead.

Butterfly, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

Butterfly, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

Butterfly, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

Butterfly, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

My best guess is that it was a black swallowtail. My research tells me, however, that in future, I need to examine the bodies more carefully to note the color and shape of the insect's torso and the wings' topside.

I'm also thinking that if I were to pick up a hobby in which my choice was between birding and butterflying, then despite my affinity for birds, 'capturing' butterflies and moths might be more accessible to me.

Arkansas: Lake Catherine State Park, Part 1: Nostalgia

Sunrise, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

October 2017
On the way to Missouri
Lake Catherine State Park


After completing my South Louisiana visit, bound for Missouri, I intended to book an airbnb around Hot Springs, Arkansas, so that I could get some work in. I'd found a fabulous place: A congenial hostess, lovely digs, strong and reliable internet (which I need for my work), affordable, and a good base for exploring Hot Springs. But that's when I hit up against airbnb's new "we take security seriously" gate, and I decided that even the sweetest temporary home was not worth sacrificing the seriousness with which I  take my security.

After considering various options, I decided to hell with trying to find a place to land with fast, reliable internet, and just go camping!

Geographically speaking, Arkansas is a gorgeous state. Lake Catherine State Park caught my eye because it sparked a pleasant memory. Many years ago, my mother and a sister booked a cabin at this state park. My mother brought back a soft sage-green (one of my favorite colors!) sweatshirt for my daughter, which had "Lake Catherine State Park" on it.

Decision made. I'd camp at Lake Catherine State Park for a couple of nights.

I arrived on a Sunday evening, which is a good time to roll into a campground without a reservation, as the weekend campers have long since left.

It was after 5:00 p.m., and the park office had closed, but thoughtful staff had left a sign noting available sites:

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

With my snap of this sign, I drove over the campground to see which of the available sites made me feel good.

My criteria for good sites are:

• Close proximity to toilet;
• Shade trees;
• Flat area for tent;
• Prettiness of view or site; and
• Relative privacy from neighbors or frequent walk-through traffic. 

Having selected my site, I mentally expressed oohs and ahhs over the luxury of an electric site. Wow. I could bring out my coffeemaker for my morning coffee! Or a lamp!

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

It was especially pleasing to use my portable table, which I have schlepped with me to each of my year-long stays. This is the table I bought from my friend at her moving sale an eon ago. I sent her this picture. It is my office. It is my dining table. And in Arkansas, it was my kitchen counter. I love you, ma chérie table.

Speaking of nostalgia, the hanging dunk bag in the photo below is also a cherished item. My daughter and I made dunk bags together back when she was a Girl Scout Brownie. Only the one has survived, and I use it every time I camp.

Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. October 2017.

That's my tent in the background. On a flat surface. Foreshadowing: Engineering drama emerges later in my stay.

By the way, the fact that I had to attach my trash bag to a table leg and my dunk bag to the campsite reservation post should tell you there was a lack of (reachable by short me) resources to suspend housekeeping sorts of things. This is a pet peeve I have about some campsites.

Fortunately, I carry a l-o-n-g rope, and even though the distance between the two closest pairs of trees was also long, the length of my rope was up to the challenge. So later I was able to hang both my trash bag and dunk bag, plus other stuff like towels, in a right proper manner. 

Big Bend National Park, Texas: Goodbye Big Bend

Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

Goodbye to Big Bend National Park.

Goodbye, tarantula.

Goodbye, lubber.

Goodbye, vinegaroon.

Goodbye, beetles.

Goodbye, cactus wren.

Goodbye, fox and bear poop.

Goodbye, grasshoppers and ants.

Goodbye, walking sticks.

.... and about the bears. I am weary of letting a fear of bear (or mountain lion or large feral pig) encounters affect my enjoyment of hikes.

Something must change about this. The fear limits me.

Chisos Campground, Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

Van Horn, Texas: On the Way to Big Bend National Park

Van Horn, Texas. August 2017.

I spent my first night as newly rootless in Van Horn, Texas.

Van Horn, Texas. August 2017.

My first impression of Van Horn was rather ho-hum, but the town revealed whimsical charms in the early evening, after I finished settling into my motel room and then poked about a bit.

Right across the street from my motel was a city park. Mountain backdrop. A train track. Sturdy trees with muscular trunks. Globe lamps that glowed like moons. Squeaky squawky birds that loitered in a circular sand pit like loud adolescents with nothing else to do on a Saturday night except hang out in a park and stir up some trouble.

Van Horn, Texas. August 2017.

Further down the strip was a sculpture park at a business called Los Nogales.  Extra-terrestial insectiles and the like, along with a disheveled desk that looked artsy and intentional in the foreground of the mountain landscape.

Van Horn, Texas. August 2017.

Van Horn, Texas. August 2017.

Listen to these squeakers in the park!

A Van Horn slide show:

Colorado: Longmont: Roger's Grove Nature Area

View from Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Hoo wee, a spectacular mountain view from Roger's Grove Nature Area.

Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Roger's Grove is readily accessible off of a main thoroughfare in Longmont. Speaking of accessible, most of it's also, like Golden Ponds, friendly to wheelchairs, strollers, canes and the like.

Wildflowers. Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

May wildflowers blossomed.

Wildflowers. Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Wildflowers. Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Wildflowers. Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Wildflowers. Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Wildflowers. Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

The grasses were lush.

Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

A graceful stone mosaic showed the beauty in stones, hawks, and human artistry.

"Kestrel's Way." Roger's Grove Nature Area, Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.