Contents of the winter 2009 Northants News

Wind is a four-letter word                                                             Don Campbell       

A field trip to visit Sclerocactus mesae-verdae in habitat.

The Ultimatum: It was a balmy late spring afternoon in Grand Junction, Colorado, I was potting up a couple of orphaned cactus seedlings that I’d found wandering around unattended in my C&S garden, when the phone rang. It was ‘The Ed’.

A lengthy chat about cacti, assorted travels and other pleasantries ensued. And then, the Ultimatum. “Send me an exclusive publishable article about one of your cactus adventures or risk having your name removed from the Northants News mailing list". WOW, ‘The Ed’ is really getting serious...’playing hardball’ as we might say in the US.

I tried to explain that I’d recently passed along a number of, what I considered Northants Newsworthy, cactus related tidbits, photos and adventures. ‘The Ed’s’ response was, “not good enough”. Seems ‘The Ed’ demands virgin stuff only. If the material has been tainted by even a tiny bit of exposure to the internet, it isn’t suitable for Northants News. (See the Ed’s note below)

I continued pleading my case, noting that I was a syndicated, albeit little-known, columnist and how inappropriate it would be to grant exclusivity to a single news outlet. I reminded ‘The Ed’ that I had recently passed along several items about my quest for ‘Moby Dick’ in south-eastern Utah, a real-life botanical variation on the mythical phoenix in my backyard, and finding a rare crested hookless cactus in northeastern Utah. Didn’t matter, I’d shared this stuff with other news outlets and if Northants News readers wanted to learn about these fascinating adventures they’d have to track them down *elsewhere. Had I been an academician, I suppose a demand to “publish or perish” would not have come as quite such a shock. However, being a long-retired forest ranger and card carrying ‘geezer’, I’d become accustomed to receiving free unencumbered copies of the premier Brit C&S newsletter. (Ed: Oh Don!!!)

And so, with that as prologue, here is an account of two days in late April 2009. Apparently coercion works.

(Ed’s note. Of course it wasn’t exactly like this but Don certainly tells a good story. He has sent me many entertaining ‘tidbits’, as he calls them, of his travels over the years. Our local readers would certainly enjoy them but I am always mindful that we have an internet edition and these readers would not be happy to read the same on the Colorado Cactus and Succulent Society website or in the US Journal.

* A sample can be found by clicking here.(3.6MB)

A Wind-blown Adventure: Last April Carol & I spent three eventful weeks chasing cacti across the deserts of the south-western US. Much of the time was spent in the very good company of Sheila and Richard Booth, Brits familiar to ‘The Ed’ and, I assume, many readers of Northants News. A primary element of this adventure was attending the 33rd Biennial CSSA Convention in Tucson, Arizona.

This account begins early on the morning of Friday, April 24th in St. George, Utah. Following an early breakfast, Carol & I said our goodbyes to Sheila and Richard as well as a cactophilic couple form Nevada, Mindy and Pat Fusaro who had accompanied us during our eight day post-convention excursion around parts of the southwest deserts in search of wily cacti.

small flowering plant of Sclerocactus mesae-vedae

Carol and I headed east, crossing back and forth between Utah and Arizona before reaching our destination near Shiprock, New Mexico. The closer we got to our destination, the stronger the wind blew. By the time we reached Shiprock, the wind had kicked up huge clouds of dust and, in places, was actually moving sand across the highway. Shortly after turning north at Shiprock we reached our destination near a colony of oft visited Sclerocactus mesae-verdae.

During our many previous visits to this site we’d never found the elusive Mesa Verde Cactus with open flowers. At the March meeting of the Chinle C&S Society I had been assured by a Park Service expert who’d studied S. mesae-verdae for 20 years that it was “almost guaranteed” to find open flowers during the last week in April.

We wandered all about the general area containing the colony, finding more plants than we’d previously seen. The plants were quite plump, however, most were smallish youngish plants. Many showed spent flowers while others had unopened buds. I recalled the Park Service expert saying wind and cool temperatures impeded flower opening. Unfortunately, we were experiencing very strong winds and temperatures were definitely on the cool side. After an hour or so of suffering the wind and dust, Carol escaped back to sanctuary in the Pathfinder.

I continued searching and, about 30 minutes later, found a single small plant with an open flower (Photo 1).

Photo 1. A small flowering S. mesae-verdae north of Shiprock, NM on April 24, 2009.

After years of searching, success! A few photos and I too hustled back to our vehicle to escape the incessant wind. In addition to the flower photos, I took a couple of shots aimed at a spot where, on a clear day, Shiprock Mountain can be seen. The wind and dust had worked their magic, Shiprock Mountain had disappeared in the dust storm (Photo 2). 

We over-nighted in Farmington. Early Saturday morning we headed west toward Shiprock. However, before reaching the town we turned north to explore an area that reportedly contained some S. mesae-verdae plants. In addition to a good map, I had GPS coordinates from ‘The Ed’. The dirt road was in great shape and we easily found the specified location sitting smack dab in the middle of a bunch of good looking habitat. Alas, after an hour of searching not a single plant had been found. 

Our next stop was the site north of Shiprock where we’d been the previous afternoon. My hope was that the relatively bright morning sun and moderating winds might allow a few flowers to pop open. Even though the wind had slacked and the dust had partially settled (Photo 3), it wasn’t long before we realized that our high hopes and expectations would not come to fruition. Buffeted by strengthening winds, we scurried back to the vehicle and returned to the town of Shiprock.

Looking south in Photo 3, as the dust settles out, one can dimly see Shiprock Mountain beyond the low foreground ridge with the Chuska Mountains in the dim distant background.

After gassing up in Shiprock we aim the Pathfinder south on US Highway 666, the ‘Devil’s Highway’ toward Sheep Springs and another known colony of S. mesae-verdae. 

Habitat of Sclerocactus mesae-vedae

Photo 2 above. Looking south toward the dust obscured Shiprock Mountain on the afternoon of April 24, 2009. Photo 3 below. A view similar to Photo 2 on the morning of April 25, 2009.

Habitat of Sclerocactus mesae-vedae. Shiprock

A few years ago the negative connotation associated with the ‘number of the beast’ caused state and federal highway authorities to change this highway number from US 666 to US 491. However, most maps and even the highway itself still show both the 666 and 491 highway identification numbers. (For some fascinating reading about the ‘number of the beast’, click here. During our drive south from Shiprock on the Devil's Highway we concluded this highway was indeed aptly named. It was definitely a 'beastly' drive as the gale force wind gusts and huge swirling dust clouds had the Pathfinder bouncing all about.

Three small Sclerocactus mesae-verdae

Shortly before noon we pulled off the highway near Sheep Springs and nosed the vehicle into the wind so we might open the doors without getting them ripped off by the wind. We cautiously opened one door at a time to avoid having the contents of our vehicle sucked out by the wind and distributed across the Navajo Reservation. After trudging head down a couple of hundred yards through the wind and dust we began spotting the plants. It's really quite difficult trying to find little cacti when peeking thru dust-induced squinty eyes. We found some plants with both spent flowers and unopened buds. None, however, had braved the wind and blowing sand and completely opened any flowers. Some little cacti were becoming overly exposed due to wind scouring while others were becoming mostly buried by the blowing sand (Photo 4). It didn’t take Carol long to decide she’d had enough wind and she retreated to the vehicle. I ‘toughed it out’ a bit longer before seeking shelter in the Pathfinder.

Eating our gritty lunch while hunkered in the Pathfinder we watched several fast moving dust clouds pass by, obscuring everything to the east of the highway. Fortunately, our somewhat sheltered location on the lee side of the Chuska Mountains spared us some of the worst of the wind and blowing dust.

After lunch I gathered up my camera equipment and headed back out to capture whatever photos I could. By then the wind had begun moving the coarser sand particles across the landscape. Everything within about a yard of the surface was getting sand blasted. Each time I stooped down low for a close-up photo I got a face full of sand and my camera and tripod got really messed up by all the grit. Even though I’m a slow learner and glutton for punishment, I didn’t take too long to conclude it was time to head toward Holbrook, AZ, our planned overnight destination.

Photo 4.Three small flowering S. mesae-verdae plants nearly buried by drifting sand on April 25, 2009.

Shortly after crossing the New Mexico-Arizona border on I-40 we encountered an electronic warning sign indicating the Interstate Highway was closed somewhere between Holbrook and Flagstaff, Arizona. Fortunately, we’d planned to spend the night in Holbrook. It was also fortunate that we arrived in Holbrook in time to find a motel room before succeeding hoards of westbound motorists learned of the highway closure and began seeking a place to stay overnight. The next morning we learned that the highway closure was due to multiple accidents caused by the blowing dust and that the closure had lasted 8 hours. 

A Postscript. Upon returning home we learned the winds had also been howling in Grand Junction during our three week desert adventure. Assembled by our neighbour and waiting for us near the front door was a sizable pile of shingles that had blown off our roof. However, on a happier note, we discovered a S. mesae-verdae plant in our C&S garden with several well-developed buds. A couple of days later we were greeted by four open flowers accompanied by a couple more buds in waiting (Photo 5).

Perhaps there's truth in the adage, 'no place like home'. We coulda stayed home, experienced the wind in the comfort of our home and seen the elusive Mesa Verde Cactus flower without having had to drive 3,000 miles. 

An aside: This plant was purchased in 1993 as a small 2-3 year old seedling about the size of a pencil eraser. I promptly rotted off the roots and quickly grafted the surviving top onto a single rooted joint of hardy Opuntia. It has thrived year-round outdoors in the garden ever since.

Don

Sclerocactus mesae-verdae in garden

Photo 5. S. mesae-verdae in our backyard C&S garden on May 1, 2009.

* * * * *

Ed: Thanks Don for recounting your adventures and reminding us of typical Four Corners Spring weather. The wind always shrieks for me on my trips as well. And I hate it!

Glossary: We are endeavouring (Though Don would have written endeavoring) to make NN more readable to everyone. Botanical terms and Americanisms are appended...

Pathfinder: Japanese four-wheel drive car (SUV) with a real American name of a similar size to a Range Rover.

Shingles: Roof tiles in the UK

Hunker(ed): American (from the Old Norse hȗka) for squatting or in this case sheltering.

Backyard: An American garden. Don’s is much bigger than a yard!

back to contents of Northants News