Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)

(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 01)

Picture Notes: The picture in (Fig. 01 was taken at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve on 04/17/2016. The pictures in (Figs. 02 & 03) were taken on 05/212010 on a daytrip to the Valley of Fire, near Overton, NV. It was the only plant of its kind visible in a very large open desert area. The picture in (Fig. 04) was taken on a hike to the Buffington Pockets in the Muddy Mountains.

Description: Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata) are annual flowers with relatively large, showy, yellow flowers that can turn the landscape yellow during a good year. The flower is a typical daisy (composite) flower. Desert Marigolds are common components of the spring wildflower display along washes and on bajadas in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. (Fig. 02) Typically an annual forb with basal leaves and upright flower stalks. Sometimes a perennial shrub to about 1-1/2 feet tall and 2-feet across. Its flower stems can grow to about 20 inches. Leafy parts usually to about 6 inches. Its flowers bloom in late spring to early summer, and sometimes again in the fall if conditions are right. The flower is a showy daisy-like flower (composite with disk and ray flowers), bright yellow to yellow-orange, to about 1-1/2 inches across. Inflorescence with one flower head per stem Flower: It likes dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains at elevations from about 2,000 to 5,000 feet.

(Fig. 03)

(Fig. 04)

Roadtrip - Pyramid Lake – Nixon, NV

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(Fig. 01)

05/11/2006 Trip Notes: While visiting my sister in Reno, we ended up taking a daytrip that took us to Pyramid Lake in Nixon, NV.  From Reno, take I-80 east bound, get off on exit 18 (Pyramid Lake/SR 445) head north for about 35 miles. The drive from Reno carries you through a succession of shallow depressions between low, brush-stubbled hills, a constant reminder of the desert's monotony. However, once you pass over the last hill, the eye searing expanse of Pyramid Lake stretched out before you (Fig. 01) is an almost shocking, staggering sight.    (Fig. 02) Lake History: Nearly 27 miles long and 11 miles wide, the view in (Fig. 01) above was taken from close to its It was named for the pyramid-shaped island (Fig. 03) just off the east shore by John C. Fremont who came upon the lake on January 10th, 1844. This remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan (Fig. 02), which during the ice age more than 12,700 years ago, covered approximately 8,450 square miles. The lake had largely disappeared in its extended form about 9,000 years ago. As the surface elevation dropped, the lake broke up into series of smaller lakes, most of which rapidly dried up, leaving only a playa. The only modern remnants existing as true lakes are Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake, far to the south.     The Pyramid Lake Indian reservation was created in 1859. In a fierce battle for the lake between the Paiute people and the white man in 1860 is said to have killed more white men than any other White-Indian engagement in the far west. In 1913, Anaho Island, just to the south - to the right of the Pyramid on (Fig. 04), was established as a National Wildlife Refuge and is today one of the largest white pelican nesting grounds in North America. The last view (Fig. 05) was taken from opposite the pyramid, looking towards the north end of the lake.     Widely acclaimed as North America’s most beautiful desert lake, it’s actually the world class fishery that has brought Pyramid Lake worldwide fame. Pyramid Lake is the only habitat in the world for the Cui-ui fish that has been around for over 2 million years. The Pyramid Lake fishery includes the famous Lohanton Cutthroat Trout that have grown to record sizes and have lured fisherman from around the world over for several decades. In 1925 a Paiute named Johnny Skimmerhorn caught the world's record cutthroat here; a 41-pounder.     Commercial fishermen harvested 100 tons of trout between winter 1888 and spring 1889, for shipment all over the U.S. Restocking began in the early 1950s, and today five to ten pounders are not uncommon at Pyramid. Tours can be taken at the fish hatcheries at Sutcliffe.

(Fig. 03)

(Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05)

The single page PDF file below was created in June of 2006 after a trip in May that took us to Pyramid Lake while on a roadtrip to Reno to visit my sister. To view for reading, click on the “Full Screen” icon located at the very right of the Scribd menu bar at the bottom of the page. Directly below this file I have included a slideshow with some additional pictures of our visit.

Pyramid Lake Blog Master by Kenneth Clarke

Golden Barrel Cactus ( Echinocactus grusonii)

(Fig. 01)

Picture Notes: These pictures (Figs. 01-03) of mature Golden Barrel Cacti were taken on 03/18 and 04/15/2010 at the Botanical Cactus Garden at Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory in Las Vegas.

Description: Echinocactus grusonii, commonly called the Golden Barrel Cactus, Golden Ball or, amusingly, Mother-in-Law's Cushion, belongs to the small genus Echinocactus, which together with the related genus Ferocactus, are commonly referred to as barrel cacti.  Growing as a large roughly spherical globe, after many years, it may eventually reach over 3 feet in height. Large plants attain a size of over 2 feet across, and may remain single or produce plantlets at the side to form a clump. There may be up to 35 pronounced ribs in mature plants, though they are not evident in young plants, which may have a knobby appearance. Their flowers are also golden yellow in color, emerging from the large patch of wool at the center of the plant. They are produced a few at a time over a long period during the growing season in the warm months of the year. Note: Younger Golden Barrels do not look similar to the mature ones. The sharp spines are long, straight or slightly curved, and various shades of yellow or, occasionally, white. Small yellow flowers appear in summer around the crown of the plant, but only after twenty years or so.        Barrel cactus species have a lifespan ranging between 50 to 100 years, but some plants are known to survive for as long as 130 years. One extraordinary aspect of barrel cactus adaptations is their roots. The root system is designed to ensure that the plant is able to absorb every single drop of water available in the arid desert conditions. The specially designed roots also help the plant in fixation in desert soil, owing to which it is also seen growing on slopes as well as the walls of canyons. They come from Queretaro State in Mexico, but have become very scarce in the wild due to inundation of much of their natural habitat.

(Fig. 02)

(Fig. 03)

The Devil's Golf Course - Death Valley National Park

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This page last updated on 02/09/2018

On 04/11/2010 I drive out to an area on the valley’s floor called the Devil’s Golf Course. The surface n this area surely provides one of the most fascinating natural textures in existence.  It was so named after a line in the 1934 National Park Service guide book to Death Valley National Monument, which stated that " Only the devil could play golf " on its surface, due to a rough texture from the large Halite salt crystal formations.

Background: Lake Manly once covered the valley to a depth of more than 30 feet. The Halite salt crystals consists of the minerals that were dissolved in the lake's water and left behind in the Badwater Basin as the lake evaporated. With an elevation several feet above the valley floor at Badwater, this area remains dry, allowing weathering processes to sculpt the salt there into complicated forms. Through exploratory holes drilled by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, prior to Death Valley becoming a national monument in 1934, it was discovered that the salt and gravel beds of the valley floor in this location extend to a depth of more than 1,000 feet; later studies suggest that in places the depth ranges up to 9,000 feet.

Veer Towers at City Center




 I took this picture on a visit to City Center with some visiting relative in March of 2010. There is so much to see here, that I plan on making a several more picture taking visits. The wild slant of Las Vegas’s Veer Towers, designed by Helmut Jahn create one of the most eye-grabbing sights in Las Vegas. The twin 37-story trapezoidal-shaped towers tilt five degrees in opposite directions for a striking visual contrast of angles that seem suspended in time and space.  By contrast, the Leaning Tower of Pisa tilts just 3.9 degrees. A core of slanted columns hands off the load at the sixth, 19th and 32nd floors as the floorplates shift more than 35 feet across the 37-story height of the building. The result is an impossible-looking structure and, because the towers lean past each other, views from every room.Buildings are wrapped in a distinctive yellow checkerboard fritting that reduces heat gain while providing shading and privacy. It could be one of 2010's boldest examples of a true partnership between architect and engineer, in what Jahn calls “archineering.”

Area Description: CityCenter is a 16,797,000-square-foot mixed-use, massive urban complex on 76 acres located on the Las Vegas Strip. With a total cost of more than 11 billion dollars, the project, owned MGM Resorts International was the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States. Vdara, Aria and Mandarin Oriental (a mix of hotels, residences, casino and restaurants) and The Crystals (a high-end shopping mall) opened in December 2009. The Veer Towers and the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino opened in 2010. Plagued by construction problems and lawsuits, The Harmon Hotel and  Residences has yet to open.