I know, I’ve been away for a bit. And, I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t in Italy. My wife recently presented me with a t-shirt which says, “I’m tired of waking up and not being in Italy!”…I think that this about sums it up. I wear the t-shirt as a night shirt, and when I look at myself in the mirror in the morning, I get that affirmation.
I’ve gone through all of my photos of Italy, and I’ve gone through my travel journals, and I’m ready to get back to routine postings of articles and photos of Italy, Our Italy. So, please stick with me.
Starting next week, Italy will be back in full focus. Over the next few weeks, I will be covering the food and wine of Italy. In the recent past, I’ve gone over wine classifications, meats of Italy, and pasta. You can expect me to delve a bit deeper into the foods of Italy…as it is the best in the world…probably the universe. I’ll be discussing wine pairings with this great food. And how about pre-dinner or after-dinner drinks? There are many, broken down into varying categories. You may want to plan your trip to specific regions of Italy to coincide with local food festivals. And, how should one dress and act and pay when dining in Italy? Stay tuned for a focus on eating…Italian style.
In addition to those promised hints on eating Italian style, I’ll interspersing one of my passions, which is photographing all things Italian, and then processing snapshots into fine art photographs.
So, that’s it for today’s less-than-an-article about Italy. However, if you want to see what I’ve been doing in the meantime that wasn’t Italy related, read on…otherwise, I’ll see you next week as we dive into 2022. .
Besides reviewing things Italian over the past few months, what else have I been doing? I’ve spent a good bit of time processing photos from a couple of recent trips to the desert southwest.
I’ve Been to the Desert
Right below Italy on my list of favorite places, you will find the desert southwest of the U.S. The Sonoran desert life of southwestern Arizona is of particular interest to me. I am attracted to the stark beauty, the rock formations, and the desert plant life struggling to survive.
Regarding the survival of the Sonoran desert plant life, many perished in a desert wildfire in June of 2020. This fire just northeast of Phoenix, known as the Bush Fire, destroyed 193,455 acres of desert plant life in Tonto National Forest (forest?!). You will see photos below of the destruction caused by this fire.
I’m told that If 30-50% of a saguaro cactus is scorched, it will not survive, though it will take a few years for it to be obvious. You will see obvious, and not so obvious, examples below of the damage to desert plant life.
Other than cacti, you will see desert boulder and rock formations, colorful sunsets, and even a burger! At the least, I would suggest looking at the first gallery, which shows the impact of that desert wildfire.
As always, click on an image to get a larger view.
In the foreground are the ravages of fire, and many of the saguaro are destined to die
A Desert Wildfire
Here you will see the ravages of fire. It amazes me that a fire can spread over almost 200,000 acres in a desert, where there appears to be such sparse vegetation to carry the flames. My understanding is that invasive grass species have out-competed the native species and they have flourished, creating a carpet of tender that is spread throughout the desert floor…tender that had not existed years ago. Seeds transported by vehicles are the main culprits in establishing these invasive species.
Some photos, like those at the beginning of this gallery, show the obvious damage of the fire. And in others, the slick, almost leather-like and desiccated appearance of the normally green covering is obvious. While in other photos, you will see thorns burned like the end of a spent match. Or, the pores where the thorns once grew are just completely burned away.
In the first four photos below, all of the plant life that is visible has been destroyed. The remaking photos speak destruction on their own.
Sticky Situations
Many cacti have a pointy, protective surface, like those below. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to find a couple of sticks and use them chopstick-fashion to pick a clump of cholla spines from my shoe or pants leg. Or to do the same to an elbow, having to wait until returning to my hotel to grab tweezers and get to work pulling these pokey protuberances from my skin.
A very thorny passage…don’t even try it!
Monarchs of the Desert
The Saguaro is by far my favorite of the cacti family. Whether straight as a telephone pole, or with arms outstretched and reaching toward the heavens, they are majestic. There are hillsides west of Tucson that are covered with these beautiful (well, to me, at least) cacti. In fact, Saguaro National Park can be found there.
Yes, this welcoming guy is just as I found him…no kidding!!
It was kind of spooky coming across him.
Just Boulders
Tough you will see boulders above, the primary focus are the saguaro cacti. The granite boulders of the Sonoran desert are characterized by erosion, primarily through freeze-thaw conditions that ‘flake off’ small marble-sized-and-smaller pieces. These small, rough stones can be found throughout urban areas as residential ‘ground cover’. The surface of most of the boulders below have the texture of a very, very rough sandpaper.
Though you will see a cactus or two below, the primary foci are the boulder piles.
The Boulder Burgers
I promised above that I would give you a boulder burger…or maybe a burger boulder…you decide. And no, these are definitely not natural formations…though they are made up of all-natural ingredients! There are no preservatives, except rock, I guess.
And, Since You Made it this Far
So, maybe you like looking at desert photos…at least you haven’t given up, yet. So, here are a few more, from recent southwestern desert journeys.
Monument Valley Utah/Arizona
The majority of these Monument Valley photos were taken in areas that require a Navajo guide. I would suggest doing that, as you would not normally get access to the areas shown below.
Valley of Fire
The Valley of Fire State Park of Nevada is an hour-or-so north of Las Vegas. The sandstone rocks are worn through by erosion with surprising results. Worth a visit if you’re driving that way.
OK, that’s it. You probably need to go to bed now, or otherwise get a life, right? You’ve spent way too much time looking at non-Italy photos. Until next week when we return to things Italy, once again I say…
Ciao for now,
Steve
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NOTE: As it doesn’t relate to Italy, today’s article will not be added to the Index of Articles normally accessed through the link at the top of each article.