Kelso Dunes is the largest field of eolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert, covering 45 square miles. The tallest dunes rise up to 650 feet above the surround terrain. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, California.The Kelso Dunes are also notable for the phenomenon known as singing sand, or "booming dunes." Enthusiasts typically climb to the top of the dunes and slide down slowly, generating a low-frequency rumble that can be both felt and heard. This effect has also been noted at the Eureka Dunes in California, Sand Mountain in Nevada, and the Booming Dunes in the Namib Desert, Africa.See you soon, sand.MP3: Linda Perhacs - Sandy Toes
OREGON
Cold Splinters is in Oregon this week doing some work. If you're around, you know what to do. See you soon.
USGS MAPS
If you're a map person, which I'm assuming you are if you're reading this, let it be known that the U.S. Geologic Survey is having a major sale right now. Over 60K maps are only $1, like the Crater Lake beauty pictured above. Have at it here. MP3: Randy Newman - I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Live)
Most Visited Parks in 2011
The Smokys win again. That is one beautiful park, but man, places like Gatlinburg, TN are not high on the ol' priority list. In any case, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, comes in at just over 9 million, and the runner up, Grand Canyon National Park clocks in at 4. Wild. The reason? Well, Rocky points out that GSMNP "doesn’t charge people do drive through on the highway that transits the park, but they do count them all as visitors." That and Gatlinburg, I suppose.More info at National Parks Traveler.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park...............9,008,830
- Grand Canyon National Park...........................4,298,178
- Yosemite National Park.................................3,951,393
- Yellowstone National Park..............................3,394,326
- Rocky Mountain National Park.........................3,176,941
- Olympic National Park...................................2,966,502
- Zion National Park........................................2,825,505
- Grand Teton National Park..............................2,587,437
- Acadia National Park.....................................2,374,645
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park.........................2,161,185
Big Bend Mountain Lion
Maybe not the most interesting thing to post about (though none of this stuff is, right?), but Cold Splinters is down in Southwest Texas right now and, for the past few days, the mountain lion attack in Big Bend National Park has been the talk of the town. Well, one of the topics at least...Six year old Rivers Hobbs was attacked late Sunday as his family returned to their room from the park's main lodge. The boy's father, Jason Hobbs, pounced on THE BEAST as it clamped onto Rivers' face. Hobbs ultimately stabbed the animal in the chest with a pocketknife, causing it to flee. (Nice work, dad.) It took 17 stitches to close, and after returning home to Leander, TX, Rivers is going to have to get a series of rabies shots. See pics here.And there you have it...MP3: Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Deep In The Heart Of Texas
Peeling Back The Bark
Over the past couple of weeks, I have spent an unhealthy amount of time on Peeling Back The Bark, the wonderful blog of the Forest History Society (whose website and archives are just as good). The Forest History Society is a "nonprofit educational institution that links the past to the future by identifying, collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating information on the history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources — timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values."Yep. Sounds good to me.From Forgotten Characters of Forest History (do you know Ev'rett The Forest Evergreen?) to the American Tree Farm archival documents, the whole site is the toppermost. Best way to experience it is to experience it, so click here.