Tag Archives: obsidian

The Road to Diamond, Day 47: Picketpost

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 14, 2025, Benson, AZ- The old centipede moved haltingly across the floor of my motel room. Whether it was its age, or the cold of the floor that stymied the creature, it was clear that the animal was not robust. I was able to get it into a trash basket, using a sheet of paper as a push vessel. From there, the centipede was placed outside, on some rocks that would warm up shortly thereafter.

I also got myself moving, a short time later, and after a light breakfast next door, at Gypsy Sisters Coffee and Tea House, it was time to head to Picketpost Trailhead, which intersects with the Arizona Trail, some five miles west of Superior. I have long wanted to climb the actual mountain by that name, but have found that the common trail at the south end of the peak is closed, due to a rock slide.

That left the magnificent Arnett Canyon, between the mountain that forms a western boundary for Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park and Picketpost Mountain’s 9-mile north to south expanse. Arnett is a mecca for wildflower enthusiasts, each Spring. Today, a good 2.5 months before any blooms appear, it was the rock formations, and small gems and minerals that commanded attention.

When I pulled into the parking lot for Picketpost Trailhead, I was pleased to see that three small groups were also preparing to take in the area. I did not want to be strictly alone for the duration of the hike. As it happened, a group of five women were on a search for Apache tears, the obsidian glass-like gems that dot the middle reaches of Arnett Canyon, near some copper mine tailings left by the predecessor of Resolution Copper, which now operates a limited enterprise east and south of Superior. They invited me to join them for a time, and I was thus able to gather nineteen of the droplets, with initial help from one of the women, who is a gemologist.

Some are, of course, shiny whilst others are rough. I may gently buff some of the less attractive stones, and leave others in a rough state.

Here are some scenes of Arnett Canyon and of its two mountain borders.

The Sun’s energy bathed Picketpost Mountain, in mid-morning.
The majestic boundary of Boyce Thompson Arboretum is crowned by sahuaros.

An exploratory cross-section shows the solidity of the sandstone that rises above Arnett Canyon.
Towering sandstone figures leave much to the imagination.
Even in this dry season, water finds a way to make its presence known.
The Telegraph Fire (2021) caused a lot of damage in Arnett and nearby Alamo Canyon. This barrel cactus has stayed alive, while bearing the scars of the blaze.
Wind can whip a fire, and it can also carry the seeds of plants over mountains. These date palms are from wind-blown seeds that came over the barrier mountain, from Boyce Thompson.
Here is a makeshift arch that someone fashioned out of cholla cactus spines.
As I came up a set of stairs, fashioned from stone, more sandstone guardians made themselves known.

Superior stands as yet another hub of wonders that dot the Southwest.

The Road to Diamond, Day 46: Copper Mountain

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 13, 2025, Superior, AZ- The Wolf Moon shone through my front window, keeping me company, as I read the morning paper, at Home Base I. Thirteen hours later, a sliver has darkened, and the night is quiet here, in the eastern foothills of the Superstition Mountains. The sub-range is also called Apache Tears Mountains, in reference to the gemstone that is quite common in these parts, and named for the tears of the survivors of warriors who rode their horses off a nearby cliff, rather than be captured. In reality the gems are flakes of obsidian.

I am spending the night at Copper Mountain Motel, where I stay when visiting Superior. Usually once a year, it is a joy to spend a few hours at Boyce Thompson Arboretum or a nearby wilderness area. Main Street is also worth an early morning visit, for the shops and Victorian hotel that have sprung up in recent years. These might be tomorrow morning’s agenda.

Today started with the Monday morning coffee group, which saw all regular members arrive fairly early and solve the major problems of the world. We will repeat that process next week, as for some reason, the problems just don’t stay solved. If at first you don’t succeed……

After carefully packing, and listening to a full moon meditation, I drove towards I-17, stopping to pick up a supplement and connecting to Sirius XM, so as to keep tabs on the Los Angeles fire situation. The heartbreak will be long in abating, even if not another inch should catch fire. Whilst en route here, U.S. 60 found many of us inching along, only to note that a major pile-up involving five vehicles, had taken place. I was saddened to see four or five people sitting on blankets beside the highway and looking stunned. Eight people, including an infant, had to be sent to hospital. The pain goes on. In Superior itself, I stopped at the Arizona Rest Area, only to see signs that said the waterline for the facility had broken-an oblique connection to the Los Angeles blazes. Thankfully, there is no blaze at present in this area.

A positive energy is flowing here tonight. After another nice meal at Los Hermanos, a place I first patronized in 1979, I walked back to the motel and took in another two episodes of “The Chosen”, Season 4. The series about the ministry of Jesus the Christ has its unsettling moments, yet affirms much of what I believe about the nature of faith.

In light and darkness, energy is often what you make it to be.

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part XIX: Two Kinds of Heaven

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Hiking and Nature, Personal Values, Social, Striving

March 14, 2017, Superior-  I was invigorated, despite it being an afternoon during the Fast, once the High Trail came into view.  This fairly easy trail first led down into Queen Creek Canyon, and past an old, abandoned Pump House.

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The energetic and happy family ahead of me were already planning to bounce along the bridge that crossed Queen Creek and take on the ridge, which gives High Trail its name.  I was more than glad to follow suit.  As they bounced up and down, in unison, I lingered behind, to take in the fragrance of some Texas Scarlet, and view upwards, at the rhyolite which Queen Creek seems to have thrust upwards.

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Then, it was time to do a bit of jumping of my own.

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Queen Creek was still, on this gorgeous afternoon.

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The views eastward, however, were an extra delight- the rugged edges of a particular heaven.

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I was able to get one more, long-distance view of Picket Post House, before heading back down into the canyon.

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Obsidian accompanies rhyolite, as one heads towards the Australian exhibit.

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After one last look at the rhyolite “castles”, for today, I headed back towards the Arboretum.

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There are two greenhouses, on the western edge of the park.  These house plants that are still delicate, primarily from the “cone” of South America and from southern and eastern Africa.

Mammilaria are the main feature of Green House 1.

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Euphorbia, and aloe, dominate Green House 2.  The first shows plants from Madagascar, which, like the U.S. has a rugged desert Southwest.

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These plants are from the equally rugged southwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

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With that, I exited Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  My return,  in the first days of April, will be in no small part due to  a special soul, working in this little bit of heaven.  SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

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Nature and friendship are what keep me going, as many in Prescott, and elsewhere, know.

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part XV: Free Souls Abound

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Posted by on in Community, Hiking and Nature, Spiritual

March 13, 2017, Oak Flat, AZ-

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES The young couple were a bit taken aback, as I returned to the campsite, where my tent was set up.  They hushed their small, annoyed dog, as I explained I had been at the campsite for a while and had gone to town for dinner.  As they were car-camping, and the campground is free, we were all fine with each other’s presence.  Besides, after some banter, I left them alone, and was content to watch the stars and think loving thoughts. The campground reflected those back.

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Before all this, as there were about 45 minutes until sundown, I took a stroll along an easy trail that led south and west from the campground.  A free spirit, whose own goal was explore all the National Forests west of the Mississippi, had pointed me in the direction of a spring, which he said was a good two hours’ hike from here.  I took the stone path out of the campground and shortly found remnants of another of General Stoneman’s outposts.

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Rhyolite and obsidian abound, in this part of Arizona, as you will see further in “Devils Canyon” (I prefer the name, Queen Creek Gorge, but to each their own.)

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Stone walls were built to last, in the 1870’s.

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I like to pay respects at  memorials to the local departed, wherever I go.  This cross honours the wife of an Oak Flat native.

The campground is of further interest to me, because there is a controversy over just how extensively a planned underground copper mine will be allowed to run, underneath this immediate area.  There are concerns about depleting the water table and about creating a giant sinkhole, under the current campground.  There is some debate, even among Native Americans, as to the sacredness of the site to the Apache Nation.  Several protesters have set up a camp, within the campground, featuring traditional Apache dwellings, called wikieup.  The environmental and archaeological concerns are valid, as is the need for work, among the residents of Superior and outlying areas.  I would probably favour a scaled back mining enterprise, with careful attention to the water table and to honouring any burial sites that may be found.

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