Articles by Bo Mackison

Tiny Orchids in Brown – Orchids at Bolz Conservatory

January 28, 2011 by Bo Mackison 4 Comments

A tiny orchid, each flower is little larger than a quarter, on exhibit at the Bolz Conservatory, a tropical paradise plopped in the middle of snowy Wisconsin’s Olbrich Botanical Gardens. While the outside gardens are deep in sleep, readying themselves for the spring show, these pampered tropical botanicals are showing off in grand style.

I DO wish I had been more mindful, and shot the ID sign next to these flowers, but I was so enthralled with the color, the composition, the basket weave background, that by the time I had a photo worth keeping, remembering to document the species was the last thing on my mind.

Filed Under: Nature Explorations Tagged With: Bolz Conservatory, Madison Wisconsin, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, orchid

Cliff Palace Tour

January 26, 2011 by Bo Mackison 2 Comments

Can you imagine who might have walked through this door 800 years ago? What they did during the day? How they lived, loved, worked, survived?

The Ancestral Pueblans lived in the Mesa Verde region in southwestern Colorado for over 700 years before mysteriously disappearing in just a few years. The Cliff Palace is in Mesa Verde National Park.

We had a terrific tour from this experienced park ranger. Not only was he well-informed, but he also had a sense of humor and a sense of reverence for the lands and the history he was sharing with the group. Sorry to say, I waited at the end of the tour to see if I could get his name, but he drove away before I could talk to him. I would have liked to have written a letter to the National Park Service to commend the efforts of this Park Ranger.

We did get up close and personal with the ruins, while still remaining respectful of the archaeological and cultural significance of the ruins we were viewing. What a feeling I had as I walked at the end of the line, dragging behind the others so I could not only take photographs, but also get a sense of the place. Inspiring!

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: archeological ruins, Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, National Parks, National Register of Historic Places, Native American ruins

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde – A Photo Essay

January 25, 2011 by Bo Mackison 8 Comments

There it was, occupying a great oval space under a grand cliff, wonderful to behold, appearing like an immense ruined castle with dismantled towers. ~ Frederick Chapin, 1891, the first published account of Cliff Palace

Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906 by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt. It was the first national park that set aside land to protect the culture of a people. The park is also a designated United Nations World Heritage Site. It is located near the Four Corners area (where the borders Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona meet) in the southwestern corner of Colorado.

The Pueblan Ancestral people lived in this area from about 500 AD to 1200 AD, a span of approximately 700 years. In the early 1200s, a migration of the people took place, and Mesa Verde was deserted in just a couple of generations. Reasons for their departure remain speculative.

Mesa Verde National Park offers guided tours of five different cliff dwellings locations in the park. The tour groups are limited in number and size. All tickets are sold in the Visitor Center and it is a good idea to get there early, especially during the peak months, to get tickets. Access to the sites is limited to protect these sensitive archeological and cultural areas, but a guided tour is well worth the time and money.

Spider on the Tour

We had an unexpected visitor on our tour, and I don’t think he bought a ticket either! I didn’t get too close to this hairy tarantula nor did I do much research on this spider. If you are curious you can check out the link.

The Cliff Palace has more than 150 rooms, usually about 6 feet x 8 feet in size, and 23 kivas, circular pits that were used as ceremonial structures. At its peak, about 1200 AD, there were perhaps 100 inhabitants in this particular dwelling. It is theorized that this, one of the few complex building sites in the region, was used more for administration of the nearby people and ceremonial rituals. Most ruins throughout the National Park and surrounding area were one and two room structures, many on the mesa tops, not tucked into the cliff overhangs.

More photos from Mesa Verde in the next post.

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: cliff dwellings, Cliff Palace, hairy tarantula, Mesa Verde National Park

Rivalry – Chicago (Bears) vs. Green Bay (Packers)

January 22, 2011 by Bo Mackison 12 Comments

R is for RIVALRY.

This Sunday (January 23) the Green Bay Packers will play the Chicago Bears in Soldiers’ Field, downtown Chicago, for the NFC Championship, and a coveted place — is that an under-statement? — in Super Bowl XLV.

I took this photo a couple of years ago, noted its potential at some unidentified later date, and used it in an alphabet post on Seeded Earth blog in 2008. Then I stored it in my photo files, and waited.

This seems an appropriate time to resurrect the Green Bay/Chicago sign. Even Wisconsin citizens who aren’t die-hard football fans, or even football fans at all — and yes, there are a few — get a flicker in their eyes at the thought of playing the Bears for the NFC Championship…and marching out of Soldiers’ Field victorious on our way to the Super Bowl!

Hmm.

V is for VICTORY. I better look for another photograph…..

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Highway signs, Packers vs Bears

Canyon de Chelly – A Photo Essay

January 21, 2011 by Bo Mackison 5 Comments

Canyon de Chelley National Monument is located in northeastern Arizona near the town of Chinle. There are over 2700 archeological structures and cliff dwellings in this area, though only a few have been made structurally sound to allow visitors. Only one trail is open to the general public, but there are numerous guides available for further explorations in the monument.

Shadow Photographers at Canyon de Chelley

We had only a couple of hours to explore , and we did so from the Rim Road probably the most popular way to see the Monument, though truly one sees only a fraction of the Canyons from this vantage point. The next time I visit Canyon de Chelley, I will plan enough time to employ a native guide and truly see the wonders of this remarkable area.

This photo was taken from a trail off the South Rim Drive at Tunnel Lookout. Just barely visible is the bottom of the canyon with trees and a grassy pasture. Canyon de Chelly is unique among all the National Park units in that it is entirely in the Navajo Tribal Trust Land. The National Park Service has a partnership with the Navajo Nation to manage park resources and approximately forty Navajo families live within the boundaries of the National Monument.

The monument encompasses approximately 84,000 acres of lands located entirely on the Navajo Nation. The monument covers 131 square miles and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons — Canyon de Chelly, Canyon del Muerto, and Monument Canyon. It is a vast area. See the tiny specks of blue in the photograph – two visitors at the lookout from which I had earlier taken the above photographs.

Filed Under: Nature Explorations Tagged With: Canyon de Chelly, National Park Service, Navajo Nation, South Rim Drive, Tunnel Lookout

Articles by Bo Mackison

Tiny Orchids in Brown – Orchids at Bolz Conservatory

Cliff Palace Tour

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde – A Photo Essay

Rivalry – Chicago (Bears) vs. Green Bay (Packers)

Canyon de Chelly – A Photo Essay

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