Not Dead Yet

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) perched overlooking a prehistoric petroglyph site. The entrance to an ancient rock shelter is visible below the large boulder in the foreground.

He eyeballed me pretty good as I worked my way around the base of the mountain ...

... and followed as I made my way up and over the top.

Buzzard's eye view. The white stains on the rocks are droppings.

A closer look into the rock shelter. Easily 15° cooler inside.

Esoterizona Stones 21

 

Breccia covered with a crust of small, white hexagonal crystals. The crystals fluoresce soft, milky white with hints of purple under short and longwave UV. Flecks of bright orange and green are also visible. (Pinal County) 7"x4"x3"

Veined, crystalline mass that fluoresces green under SWUV. The non-fluorescing veins create a nice contrasting pattern. The portions of the specimen that appear blue in the photo are actually green as well. (Pinal County) 4"x3"x2"

Another example of hexagonal crystals, this time with a cross-section of the crust exposed. Soft white fluorescence with shades of aqua, blue, purple and green. All three stones are fluorescent from any direction. (Pinal County) 5"x4"x3"

Subsidence

Subsidence zone near an abandoned pit mine in Pinal County. Subsidence is sinking, caving, or fissuring of the land, often as a result of reduced groundwater levels.¹ ²

Two different articles, same title. First is more contemporary, second is more readable:

¹Arizona Land Subsidence Group. Land Subsidence and Earth Fissures in Arizona. http://www.azgs.az.gov/Resources/CR-07-C_Dec07.pdf. 2007.

²Slaff, Steven. Land Subidence and Earth Fissures in Arizona. http://www.azgs.az.gov/HomeOwners-OCR/earthfissuresinarizona.pdf. 1993. 

Arizona Poppy

Arizona Poppy (Kallstroemia grandiflora) along Tucson Wash Road.

Esoterizona Stones 20

Fluorescent Minerals

Short and longwave UV. 8"x4"x4" (Pima County)

Blue and yellow fluorescent formations. 7"x6"x3" (Pima County)

Banded aragonite. 5"x4"x2" (Pima County)

More banding of blue and orange. 5"x3"x2" (Pima County)

Mediterranean Gecko

Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) hanging out under the porch eaves.

They also like to hang out inside the house. I like that too.

Mine Headframe

Intact standing wooden headframe in the Lordsburg Mining District, New Mexico. These were constructed over mine shafts and supported the machinery used to bring ore to the surface. Wooden ore bins and remains of stone buildings are also present in the area. Another prominent feature is the old grade for the Anita Mine Tramway, which connected the mines to the Southern Pacific railroad at the nearby town of Shakespeare.¹ Shakespeare is now a ghost town and off-limits except by permission of the owners.

The headframe pictured above is also visible just right of center in this old photo.

Of all the buildings pictured, only a few scattered walls and foundations remain.

¹ Lasky, Samuel G. Geology and Ore Deposits of the Lordsburg Mining District.  http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0885/report.pdf. Plate 14.