CANARY ISLANDS NATURE TOUR, Part 3: Guest Post by Susan Kean

 

Gran Canaria. View down the ravine with sow thistle.

My friend Susan Kean and her partner George recently visited the Canary Islands on a nature tour. I thank her for sharing her impressions and terrific photos with The Intrepid Tourist.

There is so much to say about the next three days here in Gran Canaria. The island is almost entirely volcanic, rising to about 6000 feet around the edge of its Central Valley or caldera. From the high points there are a number of canyons that were formed millions of years ago by rain. They go down to the ocean from the high point. 

View from the coach as we drive along the narrow roads on the western side of the island.

The roads are narrow with spectacular views, as they wind their way up the canyons. We pass through various ecological zones as we go higher.

Local variety of aeonium.

On Tuesday we drove along the spectacular west coast to a small port, Puerto Rico, and took a boat trip. It was very rough and I spent most of the time watching the horizon to control my queasy stomach! We saw dolphins and small bottlenose whales. Later in the day on dry land saw many birds.

Spoonbills.

Next day we visited the pine forest area and caught a glimpse of the rare Gran Canaria blue chaffinch and enjoyed sunset from the balcony of the Parador Hotel

The following day we ventured into the lower regions of the volcanic caldera to the town of Moya. This time our primary goal was to see the Laurel pigeon. A nearly extinct species with which that they have been able to repopulate their area of the island.

Orchid.

On our last day in Gran Canaria we went to the capital, Las Palmas. We started with church at the English language Episcopal church, Holy Trinity.

Plaque outside the Anglican Church, established 1891.

We were a bit early so we walked around the neighborhood. This area was established by the British Traders in the 18th Century.

Inside Catholic Church.

After worship we headed for the old town area where we saw the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Ann. 

House where Columbus stayed in 1492, 1493 and 1502.

The most interesting place we saw was the house where Christopher Columbus stayed on three of his four trips to America--1492, 1493, and the fourth trip in 1502. I didn’t realize he had made four trips to America. The Columbus house is now a museum.

Small Mardi Gras Parade in Las Palmas. A big one happens on the island of Tenerife.

Look for Susan's previous posts about her trip to the Canary Islands. Part 1 posted on May 26, 2025, and Part 2 posted on June 2, 2025.

CANARY ISLANDS NATURE TOUR, Part 2: Guest Post by Susan Kean

 

View from the top of crater over to Las Palmas. Canary Islands.

My friend Susan Kean and her partner George recently toured the Canary Islands on a nature tour. I thank her for sharing her impressions and terrific photos with The Intrepid Tourist.

Today’s adventure in the Gran Canaria was learning about their indigenous people and checking out the main volcanic crater on the island. Relevant to today’s times, the Canary Island folks were very grateful to the CIA who gave them a heads up in 1971 about an impending earthquake. In those days Spain had no earthquake prediction systems and the CIA were in the Atlantic and observed some activity. This early warning helped save lives.

Cave. (Note tiny cars on lower right for scale.)

It is believed that the earliest people came to Gran Canaria in the 3rd Century. They were from North Africa, similar to the Berbers in Morocco. It is not known how they got there but they may have been brought by the Romans. 

Skeleton.

The early people came prepared--bringing seeds, animals, everything they needed for existence. They lived in caves, similar to those of some indigenous people in the North America.

We had a Tapas lunch in a cave restaurant. Our restaurant was in a cave dug into the hillside.

Center statue is a model of an indigenous statue found on a hillside.

The last day of our Nature Trek trip to Gran Canaria was spent near our hotel at Valley Agaete Necropolis where we learned how the indigenous people buried their dead in raised stone tombs because it was impossible to dig graves in the lava rock. This was during 7th to 11th century.

Stone tomb.

We also had a wonderful time wine tasting and lunch at Finca La Laja farm where they grow coffee, grapes, all kinds of citrus, bananas and every fruit you can think of--almost. The climate is a bit cooler than California and has more rain.

Winery at Finca La Laia.

Opuntia.

Opuntia (prickly pear cactus) was imported from America to grow the cochineal insect to produce red coloring. The cactus is everywhere now.

Feral cats.

Ferry approaching the pier in small harbor near our hotel. I found the lava cliffs coming down to the ocean spooky. 

Part 1 of Susan's trip to the Canary Islands posted last week, May 26, 2025. Part 3 will post next week, June 9, 2025.

CANARY ISLANDS NATURE TOUR, Part 1: Guest Post by Susan Kean

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

My friend Susan Kean and her partner George recently toured the Canary Islands on a nature tour. I thank her for sharing her impressions and terrific photos with The Intrepid Tourist. The islands are not named for the canary bird. Rather, the name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs", perhaps because monk seals or sea dogs were abundant.

View from our hotel balcony.

We arrived in the Canary Islands, specifically Gran Canaria yesterday. The islands, which include Tenerife (the only one I’d heard of), are about 100 miles off the coast of Africa. They are an autonomous community that is part of Spain They claim to have the best climate in the world. They are volcanic islands of various ages--2-3 million years-- and are still active. The volcano on La Palma erupted last year.

Church of St John the Baptist, Arucas. Built about 100 years ago in volcanic rock

Gran Canaria is a circular island about 30 miles across. Our hotel is on the Northwest side of the island in a beautiful setting.

Dragon fruit tree…no dragon fruit do not come from this tree. They only flower every ten years. So the bag on the top is to collect the seeds.

We are on a nature tour. It’s amazing that a small island like this has so much to see.

Limonium, very rare Canary variety.

Today we visited the Botanic Garden to be introduced to all the different plants and birds on the island.

Our guide explaining that this is not a cactus. The only true cactus are in the Americas. It evolved down a separate line. It developed similar water retaining features but has a milky sap.

Sunset.

Part 2 will post next week, with Part 3 in the following week.

HEMP IMPRESSIONS – AN EXHIBITION AT THE CORVALLIS MUSEUM (OREGON) Guest Post by Caroline Hatton

Hemp textile artworks. Left: mulch by Lucas Mazurik, et al. right: Orchid's Keeper's Bag by Sandra Starkey.

My friend Caroline Hatton, a children’s writer and frequent contributor to this blog, took these photos in May 2025, at the Corvallis location of the Benton County Museums in Oregon.

Hemp Impressions, a fiber and fashion exhibition in Corvallis, Oregon.

Hemp Impressions– Sustainable Fiber and Fashion Reimagined, a temporary exhibition at the Benton County Museum in Corvallis, Oregon, “explores the creative potential of industrial hemp to create contemporary fiber art. This juried exhibition called for garments created using fabric that was at least 50% hemp fiber*. Submissions were judged on four criteria: concept, construction, use of hemp, and overall design.”

*Hemp fiber is obtained from the stem of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa L.), best known because its dried form is marijuana. An important difference is that hemp grown for fiber contains low levels of the psychoactive product, whereas hemp grown for marijuana contains higher levels.

Detail of Orchid Keeper's Bag by Sandra Starkey.

The photo at the top of this post shows the most astonishing aspect of this exhibition for me, which is the boundless range of style allowed by hemp-containing fabrics: from the rustic outfit on the left, designed to go harvesting (the artwork title is mülch: redefining what it means to be an outdoor brand: through dirt, through soil, through mülch by Lucas Mazurik, Jack White & Zoë Reece, Colleen Pokorny & Marianne Dickson, Advisors) to the utterly refined Orchid’s Keeper’s Bag by Sandra Starkey on the right, designed to have no function except for evoking a mystical time.

The hemp abaya by Yessenia Chavez.

Detail of the hemp abaya by Yessenia Chavez.

The Hemp Abaya by Yessenia Chavez features botanical printing. The creator collected bamboo and other plants in her community, then used black fabric paint to print them on the fabric.

Detail of Green Jacket by Susan T. Avila.

While making Green Jacket, Susan T. Avila took advantage of the fact that 100% hemp fabric frays easily, to create fringes and roll them to form a fluffy collar.

Detail of Soft Scales by Sibei Xia.

Although hemp fibers are long-lasting, they are vulnerable to breakage when spun into yarn. Sibei Xia addressed this challenge, while knitting a dress called Soft Scales, by using the float jacquard technique because it decreases the proportion of yarn loops.

Flora Louisienne by Casey R. Stannard.

Say Yes to Hemp by Colleen Moretz.

The Purification of Hemp by Mary Elliott.

The above photos show that any fabric artwork one can dream up, one can make out of hemp-containing material. Beyond the practical aspects mentioned here, the works reflected deep beliefs in the hearts and souls of their creators.

This exhibition is in Corvallis, Oregon, about an hour-and-a-half drive south of Portland, and it ends on June 1, 2025.

SPRINGTIME IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Flowers and Sunshine

Coastal manroot, a common wildflower along the northern California coast.

In mid-April I spent a week in Humboldt County in northern California, home of towering redwoods, rugged coastline, rushing rivers and fertile valleys. I have visited Humboldt County numerous times in the fall for the biannual Authors and Illustrators Festival. This time I was doing research for a new book. Unlike my previous research visit in early February, when it rained constantly and the rivers were mad torrents, the weather this time was warm and sunny. 

Swallowtail butterfly.

Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, butterflies had emerged from their chrysalises, and the rivers had mostly returned to their normal steady flow. 

The Mad River, near the town of Blue Lake.

Columbine.

Most of my time was spent working on my project, but one afternoon I took a walk on one of the many trails in the Arcata marsh conservation area and visited the small museum. 

Redwood Creek.

Another day I ate my picnic lunch at the trailhead of Redwood Creek in Redwood National Park near the town of Orick. Everywhere I went I was amazed by the abundance of wildflowers. Here are a few of my springtime photos.

Blue-eyed grass.

California poppies.

Lupines.

Ferns uncurling.

Wild garlic.

A pair of ducks in the Arcata marsh.

RED ROCK CANYON, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Towering Rocks, Hiking Trails, Ancient Rock Art in the Mojave Desert

Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Just outside the bustling city of Las Vegas, Nevada, is Red Rock Canyon, a conservation area with monumental rocks, miles of hiking trails, and intriguing ancient rock art. A 13-mile one-way scenic drive, beginning at the Visitor Center near the park entrance, provides an overview of the many special features of the park and opportunities to take photographs.

One of many hiking trails at Red Rock Canyon.

On a Friday afternoon at the end of March, my husband Art and I visited Red Rock Canyon. I had paid the entrance fee in advance online and had my ticket handy as we arrived at the fee station. (A limited number of cars are permitted at each entry time to prevent crowding at the parking lots at the various viewpoints.) It was a beautiful day—partly cloudy and mild weather.  In summer, the temperature can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit!

Entrance to Visitor Center.

We stopped first at the Visitor Center, where we talked to a ranger who gave us a map and advice on places to go on short hikes. Along the back wall of the Visitor Center there appeared to be a giant mural of the rock formation that gives Red Rock Canyon its name, but as we got closer we realized that we were looking through a huge picture window and the scene was real. It was our preview of what we would see close-up on our scenic drive. 

View of Calico Hills from the Visitor Center.

Displayed along the window sill were baskets and other objects made by Native Americans from the area.

Native American figure on display at the Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center also has a place to buy snacks and drinks and a well-stocked gift shop. We had brought a picnic lunch. While we ate in the picnic area behind the Visitor Center we watched a pair of white-tailed antelope squirrels scurrying among the cactus and under the tables, foraging for dropped crumbs. Unlike most desert wildlife, the squirrels are active in the daytime, holding their tails over their backs like tiny umbrellas.

View from the first parking area on the Scenic Loop drive. Note tiny figures on the rock.

Our first stop on the scenic drive was the overlook of Calico Basin where massive red rocks rise up from a dry valley. It was only when we realized that the tiny dots along the path below and on the rock were people, that we understood the scale of the rock.

We looked for the tortoise at the parking area but didn't see it.

Both of us were reminded of our visit many years ago to Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the giant red rock in the middle of the Australian desert. The geology of the two formations is different, but both are huge and both are red. The red color is the result of iron oxide (basically rust). Colors of other rocks in the park come from different combinations of minerals and geologic processes.

Our second stop was at the sandstone quarry. In the 19^th century, local settlers had quarried the stone for building.

Stone blocks in the old quarry.

Along the path to the quarry we passed a manzanita in bloom, with its clusters of small bell-shaped flowers. We had hoped to see more spring flowers, but we were a bit early in the season.

Manzanita blossoms.

We then continued on the scenic drive, past the Hight Point Overlook (at an elevation of 4771 feet) to the turn-off for the Petroglyph Trail. There we followed the short, but rocky path to the base of a large rock wall where dozens of drawings were chipped into the stone. 

Petroglyphs at the end of the Petroglyph Wall Trail.

While some drawings resemble animals (bighorn sheep in some cases) and others appear to be a kind of record keeping, no one knows for sure what the symbols mean. There are also handprints “painted” in red. The images were made by ancient Americans who lived in Red Rock Canyon more than 800 years ago.

Hand prints made with iron oxide.

After another short hike, we returned to the scenic drive and made out way to the end at the highway leading to Las Vegas, about a half-hour away. We had enjoyed a good taste of Red Rock Canyon in the few hours we spent there. Someday we’ll have to go back to take some of the longer hikes and see more.

View of the Calico Basin looking southeast.

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area is operated by the Red Rock Canyon Conservancy. For more information about Red Rock Canyon and making a reservation to visit, go to the Red Rock Canyon website.

Red Rock Canyon formations are the result of millions of years of geologic action.