Death Valley – 2016 Wildflower Super Bloom – February 17, 2017

Posted on February 18, 2017 by WCBC

Death Valley

Presenters: Joe and Mary Standaert. Death Valley is the hottest, driest place on the entire North American continent. But once every 10 years or so, something magical happens: The valley explodes with a rare floral “super bloom,” in which its native plants literally spring to life. Death Valley started a super bloom in early January, 2016 after three rainstorms hit back in October 2015, spurring wildflower growth which carpeted the desert with thousands of colorful wildflowers. The last super blooms were in 1998 and 2005, also El Nino years. We planned to go in 2015, but could not make it, and booked a camping trip for March 2016, not knowing about the bloom ahead of time! We came home with “only” 1,600 photos!

If you missed seeing Joe’s presentation, or would like to look again, he has posted his pictures online at Death Valley Superbloom.

AND.. if you missed the previous presentations on their trips to Alaska or Glacier, click on the names.

Alaska

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February 10 – Buckspring Lodge—Vanderbilt Estate

Posted on February 10, 2017 by WCBC

Most years we walk the Buck Spring Trail from Pisgah Inn to the site of George Vanderbilt’s hunting lodge. Have you ever wondered what the building looked like or how it was used by Vanderbilt and his guests? Bill Alexander, Biltmore Estate historian, showed photos and told us about this historic property.

If you want to visit the Lodge site, the Buck Spring Gap Overlook parking area is located at Milepost 407.7 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The overlook is just off the Parkway along the Mount Pisgah trailhead access road across from the picnic area. The site is located beside the trail a few hundred yards south of the Buck Spring Gap Overlook parking area.

More information on the Buckspring Lodge and photographs can be found at the following sites

A Great Camp in the Great Outdoors

Vanderbilt (D-1-13) Lodge on Pisgah

Lucy admiring Purple-flowering Raspberry at the remains of the generator building

Lucy admiring Purple-flowering Raspberry at the remains of the generator building

 

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Holiday Fest 2016

Posted on December 22, 2016 by WCBC

Good friends, great food, and Ken’s “Blooms and Bloopers” slide show. What more could we ask for? Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

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Sycamore Cove Loop – December 9, 2016

Posted on December 9, 2016 by WCBC

A beautiful day for a winter hike – bright and sunny, cool but not windy. Lots to see. What a great idea – too bad you all missed it!

(Click on any picture to zoom)

 

Photography by Penny Longhurst

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Meet the Salamanders of Western North Carolina: Origins, Diversity, and Conservation – November 11, 2016

Posted on November 12, 2016 by WCBC

The origin of amphibians is traced back to about 350 million years ago when ancient fishes began their invasion of the land. One product of this long evolutionary history – modern salamanders of the Southern Appalachian Mountains – displays extraordinary diversity in terms of both life cycle patterns and number of species.

Dr. Harold K. Voris, Former Curator and Head of the Amphibian and Reptile Collection at the Field Museum of Chicago presented photographs of many of the species representing four salamander families found in western North Carolina. Conservation strategies were discussed because many of the species, especially the red spotted newt, are now threatened by the salamander chytrid fungus.

You may remember that we first met Harold in August 2015, when he took us exploring in the Davidson River looking for Hellbenders.

Salamander photographs by Robert Overbeck.

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