Field Notes

Eastern Mojave Vegetation	Field Notes (Continued)
	Tom Schweich

Topics in this Article: 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Contents Literature Cited		When I first read the field notes of Annie Alexander and Louise Kellogg, I was fascinated by the descriptions they wrote about the places they went and the plants and animals they found there. By publishing my field notes on the Internet I hope to follow a little bit in their tradition.
		2004
		My 2004 Trip To Spain
		From Thursday, February 12 to Tuesday February 23, 2004, we traveled to Spain, where I collected a few weeds and made a short trip to the Sierra Bermeja to see the Pinsapo (Pinus pinsapo Boiss.).
		Thursday February 12th
		Our flight took off from San Francisco a few minutes late due to the large crowd on the plane. Not much to say about the flight, except that we arrived in Philadelphia a few minutes early.
Locations: Sevilla.		We walked over to the international terminal to wait for our flight to Madrid. The plane was a few minutes late arriving from Cancun, so we left a few minutes late for Madrid. The plane to Madrid is also full.
		There was one poor young man who had lost his passport at Philadelphia. No one could find it, but they made repeated announcements of a lost passport in the airport. Someone must have found it because he was last on the plane, with his passport, to a rousing cheer from the group with whom he was traveling.
		Friday February 13th
		Our flight arrived at about 945 AM, about 15 minutes late. It took a few minutes to get off the plane. The lines at Passport Control were pretty long, and it took 15-20 minutes to get our passports stamped. No hurry, though, as it was another 10-15 minutes before our luggage arrived. At the airport, we took a taxi to the Atocha railroad station, arriving about 10 minutes after 1100 AM. It was a good thing we had reservations on the Noon AVE, as we would not have made the 1100 AM train.
		The platform for our train to Seville was not announced yet, so we waited a few minutes until 1130 AM when our train was announced.
		The train attendants saw us coming with our baggage and asked to check our luggage. We agreed, and found it easier than loading the baggage on our car ourselves. Our seats were in the left side of the train, two seats facing each other. I was able to stay awake only about the first half hour, then Cheryl and I traded seats so she could sit facing forward and see the scenery, while I rode backward with my head slumped over, sleeping. I vaguely remember stopping in Cordoba, and then we were in Sevilla.
		Rachel met us at the train station. She came on the bus from her school. We had juice while we waited for Nacho. When Nacho arrived, Rachel drove us home in the car, while Nacho stayed in Sevilla to teach his class.
Rachel and Kiko Locations: Bormujos.		At home in Bormujos we met Kiko the cat, and visited a bit. Cheryl and Rachel started going through all the things that Cheryl had brought in her second suitcase: lots of baby clothes, diapers, etc. As I was starting to fade fast just sitting on the couch, I decided to take a walk. I walked all around the development containing Rachel and Nacho's house, over to the hospital, down to the University, up to the MAS supermarket, and then home again. This took about a half hour, and helped wake me up a bit.
		In the evening after Rachel went to get Nacho, we decided to get Chinese food, so Rachel, Nacho and I walked over to the Chinese restaurant, and ordered some food. The House Special Soup was a bit of a combination Egg Drop and Hot and Sour soup, there was Chow Mein, Sweet and Sour Chicken and vegetables. No fortune cookies. There were also some traditional Spanish foods on the menu. The food was good, but not seasoned as much as we would expect from Chinese food.
		Saturday February 14th.
Julio, Nacho, Maria Jesus, Rachel, and Cheryl at Plaza de España. Other Articles: Field Notes: Plaza de España		This morning we got up about 930 AM. After breakfast we drove into the "Center" (downtown Seville) and met Nacho's parents, Julio and Maria Jesus. We walked through Parque Maria Luisa and then part of the Plaza de España. At the Plaza de Espana, there are tile displays for each of the provinces of Spain. We stopped and took this photo at the tile display for Pontevedra. Nacho’s mother is from Pontevedra. The tiles depict a scene from the history of the city. Unfortunately, I did not write down the event in history.
		At a terrace restaurant at the edge of the park, we had a coffee. From there we walked through the Barrio Santa Cruz to Plaza Alfalfa, where we met Pamen and Julio and their two children: Marta and Julio (sometimes called "Julito" or little Julio).
Lunch at Habanita		We had lunch at Habanita, a Cuban restaurant in Alfalfa. We had various things to start, including Bleu Cheese croquettes and Spinach croquettes. I had the lamb meat balls on cous-cous. It was pretty good, but I was a bit surprised by cumin seasoning instead of garlic. Maria Jesus had a combination plate, from which I tried the fried Yucca. Not much flavor, and a bit fibrous, but not bad. Unfortunately, they did not have salmorejo today, which was a bit of a disappointment.
Lunch at Habanita		When the waitress first came to our table, Pamen asked for some food for the children. Some meat and french fries were brought out to the table very quickly. The children then got to eat quickly, while the adults had drinks, then appetizers, and finally their meal.
		I noticed another party in the restaurant did the same thing. After eating, it was OK for the children to get up and visit their grandparents, and other adults around the table. I thought that was a good approach, as I think in the US, we expect the kids to wait patiently until the adult meal was served before the kids could eat. At large family meals, it is often the same; first, the kids are fed, then the adults eat while the kids play.
		On the walk back to the car, we stopped for a few minutes at a new store called OpenCor, which had a little bit of everything. A little more stuff than a 7-11, maybe more variety, and no gas, but otherwise similar on the concept. Nacho's parents and Julio and Pamen came up to Rachel and Nacho's house. This was the first time that Julio and Maria Jesus had seen the house.
		Kiko the cat was an instant hit with Marta and "Julito" and they played with and chased Kiko the entire time, both inside and out. The adults visited and talked, in both English and Spanish. Nacho's brother, Julio, speaks very good English, and Pamen speaks more than I thought. Some time ago Pamen gave Rachel and Nacho a painting of oranges, orange blossoms in an orange tree that she had painted from the family's country house in San Javier. Rachel and Nacho have hung the painting above their fireplace on a living room wall, which is also the exact color as the oranges.
		After visiting Julio and Maria Jesus went back to the military residence in Sevilla where they are staying, and Pamen, Julio, Marta and Julito drove home to the Navy base at Rota.
		We went to the supermarket near the other end of Bormujos, as there was not much food in the house. Parking for the supermarket is in the basement and you ride an elevator that lets you off at the checkout counters. For ground turkey, you pick out some turkey you like and the butcher grinds it on the spot. Most of the fruits and vegetables are prepackaged and pre-priced. Otherwise, it wasn't much different that what we have.
		For dinner, we were pretty informal, Rachel had leftover Chinese food, I had some left over Chinese soup, an apple and some cheese. I think Cheryl had an orange, and Nacho had some of the soup and a sandwich.
		Tomorrow (Sunday) I think Julio and Maria Jesus are coming over for a while. Otherwise, I don't think there is much on the agenda.
		Sunday February 15
		This morning we drove into Sevilla to see Nika and Carlos and their new baby Miguel. They are buying a house in Tarifa, to be closer to Carlos’ business of making and selling surfboards and related equipment, and will probably move there this summer.
Nacho and Tom work on the fence.		Back at the house Nacho and I worked to remove some of the chain link fence at the back of the yard. The neighbors behind Nacho and Rachel are having a garden shed constructed that backs up to the fence. Since most construction is done in brick with cement plaster coating, the back side facing the yard was rough brick and mortar. We needed to remove the chain link fencing so that the workmen can finish the side facing the yard.
		Then, Rachel and Cheryl talked while Nacho took a nap, and I went out collecting weeds in the neighborhood. One thing I collected was definitely a Solanum, another in the Hydrophyllaceae, probably a Phacelia, one that looks like the Evening Primrose Family (Onagraceae) and a couple more, one that looked like an Astragalus from a distance, but definitely wasn't one close up. I don't have a plant press so I put the plants between sheets of newspaper, then put some bricks on top of them and then added a sack half-full with cement to press the plants. We'll see how it works.
	324	This one looks like a very miniature version of Clarkia unguiculata.
Phacelia (?) growing in a vacant lot, Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain	325	This one looks like a Phacelia.
Literature Cited: - Polunin, Oleg and Anthony Huxley., 1966. - Polunin, Oleg, and B. E. Smythies, 1973. Cerinthe major L. in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain Cerinthe major L.in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain	326	Cerinthe major L. I found this plant in the vacant lots within Ciudad Universtario, Bormujos, and in lesser numbers in the old olive grove west of Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe. It has alternate clasping leaves, and purplish flowers with a slight purple blush on leaves near the flowers. Typically the species is described as having yellow flowers (Polunin and Smythies, 1973). However, the plants in Bormujos had purplish flowers. There is a cultivar typically called C. major 'Purpurescens' that is commonly found on the Internet, or possibly a variety C. major var. purpurescens Boiss. which is described as having purple flowers, bracts and foliage (Polunin and Huxley, 1966). IPNI (http://www.ipni.org/) does not list var. purpurescens as being published and therefore it may be that 'Purpurescens' is simply a cultivar. The plants I collected in Bormujos do not fit neatly into the species or into cultivar 'Purpurescens' as it looks to be intermediate between the two or perhaps something different.
Borago officinalis L. in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain Borago officinalis L. in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain	327	Borago Officinalis L.
Fedia cornucopiae (L.) Gaertner in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain Fedia cornucopiae (L.) Gaertner in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain	328	Fedia cornucopiae (L.) Gaertner in Bormujos (Sevilla), Spain
		In the evening we had dinner with Nacho's parents. There was lots of talk about names for the baby, and other domestic things. I had honey roast lamb that tasted good, but was either too much or too late, as we finished dinner at 1130 PM, and I had a slight bit of discomfort through the night.
		Monday February 16th. Rachel's birthday.
		This morning the workmen are finishing the back of the neighbor's shed. They use mortar to finish the brickwork, and they added some bricks to keep the water from getting in between the little pump house and the neighbor's garden shed.
Rachel's birthday dinner.		Cheryl and Rachel made a lemon pie to celebrate Rachel's birthday. Then they started making the spaghetti using the Lawrey's spaghetti sauce mix that we brought with us.
Card from barbershop.		I went out to the barber shop "Peliqueria de Caballero" and got my hair cut. Requested "dos millimetros sobre todo" and the barber did pretty well. Looks just like a haircut in the US.
		I also stopped at a paper shop and bought a Spanish birthday card for Rachel. The words look like they are appropriate; I hope they turn out to be so.
		This afternoon, after siesta, we went out to look for at plants in nurseries. We went to one nursery in Gines, the town just across the freeway. It took a little while to find because the map showed a bridge across the freeway that we had not noticed before. It was just a one-lane country bridge, and not made for lots of traffic. Then the nursery was down a long driveway. They did not have too much stock and said that their first shipment was expected at the end of this week. They did have the Eureka lemons, like the dwarf lemon tree that Cheryl is growing on our back deck.
		From there we went to Bollullos because Nacho thought there was a nursery there. Bollullos is a little farther west (away from Sevilla), and a little farther south of the highway to Huelva. There was a nursery there, "Vivero Los Azahares," (www.los-azahares.com), but it is closed on Mondays. So we drove through Bollullos and into Umbrete to a garden and farm equipment store. There Nacho got an estimate for a lawn sprinkler system. The estimates are still given in Pesetas in addition to Euros. Maybe that is to help people understand how much things cost.
		On our return to the house, we got some dinner, and then watched the news on TV.
		Tuesday, February 17th.
		This morning we got up a little earlier as we are going into Sevilla with Rachel. After breakfast we walked over to the bus stop, where we caught the bus to Sevilla from Bormujos. It's more like a commuter bus than a city bus, with upholstered forward-facing seats. You can buy a ticket that gives 10 rides into or out of the city with a transfer in the city. Unfortunately, the only place to buy the tickets is in the city. All three of us were able to ride on Rachel's one ticket. Just before crossing the river into Sevilla, we got off and transferred to another bus that ran through Triana and Los Remedios before crossing the river into the city. We got off this bus as soon as we crossed the river, and then walked through one end of the Parque Maria Luisa to the street where Rachel works, Calle Felipe II (Felipe Segunda).
		We visited her school, TEFL International, which it shares with the English Institute, and met Chris, one of the teachers, then went a short way up the street to buy bus tickets in a Tobacco shop. I think it was about 10€ for the Bormujos-Sevilla bus ticket, and 3.80€ for 10-ride ticket for use just within Sevilla.
		We left Rachel to work, then walked down the street to a book store. I was hoping to find Polunin's "Flowers of South-West Europe." They didn't have it. They did have a Flowers of Europe by Polunin in Spanish, but the identification key was in Spanish, and I did not think I could follow the key. They also had aerial photographs of Andalucia, and of the National Parks of Andalucia. Anyway, we did not get any thing at the bookstore.
		Back on the street, we caught the number 30 bus that runs into the city center at Plaza Nueva. We walked up to Sierpes (as in "serpent" as it is a twisting shopping street), and got a Cafe con Leche. Then we did a little bit of shopping before arriving at El Corte Ingles (Spain's big department store). We bought some red thread to match Rachel's red curtains, and asked about sewing machines (maquinas de coser). Cheryl wants to have a sewing machine available when she is here in the summer. The sewing machines were in a different building, and the clerk tried to show me on the map where it was. As we were leaving the store, we saw another map showing where the other building was ... down the street, thru the alley, jog left, another narrow street, jog right, thru the plaza ... etc. No streets, of course, are straight, and some are only a block long.
Tom holds the sewing machine in Plaza Nueva.		Anyway we found the other El Corte Ingles building, and the sewing machines upstairs. They had a basic model with a few features that Cheryl wanted. When we asked to buy it, they brought out a different model. It was close; it was model 1416 when we had picked out model 1406. We had some discussion in Spanish. The thing is that early in the year all the stores have sales (rebajas), and they are very predictable, but not necessarily clearance sales. For the sewing machine model we picked out was last year's model and therefore not on sale, but the model the salesman brought out was a new model on sale (nuevo modelo en rebaja). He even took the new 1416 model out of the box to show us feature by feature that it was the same as the 1406 model. So we bought it. The salesman made a very clever carrying handle out of tape, and we set forth thru the narrow city streets with sewing machine in hand.
		Back at Plaza Nueva, we sat and watched people for a while, then boarded the 33 bus. Less than 15 minutes later we got off at C/ Felipe II, the street of Rachel's school. Nacho came from work a few minutes later, and we drove to Bormujos for lunch. After a short siesta, Nacho is preparing for the class he teaches tonight. While I write this, Rachel is training Cheryl to operate the washing machine. Not sure what we're doing this afternoon; perhaps walking to the fruit store in downtown Bormujos. Rachel is also showing Cheryl how to operate the stroller that Nacho bought when he was in the US for his recent class.
Interior of the Library in Bormujos		The library in Bormujos …
Buying strawberries at the market.		Buying Strawberries …
		Rachel went into Sevilla for her yoga class.
		Wednesday February 18th
		This morning Rachel is staying home for a little vacation. Cheryl and Rachel are cooking, bran muffins this time. They sent me to the supermarket to buy a few things. One of the things I had to get was lowfat milk. Unfortunately, I was going by the color of the cap on the milk jug rather than reading the labels. The milk from Asturias has a blue cap on the low fat milk. But the other brand of milk has a blue cap on the whole milk. Well, I bought milk with a blue cap, but it was the wrong brand, so I bought whole milk instead of low fat milk. In Spain, they irradiate the milk, so it doesn't have to be refrigerated until it is opened. Next on my list were eggs; that was pretty easy. Last was dried apricots ("orejones albaricoques"). Fortunately, Rachel had written this down, and I did not have to say it to the clerk I asked. He said a long speech, but I got the "fruteria" part so I assumed they were with the fresh fruit. And they were, just off to one side a little bit. Cheryl also wanted some buttermilk, but Rachel had no idea what that might be.
City Hall of Bormujos. Locations: Bormujos.		After delivering the groceries, I set forth for a walk around town. I covered most of it, and sent the photos yesterday. The city hall is on the main street of town in about the middle.
The Church in Bormujos. Locations: Bormujos.		Below it is the older town with the narrow streets and the church.
Hacienda Belen, Bormujos Olive Plant.		Towards the west end of the old town is Hacienda Belen, where they used to bring the olives for pressing and preserving. Outside the hacienda are three old ollas, that were used to store olive oil after pressing.
House on C/ Pablo Cosso Calero, the main street of Bormujos.		The building is quite run down now, but it seems to be in use for some purpose. Most of the houses in town were one or two stories. The roofs were flat, and many houses had stairs giving access to the roof, where there was often a clothesline. Many of the houses were decorated with tile around the doors and windows.
Hardware Store in Bormujos		At the hardware store, we bought Nacho a pair of diagonal wire cutters for the next time he needs to work on the fence.
		At one house that I liked, the woman was washing the step, so I was waiting to take a photo by looking at the photos of houses for sale in the window of a real estate office. A very earnest young man came out to greet me and help me find me dream house, but eventually we decided that I was truly only looking and not planning to buy.
		In the afternoon, we did some more shopping for landscaping supplies and plants. We went to a "polvero" (a dust place) in Gines to ask about bringing in some decent dirt to support a small lawn. Nacho calculated he needs 4.25 cubic meters. You have to call the day before you want it and they dump it in the street, which means Nacho will also need a wheel barrow and a shovel.
Vivero "La Menara"		Just up the street from the "polvero" was the "Vivero La Menara" or nursery. This was a very good one, with both fresh and mature stock. They had several species of what we would call "locust trees," but none that I would identify as the Robinia pseudo-acacia that we plant in the US. One tree was listed as a “Catalpa” but not otherwise identified as to species. I was interested in the Catalpa because the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) that I see in the Eastern Mojave may be in the same genus depending upon what is meant by “Catalpa.” I think also that the tree stock in the nurseries is much more mature that those a US nursery sells, perhaps 7-8 years, and heavily pruned, whereas I think US nurseries mostly sell younger trees that have not been pruned.
Thinking about trees in Vivero "La Menara"		I think Nacho and Rachel are settling on a Granado (pomegranate), a peach (melocoton) tree and a lemon tree. Since they don't have a lot of space, it would make sense to select trees that also gave fruit back. We also drove back to the nursery in Bollullos "Vivero Los Azahares," and took a look there. This nursery did not have so many trees, but it did have a good selection of smaller shrubs. Here, I learned that vines are called "rampantes" somewhat like the English adjective "rampant," meaning growing or extending unchecked. They had some very nice Trumpet Vines, in the genus Bignonia, also related to the Catalpa and the Desert Willow.
Interior of the Library in Bormujos Locations: Bormujos.		We came back to Bormujos, and went to the library to get a book about trees. I think Nacho was looking for information about how big trees got, what they looked like, how to care for them, etc. The library did not have a book about trees, but he did get a book about garden planning. While Nacho looked for them, I perused the travel section, and found that there are many small books about places to go or things to do in Andalucia; books that we don't have access to in the US.
		For dinner, we finished off the spaghetti from Rachel's birthday dinner
		Thursday February 19th.
The Cathedral Tower with Giralda.		This morning we got up a little early and rode the bus into Sevilla with Rachel. After arriving near her work, Rachel and Cheryl had breakfast (toast with oil and pureed tomato), while I had a coffee. We parted company, and Cheryl and I took a number 33 bus closer to the center of town, and then walked into Barrio Santa Cruz. We entered at Calle Agua where the town water supply was carried in the walls of the city. Then we wandered our way through the barrio -- the former Jewish ghetto of Sevilla -- coming out once at the Cathedral because I wanted to take a photograph of the Giralda at the top of the Cathedral tower. When I gave my talk about "Outdoors in Southern Spain" at UC, someone spoke up and pointed out that the tower of the Ferry Building in San Francisco was modeled after the Giralda Tower in Sevilla. It was first the tower of the mosque in Sevilla, but now is the tower for the Cathedral.
Other Articles: Field Notes: April 16, 2003		We ducked back into the barrio and found ourselves coming out at the intersection from whence we watched the Paso de San Bernardo enter the inner city during last year's Semana Santa.
Courtyard in Barrio de Santa Cruz		After the paso went by last year we hurried thru the barrio, sort of in the direction of Rachel's house, and I remembered looking through a grille and seeing a wonderful courtyard garden. So we plunged back into the depths of the barrio and, by luck, went straight to the place. Looking at it at length this time, it now seems to be courtyard for a hotel, or a short-term residence. Still very nice and worth a photo.
		We wandered a bit and came out near the street where Rachel and Nacho used to live, Escuelas Pias, and the walked down to Plaza Ponce de Leon, where we got a Coke and rested a few minutes.
		We went back up to the main street that follows the old city walls (so we were just outside the old city), and caught the No. 1 bus that took us to the street where Rachel works.
		Nacho joined us for lunch, and we walked to a neighborhood bar for lunch. "Lunch" starts about 230 PM in the afternoon and goes until about 400 PM. It still seems a little strange to go to a bar for lunch. I mean, a BAR is a not-very-good place where not-very-good people hang out. But in Spain this is not so. This was a family bar, the father mostly ran the bar and did the out-front work, the mother mostly did the cooking and a little of the serving. Their older son, who looked to be about 13 helped out with the serving, and also made the coffees we had. The younger son, about 7 or 8, helped with carrying the cardboard boxes out. He also had taken over the chalkboard, intended to announce the menu of the day, to draw pictures on, by the time we left. We started with a salad of lettuce, tomato, onion (like yellow onion), and tuna, covered with oil and vinegar, and salted a bit. Nacho started with a potato stew with clams. Then, Rachel and Nacho had tuna that looked like it was braised with some onion, served with french fires, Cheryl had "espinacas" which is spinach cooked with garbanzos. I had chicken, like a boneless chicken breast, breaded and fried, that also came with a few french fries. Then we drove home.
		It's now about 630 PM in Spain. While at home, it would be dinner time, in Spain it is pretty much mid-afternoon. Nacho has gone to the bank, and Cheryl and Rachel are hemming the upstairs curtains.
		Tomorrow we are leaving for Jubrique. The next and probably last e-mail would be Sunday night or Monday morning, after we return from Jubrique, but before we go to Madrid for the flight home.
		Friday February 20th.
		Today we drove to Jubrique. Nacho came home from work a little bit early, while Rachel and I went to get a rental car. We took the bus to Mairena, the next town to the south, and then walked about 20 minutes to the car rental place. It seems to be associated with National and Alamo, and goes by the Spanish name of ATESA, an acronym. After packing the car Nacho sat in front to help guide me out of the city. Our highway, A-376 to Utrera, was on the other or east side of Sevilla from Bormujos. There is a major highway that goes around Sevilla so it is not necessary to go through the center.
		Our drive to Ronda was uneventful but rainy. Starting in the plains of the Guadalquivir Valley, first there is an undulating terrain, then low rooling hills, then foothills, and then the low mountain ranges of the sub-Betic system. We stopped in Ronda, parking under the town square. It was raining lightly so we walked around town and across the main bridge that joins the two halves of the town, then back to the Parador to get a coffee.
Shopping Street in Ronda. Locations: Ronda.		We shopped in the main shopping street and then returned to our car, and headed south.
		We took a small road to Benoajan, past Cueva de la Pileta that we have previously visited, and turned off at Jimena de la Libar. This is the town in which Chris, one of the teachers at Rachel's school, has a finca or small ranch. The road went back up to the ridge top where we drove along a way until time to turn off to Jubrique. The road descends into the valley, crosses the Rio Genal, and then begins climbing up to the next ridge. About half way up is Jubrique.
Front door to Casa Rural Maria Muñoz Locations: Jubrique.		We met the owner of our Casa Rural at her store "Todo Desde 1000 300 etc," generally called the "Dollar Store." She rode with us down the road a way then back up another little winding road leading to Jubrique Alta, or the high part of the town. Our little house is about half way up in the town, and no more than 250 feet from to Dollar Store on the main road.
We build a fire to try to get warm. Locations: Jubrique.		It has a combination living room, dining room, and kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. But ... typical of houses in Andalucia, it has no heat. There is a fireplace and wood can be purchased for 9€ a sack, but definitely no heat.
View out the window. Locations: Jubrique.		After struggling for a while, Nacho got a small fire going in the fireplace. We went to dinner in a small bar-restaurante called Meson La Pozuelo. There is also a small hotel in town, but we did not go there.
		For dinner we all had the soup, Sopa de Picadillo, which means "soup of the little things." Ours had ham and hard-boiled egg and a little rice in a good-tasting, if not a bit salty broth. There was one mint leaf floating in the soup that added a subtle hint of mint. For the second course we all had something different. I had Solomillo de cerdo iberica a la brasa, i.e., grilled loin of Spanish black pig, that was quite tasty. Nacho had the ternera or beef in a pimiento sauce. Cheryl had chorizo and eggs with potatos and Rachel had a small omelet.
		Back at our casa rural, we turned in for the day, because it was warmer in bed than not.
		Saturday February 21st.
View from our window in Casa Rural Maria Muñoz. Locations: Jubrique.		This morning the rain stopped about 1100 AM. After a breakfast of food we had brought from Sevilla, we set for for Puerto de Peñas Blancas (Pass of the White Boulders) and Paraje Natural de Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja (Natural Area of Royal Peak of the Brown Mountains). There were two things that interested me about this natural area.
Road to Puerto de Peñas Blancas from Jubrique. Locations: Jimera de Libar. Jubrique. Sierra Bermeja.		First, the rock of which the mountain ridge is made is peridotite. Peridotite is rock from the mantle of the earth. Occasionally strong tectonic movements will push peridotite to the surface. Sierra Bermeja is one place. Cuesta Ridge near San Luis Obispo, California, is another. Peridotite has relatively more iron and magnesium and less calcium, potassium, and phosphorus than rocks typically found as the surface of the earth. Since the rocks have an unusual chemistry, so the soil will have an unusual chemistry in that it has very little potassium and phosphorus that many plants need to grow. One would expect, then, that there might be some unusual plants growing in the Sierra Bermeja. Well, there might have been, but with the wind and the rain, I did not go traipsing around the forest looking for them.
Puerto de Peñas Blancas Locations: Puerto de Peñas Blancas.		As for the second reason to go to Los Reales, there is an unusual tree there. It is the Pinsapo. It is actually a fir, Abies pinsapo.
Entrance to Paraje Natural de Sierra Bermeja. Locations: Puerto de Peñas Blancas.		The Pinsapo was not described until 1837 by the Swiss botanist Boissier. The tree is thought to be a relict from the warmer, wetter mid_tertiary (10-20 million years) and is found in only three places in Spanish mountains that receive much more than an average rainfall. The other two places are the Parque Nacional de Grazalema, and the Parque Nacional de los Nieves, both of which are nearby and considered also to be in the mountain ranges of Ronda (Serrania de Ronda).
Pinsapo (Abies pinsapo Boiss.) in the Sierra Bermeja		The question would be, though, whether the Pinsapo is found on Los Reales because of the peridotite of which the mountain range is composed. That would make an interesting comparison to Cuesta Ridge because of the large stand of Sargent Cypress (Cupressus sargentii), also a very unusual tree, that occurs there: in poor soil from mantle rocks, on a mountain top, near an ocean or sea.
Close-up of needles on Pinsapo.		The comparison may or may not break down because the Pinsapo also grows in Parque Nacional de Grazalema. Here the host rocks are limestones and the soil is a base rather than acid, though high in calcium and low in iron and magnesium. On the other hand, potassium and phosphorus may be depleted, even though the pH will be at the other end of the pH scale. I don’t have any information about the geology of Parque Nacional de los Nieves.
View of Estepona from Puerto de Peñas Blancas Locations: Puerto de Peñas Blancas.		At the pass called Puerto de Peñas Blancas we could see under the clouds to Estepona and the Mediterranean.
Refugio Agustin Lozano		The sign at the pass indicated a refugio 4.5 km down the little road into the park. We drove in and found refugio with the bathrooms unlocked. When we opened the door to the refugio, we were surprised to find someone inside with a fire going in the fireplace. They were two caretakers who said the almost did come and open the refugio because the weather was so bad. We had a cafe con leche, except Rachel who had a hot chocolate.
		Afterwards Nacho read the sign outside learning that the Pinsapo pine is a small tree, somewhat Christmas tree-like, which contributes to its poaching from the parks.
		We found some small trees that looked like a short-needled fir. I took a couple of photos and we left in the wind and the rain.
		Back at Puerto de Peñas Blancas, the consensus was that a return to Jubrique would be quite premature, as there is truly nothing to do there. So we turned the other way, down the hill into Estepona. It is mostly a Mediterranean resort city and held no fascination for us.
The beach at San Luis de Sabinillas with the Sierra Bermeja in the background.		Down the coast to the southwest, we stopped in a little town called San Luis de Sabinillas. There were a few restaurants open on the beach, and we picked one that had seafood.
Lunch at the Seafood Restaurant		We all started with Ensalada mixta: lettuce, onion, julienne carrots and beets, cord, tomato, a little tuna, and olives. Then I had prawns (gambas). I was expecting maybe 6 or 8 like we get in the States, but the plate had 16 gambas. Rachel had "lenguado: that we think was Dover Sole, grilled with garlic. Nacho had "sepia" or cuttlefish. Cheryl had hake, called "merluza" in Spain, breaded and deep-fried. The hake is very good, but very mild and sometimes needs a little more flavor. When we had merluza in Santiago, they used a bit of paprika for flavor.
Fishermen placing their nets.		While we ate we watched the fishermen launch their small boats and set their nets before coming back to shore. They run the keel of the boats up on boards to pull them across the sand. What we didn't learn is how long they leave the nets before they are pulled back in.
View of the Sierra Bermeja from the A-377 between San Luis de Sabinillas and Casares.		Taking a short walk on the beach, we could look back and see that the clouds had cleared over Los Reales. So we were there just a few hours too early for the storm to clear. Looking at the Sierra Bermeja, we could also see how they got their name, "Brown Mountains," because the peridotite of which they are made weathers to a light brown.
		Cheryl found some nice shells on the beach, and I found some pebbles of peridotite.
Literature Cited: - Carver, Norman F., Jr., 1981. View of Casares from A-377. Locations: Casares.		The highway to Gaucin from San Luis de Sabinillas, A-377, passes within a few kilometers west of Casares. I had read in Travel-Spain newsgroup (http://www.gomadrid.com/travelspain-faq.html) that Casares was a very nice place to visit and stay. I did not realize that Casares was so close to the Mediterranean.
View of Gaucin from beside the highway. Locations: Gaucin.		After passing by Casares, the next town in view was Gaucin across the Rio Genal. Down again on the highway, across the river, and then back up the other side to Gaucin perched on the ridge. We stopped at a market for some food for snacks and tomorrow's breakfast. Then we drove thru the narrow streets looking for sights to see, a mistake! Back at the highway, we turned north on A 369, riding the ridge between the Rio Genal on the east, and Rio Guadiaro on the west, to Algatocin.
View of Jubrique from highway A-369 near Algatocin. Locations: Jubrique.		The drive up the ridge to Algatocin affording some nice views of Jubrique, Genalguacil, and the Sierra Bermeja. At Algatocin, we turned off A 369, on our road that descended to the Rio Genal and then climbed back up the ridge to Jubrique.
		Sunday February 22nd.
Cork Oaks between Jubrique and Algatocin Locations: Jubrique.		This morning we left Jubrique after breakfast, and drove to Jimera de Libar, where Chris and Sue have their “finca” or small ranch.
Cork stored for processing. Locations: Jubrique.		The road from Jubrique to Algatocin descends to the Rio Genal. As the road begins its climb to Algatocin, we found Cork Oaks (Quercus suber), from which the cork had been removed recently. There was also a yard where the cork was apparently stored before processing.
Sheep moving from pasture to pasture along the main road. Locations: Jimera de Libar.		The plan was to meet Chris and Sue at the fountain near the entrance to Jimera. Adjacent to the fountain was a small building with a trough of water inside. I believe this building was a place to wash clothes. While we were waiting, two men drove a small flock of sheep up the main road, through the edge of town, and then up into the hills to graze.
		When Chris and Sue arrived we had introductions all around, and then walked to the finca.
View of the valley at Jimera de Libar. Locations: Jimera de Libar.		From the base of the town we walked up the highway, away from town, to a small path that then led to the access road to the finca. The road stayed on the contour of the hill as we walked a short way to the ranch. The lot is about 9000 m2. When Chris and Sue bought this was about the minimal size parcel to build a house. Since then the area has been up-zoned to a minimum lot size of 25,000 m2.
Chris and Sue on the terrace of their house, Jimera de Libar in the background. Locations: Jimera de Libar.		The basic structure of the house is finished and now the house is ready for tiling, windows, etc. As the house is built on a slope down from the access road, the main floor is the upper, with kitchen, living room, and terrace above. Below are the bedrooms.
		We also walked a short way around the property, looking at Chris olive trees, the spring, and into the house itself. I looked at the rocks a bit, and they looked like an impure limestone with minor amounts of shale and some quartz veins. I would guess this is a marine shelf deposit and should have no unusual chemistry for soil development. However, the consistency of the soil approached what we would call “gumbo” as it stuck to our shoes in inch-think layers.
		The neighbors all seem to keep the soil beneath the olive trees plowed, which I would think would lead to soil depletion. I wondered whether planting of legumes such as alfalfa or clover under the olives might be a good idea. On the other hand, Chris was relating that much of the clean-up was related to discouraging pests, especially the olive fly. Many of the trees have former water bottles hanging from them. A small hole is made in the bottle, just the exact size of the olive fly, and “phosphate water” several inches deep is added to the bottle. Apparently, the olive trees are also sprayed from the air. If one does not want their fields sprayed to retain “organic” status, it is necessary to plant red flags at the corners of one’s property.
		Under one of the olive trees I found a small orchid. This was a bit of a surprise, as I would have thought such plants extirpated by the twice-yearly plowing.
		Chris and Sue are interested in becoming an organic farm, and selling their olives as “organic.” They also would like to receive their own oil back from the mill, as opposed to receiving their share of olives pressed in common. At the time the nearest organic press is in Ubrique, quite a bit farther that Ronda, where last year’s olive crop was taken.
		We joined Chris and Sue at their rented house in Jimera for a spot of tea and a sampling of the olives they grow on their land, and then left for Sevilla. It was a fairly easy drive from Jimera to Sevilla. The road was a bit narrow, and the going slow, in the area of Montejaque. South of Utrera we drove for a few minutes through a downpour, like the unstable air we sometimes have in the Bay Area.
		Monday, February 23rd.
Waiting for the bus in the rain.		This morning we are on the Ave from Sevilla to Madrid. We arose early, and after packing, walked in the rain to the bus stop in Bormujos.
		The Bormujos-Sevilla bus route ends at Plaza de Armas, from where we took a taxi to Estacion Santa Justa. There is no baggage check to Madrid from Sevilla, so we loaded our baggage ourselves into the “maletera” of the coach.
		Sunday, April 18,2004
Paicines Reservoir. Paicines Winery Other Articles: CA Hwy 25: Paicines		Sunday morning I left Alameda, and headed south on I-880 and US Highway 101 to the turnoff to Hollister at CA Highway 25. Passing through Hollister on CA Highway 25, I passed through Tres Piños to Paicines. This is apparently one place where the San Andreas Fault is tearing apart the foundations of a winery building. I did find this perched reservoir interesting.
San Andreas Rift Zone south of Paicines. Other Articles: CA Hwy 25: 67100		From Paicines south the highway follows a long straight valley formed by the fault.
		The small hills and ridges in the valley are likely pressure ridges resulting from movement along the fault.
		I stopped at Pinnacles National Monument for a little while and hiked up to the reservoir, than around the rim trail.
Collinisia at Pinnacles National Monument		In the canyons, I saw a Collinsia and a Brodeia ixiodes in bloom as well as what I think is Nemophila.
Climbers at Pinnacles National Monument. View of the Pinnacles from the canyon below.		Pinnacles is a popular climbing location, and nearly every climbable rock has a climber on it.
Looking north in Peachtree Valley from near CA Highway 198. Other Articles: CA Hwy 25: 88900 Locations: Peachtree Valley.		Leaving Pinnacles, I continued south on Highway 25 through Bitterwater and then into Peach Tree Valley.
Intersection of Highways 25 and 198 in Peachtree Valley. Other Articles: CA Hwy 25: at CA Hwy 198		CA Highway 25 ends at California Highway 198, the road from King City to Coalinga.
Intersection of Peachtree Road and Indian Valley Road. Other Articles: Indian Valley Road: 10000 Field Notes: 17-Apr-05		However, I continued on Peach Tree Road, south until it became Indian Valley Road.
Whimsical fish hanging out in a tree. Other Articles: Indian Valley Road: 40000		Here the painted yellow fish hanging in the Oak tree surprised me. I presume a local rancher is also a fisherman, and has hung this whimsical fish in the tree.
View of Indian Valley. Other Articles: Indian Valley Road: 65000 Field Notes: 17-Apr-05 at Indian Valley		This photo of lower Indian Valley shows the stream bed far exceeds the capacity of the stream, and that the hills are already starting to turn brown.
		Indian Valley road ends at San Miguel, where I entered US Highway 101 and traveled on to Atascadero.
		Monday, April 19,2004
		On Monday morning, I left Atascadero fairly early, diving north on US Highway 101 and then east on CA Highway 46.
Jack Ranch Café and James Dean Memorial at Cholame, CA.		Stopped briefly at the Jack Ranch Café in Cholame, for a photo of the café and the James Dean memorial. Here I learned that the actual crash site is a half mile east on CA Highway 46, and 200 yards to the west, in the middle of a farm field. The intersection was realigned when the highway was repaved and renumbered back in 1973. The old intersection and the last 8 miles of the highway that Dean traveled are on land belonging to the State Water Department, and The Jack Ranch, and permission must be obtained to walk or drive the short stretch of old highway.
		From Cholame, drove to I-5 then across CA Highway 58 into Bakersfield. Made a couple of stops here. One was my usual stop for gas and last minute groceries at the Albertson’s. Some time this morning I realized that I had no stove. So I stopped at Walmart and bought a Coleman propane stove.
		Moving on through Tehachapi Pass, the Highway 58 bypass of Mojave is now open. I guess it was a good thing, but driving through Mojave was a kind of break in the monotony, and now is replaced by more monotony. Stopped at the Boron rest stop for lunch.
Ludlow Café Other Articles: U. S. Interstate 40: at Ludlow Locations: Ludlow.		Flew right through Barstow, stopping in Ludlow for gas. Here I took the photo of the forelorn Ludlow Café, only to learn later that this is not the “original” Ludlow Café, which seems to be down the road a bit.
A Santa Fe train makes it way west from Bagdad to Siberia. Other Articles: U. S. Highway 66: between Bagdad and Siberia		From Ludlow, I stayed on the old Route 66, mostly looking for the locations of Bagdad and Siberia, while watching for trains.
Roy's Café in Amboy Other Articles: U. S. Highway 66: Amboy Locations: Amboy.		In Amboy, it appeared that the café and gas station was closed at the moment, so I went on.
The "Shoe Tree" between Amboy and Chambless Other Articles: U. S. Highway 66: 20500		I’ve had several people write to me asking about the “Shoe Tree.” It turns out to be a Palo Verde, festooned with shoes between Amboy and Chambless.
The Essex Post Office Other Articles: U. S. Highway 66: at Essex Locations: Essex.		Looking for something photogenic in Essex was a lost cause, so I settled upon the Post Office. From Essex, I turned north up Essex Road, across US I-40 and into Mojave National Preserve, where I camped at Mid Hills Campground.
The beginning of attitude adjustment hour having arrived at Mid Hills Campground. Locations: Mid Hills Campground.
		Tuesday, April 20, 2004
		The junction of Kingston Road and Excelsior Road is 12.6 miles north of Valley Wells.
		Stopped on Kingston Road at 13.0 miles north of Valley Wells, UTM 11S 0615064 3942014, at elevation 1080 meters.
		Other plants at this location include Yucca brevifolia, Pencil Cholla, Salvia dorrii, Krameria erecta, and Ambrosia eriocentra in the wash.
Desert Pincushion (Chaenactis fremontii) near the Mesquite Mountains.	330	Chaenactis fremonti(?)
Calycoseris wrightii near the Mesquite Mountains	331	Calycoseris wrightii (?)
	332	Eriogonum
	333	Hymenoclea salsola
	334	Larrea tridentata
	335	Lycium cooperi
	336	Chorizanthe sp.
	337	Galleta
	338	Composite
	339	Unknown (may be labeled #0338)
	340	Eriophyllum
Literature Cited: - Corsetti, Frank A, and Alan J. Kaufman, 2003. Winters Pass Hills near Kingston Road Other Articles: Kingston Road: at Winters Pass Hills Locations: Winters Pass Hills.		This field trip was one of my first trips to the Mesquite Mountains to collect plants. When I know that I will visit a new area, I often try to review all the literature about the area, especially including the geology in addition to botany, vegetation etc. In Corsetti and Kaufman (2003), I read that some tubular structures could be found in the Noonday Dolomite of the Winters Pass Hills. The Winters Pass Hills are the Southernmost outcrop of the Noonday and Johnnie Formations they studied. The hill shown in the photograph is the southernmost of the Winters Pass Hills. It is also right beside the road. So, I decided to walk up to the outcrops to see if I could find the tubes. Somehow, though, I got in my head that the tubes were supposed to be scolithos. While I could see many tubular features in the rocks, none of them looked like the photographs of scolithos I have seen elsewhere. So these original field notes stated that there were supposed to be scolithos here but that I did not find them. About a year and a half later, Frank Corsetti saw my field notes and wrote to me to say that the tubes in the Noonday are not scolithos. I went back and read his paper and, sure enough, the paper is quite clear when it says there are tubular structures in the Noonday and it does not say they are scolithos. Therefore, in retrospect, I had probably found the structures I was looking for, but did not recognize them, because I thought I was looking for something else. I'm not sure how I got scolithos in my head. But, you can sure send yourself off on a wild goose chase sometimes. On the way back to the car, however, I did find a large colony of Langloisia from which I made a collection.
Mojave Prickly Pear (Opuntia erinacea) on the slopes of the Winters Pass Hills Parish's Larkspur (Delphinium parishii) on the slopes of the Winters Pass Hills. Other Articles: Kingston Road: at Winters Pass Hills		On the way up to the outcrop, I saw some fine specimens in bloom. One was a Mojave Prickly Pear (Opuntia erinacea) and the other was Parish's Larkspur (Delphinium parishii).
Winters Pass as seen from one of the small hills in Winters Pass Hills. Other Articles: Kingston Road: at Winters Pass Hills Locations: Winters Pass.		From my vantage point on the low Winters Pass Hills, I got a better sense of Winters Pass being a low, broad pass separating the North and South Mesquite Mountains.
		At 16 miles, entering Winters Pass Hills. The vegetation hasn't changed much. A few Apricot Mallow were seen. UTM location: 11S 0616600 3946658, elevation by GPS is 1085 m.
Lilac Subbonnet (Langoisia setosissima ssp. punctata) Other Articles: Kingston Road: at Winters Pass Hills Field Notes: 20 Apr 05 Looking for Langloisia 20050424246	341	Langloisia setosissima ssp. punctata (Cov.) S. Timbrook
Looking east into Nevada from Winters Pass View south from Winters Pass Other Articles: Kingston Road: 49900 50000 Locations: Mesquite Mountains.		Winters Pass.
	342	Mojave Aster
	343	Amsinckia
	344	Lupine
	345	Chorizanthe ridiga
	346

2004

My 2004 Trip To Spain

Thursday February 12th

Friday February 13th

Saturday February 14th.

Sunday February 15

Monday February 16th. Rachel's birthday.

Tuesday, February 17th.

Wednesday February 18th

Thursday February 19th.

Friday February 20th.

Saturday February 21st.

Sunday February 22nd.

Monday, February 23rd.

Sunday, April 18,2004

Monday, April 19,2004

Tuesday, April 20, 2004