Sunday, November 6, 2016

STANDING ROCK PROTEST OF THE OIL PIPELINE



                     THE "WATER IS LIFE" BATTLE





HOW CAN YOU HELP THE PROTESTERS AT STANDING ROCK IN NORTH DAKOTA?

1. ASK for the Army Corps of Engineers' permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline to be rescinded.

2. CALL: The White House: (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414

Army Corps of Engineers: (202) 761-5903

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple: (701) 328-2200


3. E-MAIL your Congressional representatives and Senators.


4. SIGN the White House petition: bit.ly/StandingRockWH


4. SUPPORT the Sacred Stone Camp


Contribute to Legal Defense Fund: http://fundrazr.com/d19fAf

Contribute via gofundme: http://bit.ly/FundStandingRock


5. JOIN events in your area: bit.ly/NoDAPLEvents


6. SPREAD the word. Over 200 nations demand that Dakota Access Pipeline must be stopped, Standing Rock Sioux must be heard and the United States treaties with them must be honored.




Saturday, November 5, 2016

'WATER IS LIFE" BATTLE IN NORTH DAKOTA




PUEBLO INDIAN LAND
TAOS, NEW MEXICO

Today was one of those sunlit, rain-dark blustery Taos days, a perfect day for the non-traditional jingle-dress dance at Taos Pueblo. Close to a hundred people stood in a circle in the heart of Taos Pueblo village. Sharp ululating from the women and the rhythmic boom of the big drum echoed back and forth between the ancient adobe walls of Taos Pueblo as the jingle-dress dancers, from age five to about seventy-five, danced in a circle around the sacred smudge that wafted across the spectators.


BUFFALO DRINKS

This powerful healing dance that originated in Ojibwe communities, done only by the women, is frequently seen at pow-wows. According to The Taos News (11-3/9-16) the dance is a fundraiser in support of the Standing Rock Sioux, called “the Water-is-Life” fight. Over 200 Indian nations have joined protestors at the Sacred Stone Camp in North Dakota to protest the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,172-mile pipeline that would carry crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to Illinois. This may well be one of the largest gathering of the Nations in a hundred years.



WATER IS LIFE
Spirits were high at Taos Pueblo as the clouds blew away and the sun shone on the gathering in front of the Pueblo. Taos Pueblo Governor, the War Chief and others offered prayers, blessings and thanks. Howard Bad Hand, a Lakota and long-time resident of Taos, also spoke, condemning the recent violence at Standing Rock as police in riot gear shot the peaceful protestors with rubber bullets. Volunteers from Taos are planning to caravan to North Dakota with supplies before winter sets in.

As we were leaving Taos Pueblo, we paused to look back. The light was lucid as it sometimes is after a storm. A thin veil of rain with the sun shining through it created a splendid double rainbow that arched over the Pueblo. Our prayers had been heard.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

ASPENING

END OF SUMMER



I've been out and about enjoying the fine fall weather as much as possible. Every fall while the color is good I spend hours wading up and down our acequia and the Rio Hondo looking for water patterns with the camera. My trusty SX 60 HS Powershot Canon has taught me to see things I don't normally perceive.  

ASPEN REFLECTIONS

THE TREASURE

WATER RUSH



COLLAGE

UNDERWATER
SUNSET ON THE RIO HONDO
WHEN the aspens turn I start close to home with a short hike up Bull O' the Woods. Then I usually take a two-night trip up to Colorado. I always return to what was, for forty years, my favorite camping spot, Shaw Lake, near Wolf Creek Pass, the South Fork of the Rio Grande. The lake, which must have been about thirty feet deep a decade ago, is still evaporating. Nevertheless, there were fish jumping, leaving shining rings of light, and fishermen sitting on the exposed rocks trying to catch them. After the fire the blue spruce sprang up everywhere; even the older trees look remarkably healthy with new growth. The aspen meadow I wallow in was undisturbed. I find the grove with the deepest yellow, lie down in a circle of trees and look up through the leaves to the crystal blue sky, saturating my memory with primary colors in preparation for winter when the land is drained of color.


ROAD TO SHAW LAKE

I DIDN'T didn't stay at Shaw Lake long, but went west toward Creede on Highway 149, a dramatic drive that follows the Rio Grande between the tall cliffs on the right and the old railroad tracks on the left. I spent the night at the Freemon Guest Ranch about half way to Lake City. In the morning I stopped to film the meandering silver curves of the North Fork of the Rio Grande, then pulled over at a scenic stop and got out to take some shots of the distant headwaters of the Rio Grande.


HEADWATERS OF THE RIO GRANDE

NEXTstop, the clear gleaming waters of Lake San Cristobal, the second largest natural lake in Colorado, with camping spots where beautiful aspens reflected in the water. Yes, I am still looking for something approaching the perfection of the former Shaw Lake, now Shaw Puddle.

SAN CRISTOBAL LAKE, COLORADO

GUNNISON JEWEL

I DROVE on to Gunnison, spent the night at EconoLodge, soaked in the hot tub, and the next day followed the stunning Gunnison River west until I ran out of time. The Gunnison river gorge is steep and jagged, and in places 2,500 feet deep! The water was luminous as I explored the lookout points, clinging to the railing in the wind.



BACK in Taos, I still found plenty of color. I contented myself, between dentist appointments in PeƱasco, with short hikes in the aspens on U.S. Hill, which never disappoints me, and a long-anticipated hike up Santa Barbara Canyon about a mile into the Pecos Wilderness. That river is looking good. I even got a shot of a big trout catching lunch on the bottom.

ASPENS ON U.S. HILL
Back home, to enjoy what was left of the fall color, I just stepped out the door and went down to the Rio Hondo. One more trip downstream along the Rio Grande, and it's all over, folks!