Saturday

I don’t know how many of you know about the solar flares that erupted on Saturday.  Luckily for us, they were on the far side of the sun.  There was an M class flare followed immediately by an X class flare, which both created their own CMEs, which then united into one very powerful CME that headed out towards Mars.  The result was an unusual halo of solar particles that could be seen spreading out from around the sun’s edges.  What would have happened if the sun spot that created the flares had been facing the earth?  We have been very lucky so far, but sooner or later we are bound to get whacked by something from space!

I had my own fun adventure on Saturday.  I went with a group of botanists up to the alpine zone near Silverton, Colorado.  We were able to drive up to the top of Stony Pass using 4 wheel drive vehicles, and drove on a road that had some pretty scary vertical drop offs on either side.  The top of the pass was at an elevation of 12650 feet, and was also right on the continental divide.  Just to the east of the divide in that location are the headwaters of the Rio Grande River.  Cool! 

Our mission was to find and document as many rare plants as we could, and there were quite a number of them in that area.  Most of these plants are only located here and perhaps in a few other areas, so it was a real treat to see them.  We also encountered a very large herd of sheep being looked after by a Peruvian man and his dogs.  Years ago, Basque sheep herders used to be brought over for that purpose, but now it is the Peruvians. 

Unfortunately, our time at the pass was limited because it started to hail and rain steadily after a few hours of botanizing.  We all got pretty wet!  I am sure that there will be other opportunities to revisit that area in the years to come.  I am hoping to go out to another area on the alpine zone in a few weeks. 

How many of you are rare and unusual humans in your environment?  I bet, quite a few.  Are you admired and appreciated for your gifts?  I hope so.  At the very least, you should admire and appreciate yourself.  When I looked at those rare and interesting plants on Saturday, I was reminded of all of the people I know who are letting their light shine out, and vibrationally touching everyone around them.  That may be a rare thing in and of itself.  Below are some vistas and plants from my botany trip.  Enjoy.