Old trucks and cabins at the Gold King Mine in Jerome, Arizona.

Yolanda invited her Pi Phi sorority sisters for an extended weekend reunion in Scottsdale. In other words, I got the boot. Great!! I rented a car and headed up to Sedona.

Such a dramatically beautiful and magical place, Sedona. I’ve been there many times and am fortunate to have met and become friends with local photographer, Larry Lindahl http://www.larrylindahl.com/1/home.html.

Larry and his lovely wife Wendy were going to the Gila Box, a canyon in eastern Arizona, for a rafting trip and offered their house with awesome views of Thunder Mountain. All I had to do was water the garden. Fantastic, I was set.

After spending a good part of Thursday playing taxi, picking up Yolanda’s friends from the airport, I beat feet north to Beaver Creek, nope, not our beloved The Beav in Colorado but a little national forest campground close to Sedona.

Before sunrise at the pool behind the campground along Beaver Creek.

Our handyman, Larry Jacobson, always has good suggestions and on this one, he was right on. Beaver Creek Campground is situated along a beautiful stretch of creek two miles east of the Sedona turnoff from I-17. Fortunately, it’s not a big campground and there is little traffic along the road, just a few wandering cows to avoid.

Grass, cottonwoods and sycamores along Beaver Creek.

I got there just before dark and “set up” the amazing, Quickdraw self-erecting tent Larry lent me. All I did was take the tent out of the bag and throw it. It popped into shape and set itself up! All in about five seconds. Not surprisingly, you attract quite a bit of attention when you do this.

The evening was mild and after dark I explored along the creek and up the road a bit. In the distance I heard a chorus of frogs. Scrambling over the rocks by the creek in the dark, I was met by a full on chorus of singing frogs. I don’t use the term chorus lightly. I’ve never before heard such a true chorus of frogs.

The singing rose and fell in a melodious song produced by dozens of frogs, each singing, or trilling on their own pitch, creating a wall of pulsating sound that wandered slowly in the dark across my field of hearing. It was mesmerizing.

The next morning I got up before sunrise to find some photographs. The stretch of creek behind my campsite was lovely, with red rocks, trees, bushes and a large pool. Thar be photos.

Afterward, I took off to meet Larry and Wendy to take possession of their home before they left. It was a lovely, blue-sky day with big puffy clouds, so typical of Sedona. One of my goals was to re-do a photograph I had done several years before of Devil’s Bridge. This time though, using a new technique called HDR or High Dynamic Range photography. I’ve been writing a couple of articles about this style of photography and thought that it would be useful for this subject.

Sunrise on Thunder Mountain in Sedona.

Sunset that evening wasn’t terribly productive but I got up before dawn the next morning and got a few decent images around Thunder Mountain. Later that morning I headed out to Devil’s Bridge, taking the last mile of so of dirt road very slowly. It’s a pretty rocky, rutted road and I had no desire to damage the rental car.

Parking and then hiking along the road, I followed a set of quite fresh, mountain lion tracks, possibly from the night before. The trail to the formation is about a mile, an easy mile, after which I climbed up beneath the arch and set up, waiting for the still moments between breezes to make the exposures.

HDR involves making a series of usually around five exposure brackets; two over-exposed, a normal exposure, and two under-exposed. Combining them in a program called Photomatix allows you to smooth out the highlights and shadows in high contrast subjects like the bridge, half of which is in shadow.

Upon processing the images later that day, I found that I gained nothing with the new technique, but I did get a pretty decent shot of the bridge from the unusual angle below the arch.

Devil's Bridge looking toward Boynton Canyon.

Another goal was to make a visit to the Gold King Mine, www.goldkingmineghosttown.com,  in the charming, old, mining town of Jerome. I’ve been to Jerome several times over the years. It’s perched high up a mountain south of Cottonwood, with spectacular views north to Sedona. On my previous visit a couple of years ago, I discovered the Gold King Mine and ghost town.

Abstract #2-Gold King Mine Jerome, Arizona

This is another of those amazing folk art creations, just like Rattlesnake Crafts I wrote about before, only this time it’s mainly old trucks, mining implements and the ghost town. There are dozens upon dozens of old vehicles parked in rows all over the property. Among them are scattered all sorts of stuff: heaps of old tools, tire rims, junk of every description, and also the town’s shacks, (there was a sort of town there). There’s a dentist’s office, an assay office, the auto parts supply, an old cabin and other buildings filled with chickens and other animals, live chickens that is, of many remarkable breeds.

Big Bertha

They also have an old, steam saw mill that constantly “chucks” away as it releases pent up steam. You can even pay ten bucks to hear them fire up Big Bertha, an enormous, old power generator, to hear it thunder.

There are a number of beautifully, restored, classic cars around the property. It is a photographer’s dream. I’d love to lead a photography seminar here. Everything is in a state of slow decay and there is so much unusual and interesting subject matter laying around rusting away. Should you ever go to Jerome, Arizona, the Gold King Mine is well worth your five dollars.

Abstract #1-Gold King Mine Jerome, Arizona

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

We were fortunate to be invited to hike Ed Wagner’s Rincon Ranch along with the Arizona Trailblazers, a Phoenix based hiking club, www.azhikers.org. Kay Lyons, Ed’s significant other, is a friend and knew we’d enjoy the outing. We had heard about Ed’s ranch for a while now. This was the opportunity we had been waiting for.

Rincon Ranch evolved over many years when Bert Cox, the original rancher, began acquiring land in the early 1900s. He accumulated and consolidated a number of ranches in eastern New Mexico. Ed bought it in 2000 primarily as a retreat; thirty-two square miles of retreat. Ed spent his career in factory management, principally for Intel. Upon retirement, he began looking for land in the west and through a friend, happened upon this vast stretch of canyons and mesas just east of the Arizona border.

The view from the lodge.

The land is dry; no year round or seasonal creeks, but it contains abundant flora and fauna. Piñons, Junipers, Ponderosas and Cypress grow profusely in the canyons and on the mesas. Fox, Badger, Bobcat, Bear, Coyote, Deer, and Mountain Lions, even Mexican Wolves, call it home. Herds of Elk roam freely, allowing Ed to bag a huge, six point bull last fall.

Ed is working to return the flatlands of the ranch from over-grazed ranch land into a wildlife preserve. He’s adding dirt tanks, wells, and access roads. Ed’s dream is to develop the ranch as a destination for hiking, mountain biking and trail riding as well as a hunting destination during the fall hunting seasons.

Rincon Ranch Lodge

At night, not a single light can be seen from the spacious lodge Ed built to host groups. The night sky at 7,000 feet is as black and star-filled as anywhere in the west. As well, silence is profound. Not a sound can be heard save that of the occasional breeze moving among the trees or the distant calls of a pack of coyotes.

Matate, Mano and Pottery Shards atop Porter's Knob

For centuries, Indians from the Membres and Zuni tribes lived on and migrated across this land of abundant wildlife, berries and roots. Their footpaths enabled trading between villages.

Rincon Ranch lies on the Colorado Plateau, once sea floor millennia ago. It is now uplifted over a mile above sea level. Hikers have come across pieces of petrified wood from the ancient forests that covered the area when it was not covered by oceans.

Erosion has created vertical cliffs of red and golden sandstone and exposed deposits of coal and pure white limestone. Relatively recent volcanic activity can be found in volcanic pipes that spewed lava and pyroclastic flows across the landscape millennia ago.

Zuni Canyon

Looking into Zuni Canyon with Porter's Knob in the distance

A six-hour drive finishing with eight miles of good gravel road brought us to the lodge. Having car pooled, a group already was ensconced in the kitchen preparing dinner or going over topo maps, planning tomorrow’s hike. From the first, everybody was convivial. Kay showed Yolanda and I our room whose windows took in a dramatic panorama looking down into a canyon and far out to distant mountains toward the southeast.

Everyone shared food as well as the cooking and cleaning. Kay had come up with a bit of a schedule as people offered to bring their favorite dishes. With dinner over and we turned in early in anticipation of tomorrows hike.

Breakfast was at seven but not realizing the time change, Yolanda and I made it down at eight. No worries. No one was upset and we quickly ate and prepared for our first day of scouting trails. The goal today was to hike Perry Canyon to where a wash came off the mesa; find a good way back up onto the mesa and then back to the lodge.

The beginning of the hike into Perry Canyon

Wendy checking her GPS and setting a waypoint.

Several of the group had GPS’s. They set waypoints as we hiked allowing our track to be saved and a map of the trail made. As we gradually descended, the richness and diversity of the land was evident. Large Ponderosa Pines towered over the wash, dense stands of Piñon Pines grew in wild profusion; a Bobcat’s delicate step left imprints in the sand.

Gary and Ed checking the map, trying to figure out where we turn to go up the correct wash.

Michael helping Carlton place a flag as Bill ties another at the entrance to the wash.

Turning up a small wash, not the one we were looking for as it turns out, we eventually climbed our way up to the expansive views provided by one of the mesas. It being lunchtime, we stopped, ate, and christened the spot Trailblazer Point.

Trailblazer Point

We made rock cairns and flagged the path along the mesa top through the maze of widely spaced trees. Tiring of the flats, we found a way down into another wash where we spotted a four-foot snake, not a rattler thank goodness. As the wash narrowed and got choked with fallen trees, we found our way out and onto one of the access roads Ed had built. This being the Windmill Road, leading to a site planned for a wind energy farm.

Michael, Wendy, Carlton Yolanda, Kay, Wendy, Bill and Linda at a dramatic overlook to the southeast as we connected to the Windmill Road.

A short mile walk took us back to the lodge. After our slow five miles and about five hours of hiking, many took naps or simply relaxed and read until dinner.

Soup is the planned meal. One woman brought a wonderful lentil and bean soup and I brought split pea soup. Along with salad, cornbread, wine and the wonderful company, we had a great meal. Especially when it was followed by Yolanda’s deliciously tart lemon chess pie. With the table cleared and dishes done, it was time for games before bed.

The next morning saw another beautiful, blue-sky day. Today’s hike was to be along the cliffs of the penisula above Zuni Canyon to a knob with panoramic views and Native American artifacts. From there we were to then find a way down into the canyon and end up in the small box canyon Kay calls the Swimming Pool.

Kay and Michael along the edge of Zuni Canyon at the beginning of the hike.

The weather was lovely, perfect temperature for hiking. We quickly found our way to the cliff edge, following its zigs and zags while watching the other side of the wide canyon for wildlife. Making cairns and tying trail markers on trees as we hiked led us to an interesting wave formation where the rocks had eroded in sweeping curves.

Kay and Ed entering The Wave.

Gary, Carlton, Kay, Linda and Bill taking a snack break atop The Wave.

Looking to the northeast and The Hermitage (lower left), a cabin built for retreats, from the knob.

Lunchtime again brought us to Porter’s Knob, a spot with sweeping views. The Indians had obviously used this knob in the past. Several matates, grinding stones, lay about as did numerous pottery shards, some with intricate black and white designs and obvious very old. It is easy to imagine hunting parties coming to this spot over the centuries. With its panoramic views to the south, west and north, it would’ve been easy to spot game, while an abundance of nuts and berries provided sustenance.

Following lunch, we had to find a way off the knob and into the canyon. Again, marking trail as we went, I found a slight depression that led to a part of the cliff from which rock falls had filled in a way down. After only the smallest drop of 3-4 feet, we were able to pick our way among the rockfall eventually leading us to a nose of soft dirt and shale, allowing a relatively easy access to the canyon bottom.

Kay making the drop on the route down into Zuni Canyon.

Gary, with Wendy and Bill behing, negotiating the rockfall after the drop.

The nose of soft shales and the route into the canyon above.

From here, it was an easy, flat hike as the canyon gradually narrowed into a winding, sandy wash that took us to the swimming pool in no time. This is a true box canyon and the steep canyon end, though not very high, stopped our progress. Water from the previous week’s snowfall filled a small tank carved into the cliffs and forlorn pools beneath overhangs provided water for the animals.

Kay, as the canyon narrows, leading the way toward the Swimming Pool.

Bill, at the deep end of the Swimming Pool, trying to figure a way out.

Backtracking a hundred yards or so, led us to an easy route out of the Swimming Pool and onto the road above, where our vehicles waited, returning us to the lodge.

Michael and Bill looking into The Deep End. Rocks that Bill and Carlton carried and set up as a possible step are below the small tank of water.

Dinner that night was from Ed’s 6-point bull. Elk meat is so very lean. Not one bit of fat. Having been prepared properly immediately after it had been killed, there was not a hint of gaminess; just rich, flavorful protein.

The final morning, everyone gathered his or her things. Some were leaving later in the day staying to do another hike. We left after breakfast, making the long drive back to Scottsdale.

From left to right bottom to top: Debbie, me, Kay, Linda Gary, Ed, Bill, Wendy, Michael, Wendy, Yolanda and Carlton.

It was a truly rewarding few days. Not only did we experience a part of the west few people, other than the ancients, ever get to see, but we made good friends as well. Yolanda and I are looking forward to our next sojourn in Scottsdale and hooking up again with the Arizona Trailblazers. There are many new places to explore and new areas, reachable only by foot, to experience.

Ed and Kay along the rim of Zuni Canyon.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

Rattlesnake Crafts and Historic Tombstone

Mike Benjamin and Zeke.

After three lovely days of perfect spring weather in Chiracauhua National Monument, we move on to historic Tombstone, Arizona of shootout at the OK Corral fame. On the way, taking a very good gravel road thirteen miles into the desert, we stop at Rattlesnake Crafts, one of those amazing expressions of eccentric folk art found occasionally around the country.

The entrance to Rattlesnake Crafts

Rattlesnake Crafts, www.rattlesnakecrafts.com, is the home of  John and Sandy Weber who left their office jobs years ago and moved to to the middle of the desert in southeastern Arizona.They have collected thousands of old pots and pans, rifles, helmets, rocks, adding machines, branding irons, you name it. Hundreds hang from beams and could possibly be one of the worlds biggest wind chimes. The racket must be intense when the wind blows.

The couple’s hobby is not just collecting tons, literally, of odd things, but catching rattlesnakes and making crafts from the skin. A small trailer sits amidst the chaos, filled with wallets, knives, cellphone cases, key chains, and various sundry things covered with snake skin. Buying is on the honor system. Pick out what you want and put your money into an unlocked box outside the trailer.

Rattlesnake Crafts has to be unique in the world, well worth the trip into the desert.

Tombstone, “The town to tough to die.”, www.cityoftombstone.com, www.tombstone.org, is a National Historic District and National Historic Landmark. Yes, there are still gunfights at the OK Corral, staged for tourists that is.

Today though, is Founders Day. The whole town is out, the residents taking on their own old west personas. Gunfighters walk Main Street, ladies in 19th century costumes stroll carrying parasols, an old miner rides his donkey posing for photos and talking with friends. Terco Paco, “The Tombstone Bandit”, wanders in character, bandoliers crossing his chest, an old sombrero atop a mass of unkempt hair. Hugh O’Brian, Wyatt Earp from the old  50’s TV show, who, at 84, looks little like the gorgeous hunk of his earlier days, signs autographs beneath his old posters and promo pics.

Johnny Bones performs his unique music along the boardwalk.

Mike and Teresa Benjamin with Zeke.

Terco Paco-The Tombstone Bandit

Stagecoaches and surreys slowly pass by creating an authentic western mood. As I’m told, the residents dress up like this for all the major holidays. Unplanned as our travels are, they always include bits of synchronicity. Traveling to Tombstone and arriving while they are celebrating Founder’s Day is just another in a long list of wonderful experiences simply happened upon as Yolanda and I explore the world.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

Spring in the Chiracuahuas

Sunset among the hoodoos of Chiracauhua National Monument

We spent three wonderful days in the amazing Chiracauhua mountains of southeast Arizona. Chiracauhua National Monument,http://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm,  is a treasure trove of geological wonders. Created by a volcanic eruptions 11 million years ago, the rhyolite formations have eroded into a wonderland of massive pillars tinted by lovely chartreuse colored lichen.

A patina of chartreuse lichen covers the hoodoos

Hiking amongst the rock formations provides an ever-changing panorama of interesting shapes and vistas. Many of the hoodoos have eroded into each other creating bizarre formations. The weathered and twisted piñon pine, cedar and juniper trees add an other-worldly dimension to the landscape.

Trails are well marked, winding their way through the columns. Most are easily hiked in half a day but you can combine trails into 9-12 mile hikes and make a full day of it. A free shuttle from the visitor center and campground takes you to the trail heads of Echo Canyon and Massai Point at 6,870 feet, where most trails begin. From there, take your pick, and end up eventually descending by the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail to the visitor center. Along this trail, we watched a young or small female black bear forage on the opposite side of the valley.

Spectacular, panoramic views lay in all directions from Massai Point but those to the east and to the west descend far out into the surrounding valleys toward distant mountains.

Looking west toward the Dragoon Mountains and Cochise's Stronghold

This being the land of Cochise, the Apache leader whose burial site is hidden within the chaos of enormous boulders in Cochise’s Stronghold across the valley to the west, it is very odd, and fitting that a mountain to the north takes on an uncanny likeness. Cochise’s Head appears as if sculpted into the craggy profile of the dead warrior. A 75-100 foot tall ponderosa pine is even poised perfectly as his eyelash. It is a strange and obvious resemblance.

Another trail to Natural Bridge takes us to a different area of the park. The five mile round trip rises through a forest of juniper, cedar and pine to a high plateau with views to the desert before dropping into Picket Park, a lovely forest of tall, widely spaced pines along a meandering, seasonal creek. At trail’s end lies Natural Bridge, a thirty feet span carved among the rocks above the small valley. This being early April, wildflowers were just beginning to blossom. Another few weeks and a little rain should bring about a spectacular display.

Bonita Canyon Campground is a lovely, peaceful spot nestled within a large grove of Oaks and Alligator Juniper. A seasonal creek runs through and trails lead to old Faraway Ranch, settled by a Swedish couple in the 1880’s, as well as to the impressive Organ Pipe Formation.

I was surprised at the availability of campsites. Spring is their high season. The campground filled up every night but with even an mid-afternoon arrival, a site could’ve been found.

This was our third trip to the Chiracauhuas.  Each trip brings something new. The entire surrounding area has much to offer and much to explore. We will return.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

A Taste of Costa Rica’s Vast Diversity

Feeding time at El Manantial with Scartlet,Green and Lapis Macaws.

Pity those who know nothing of Costa Rica but the beaches. These people fly into the Alahuela or Liberia airports, rent a car and immediately drive to the beach. After a week or two, they return to the airport, flying home with the vast diversity of Costa Rica lying undiscovered beneath them.

Truly, the beaches of Costa Rica are beautiful, warm-water gems. From the Caribbean coast to the beaches of the Northwest to those in the West and South, Costa Rica offers world-class experiences.

But…to not experience the lush beauty and diverse biology of the cloud forests; the cool, sweetness of the cedar forests at mid-elevation; or the “perfect” climate of the 2,000-3,000 foot zone, the best climate in the world according to National Geographic, is to deprive yourself of Costa Rica at its best.

A traditional ox cart used by Cafeteros, coffee growers, to harvest beans on their Cafetals.

After leaving Hacienda Baru’, www.haciendabaru.com , Yolanda and I drove north along the Costanera to meet a friend of a friend, Des Curtis, living in Heredia. We made good time but had to make it to Heredia before evening when he teaches classes at one of the several universities. Once again, I drove the new highway to San Jose and, just before reaching the capitol, took the exit to Heredia. Yes, there is amazingly, a sign. I followed the road north a couple of klicks to where it dead-ended at a “T” with a main street.

Alas, once again, no sign indicated which way to turn! I knew the general direction I had to go so flying by the seat of my pants, I turned left, drove a kilometer or two to a main street and turned north. Winding around and dipping down into a small valley with a lot of traffic, rush hour was just beginning, I drove and drove, finally a big sign saying Heredia loomed. I amaze myself at times with my directional instincts.

And then there was a second identical sign, and then another, and then a slightly different one, and then another and another!!! Where there were no signs at all where I needed them, here were six large signs saying “HEREDIA” all within two kilometers at the most! Unbelievable. After arriving, I joked with Des, who had been a road engineer in Britain and Bermuda, that he should do a guerilla action and some dark night, steal one of the signs and post down at that “T”. He just shook his head.

Des lives in the mountains above Heredia northwest of the capital. His somewhat rural neighborhood provided a glimpse into a climate and economic zone most tourists never experience. Restaurants with incredible views of the central valley dot the cedar-lined roads. Small hotels offer Ticos a weekend respite from the congestion of San Jose.

Off the tourist circuit, these areas cover enormous swaths at 3,000-5,000 feet. They are the middle slopes of the many mountains and volcanos surrounding the central valley. Driving to the higher elevations takes you to world of pasture, pines, weekend cabins and sweeping panoramas.

Costa Rica comprises climate zones from sea level to over 10,000 feet. With the vast majority of the country being within the middle zones, you get an idea of what is missed by experiencing only the beach. It’s like coming to Colorado and knowing only Vail, beautiful as that is.

The magnificent rare and endangered Green Macaw.

On our first day, Des, with his son, drives us back to the coast just north of Punta Arenas, to a private Scarlet and Green Macaw sancutary, El Manatial. What a treat! I have never been so close to so many macaws flying freely in my life. El Manatial takes in abandoned, injured and illegally captured birds, rehabilitates and breeds them for release into the wild.

Dozens of gorgeous young macaws perch in the trees around the feeding stations. They constantly fly about, brilliant colors flashing in every direction. We have to occasionally duck as they fly toward the feeding stations. Waddling on the ground, some attempt to open a spigot to get water. Toucans join them for the fruit. The rambunctious teenagers continually squawk and screech. The cacophony occasionally hurts my ears, but what a thrill.

A Toucan flys freely at El Manatial Bird Sanctuary.

Large cages containing 20-30 birds sit apart from the feeding area. Here, the birds learn socialization skills and eventually find a mate, pairing for life. Once they pair up, they are moved to more distant breeding cages where they are left undisturbed. The grounds of the sanctuary, set within a region of farms, have been rehabilitated with large trees now shading what used to be fields. Several large cages hold species of beautiful, tiny monkeys while an extensive fenced area provides habitat for a troop of spider monkeys.

El Manatial is an amazing sanctuary. I doubt I will ever be so close to so many of these amazing birds again. Yes, I’ve seen quite a few Scarlet Macaws squawking and squabbling in the forests of Costa Rica, but with El Manatial’s efforts, Central America will see even more of these magnificent creatures flying freely through the trees. Perhaps even the rare and endangered Green Macaw will again populate the jungles of Costa Rica.

A Geoffroy's Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi).

The next day, Des takes us to an area around 4,500 feet that suffered a devastating earthquake a year ago. It lies on the Caribbean side of the ridge between two 8,000 foot volcanoes; Poas and Barva. Weather from the Caribbean rises gradually over a broad area and is then funneled between the two volcanoes. Lots of moisture is wring from the clouds.

On January 8, 2009, the largest earthquake in 150 years struck. Hillsides collapsed, taking roads, trees and houses with them. Steep, densely forested mountain-sides filled the valleys with earth and debris. The earthquake and landslides heavily damaged roads and destroyed villages killing dozens of people. 2,000, almost constant aftershocks occurred over the following days.

Dirt from the landslides still covers the road in places a year later.

The collapse of huge amounts of earth caused massive destruction.

As we drive, the road, though passable, gets worse. Devastation extends over an enormous area. Landslides are everywhere. La Paz Waterfall Gardens was essentially the epicenter.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens, http://www.waterfallgardens.com/ , is a verdant paradise of trails and high waterfalls. It contains exhibits equivalent to an excellent zoo; a huge aviary, butterfly and hummingbird pavilions, jungle cat enclosures, monkey enclosures, a serpentarium and a dazzling display of Costa Rican frogs.

One of the walkways leading to the many waterfalls.

Part of the restaurant at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Somebody please milk this poor cow-La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

A Pair of Ocelots at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

The rooms in the lodge are uniquely interesting; architectural gems. La Paz Waterfall Gardens transforms a piece of gorgeously, lush river and cloud forest into a work of art. Miraculously, damage to the park was limited mostly to some trails and viewing platforms.

One of the many waterfalls at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Another waterfall along the paths at the Waterfall Gardens.

Driving home that night in the fog was a bit challenging. Between Des, thankfully doing the driving, and myself, we could creep along. Yolanda sat in the back, eyes closed, not making a sound, just praying we make it down the winding road.

Our last night in Costa Rica was spent in Atenas which, according to National Geographic,  has the planet’s most perfect climate. Only twenty minutes from the airport, an hour from the coast, it is a world away from the city and the heat and humidity of the beaches. A small ex-pat community has settled there.

El Cafetal Inn-A lovely place only 20 minutes from the airport. A great place for your first or last few night in Costa Rica.

We spent the night at El Cafetal Inn, http://www.cafetal.com/ , actually in a neighboring town, Santa Eulalia. Being a cafetal, it grows it’s own coffee, served every morning with breakfast on the veranda. It’s sister restaurant, El Mirador del Cafetal, 15 minutes away, offers incredible views to the coast. A great place for a sunset cocktail or dinner!

Atenas still retains it’s small town, Tico feel. Small farms and cafetals, (coffee farms), abound. Ask a resident what temperatures they have and you’ll hear, “65 at night, 75 in the morning and 85 at mid-day. Year-round!”

So, Costa Rica is much more than just their beautiful beaches. In this article and the previous ones, I’ve only touched on a bit of Costa Rica’s diversity. When you go, get off the tourist path. Explore the back roads and discover the hidden gems that lie in wait.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

Snakes and Other Deadly Critters

The gardens of the Veragua Hotel in Sierpe

It’s hot. It’s humid. I’m drenched with sweat, hiking up a mountain for a night in the jungle. Welcome to coastal Costa Rica. The beaches are gorgeous; miles and miles of wide, sand beaches broken occasionally by lovely, forested headlands.

After leaving Turrialba in the morning, I have to negotiate the unsigned streets of San Jose once again. It’s frustrating. The maps clearly show Ruta 2 ending on the outskirts of the city. What they don’t show is the highway disappearing into a warren of city streets. Oh well. Once again, my navigational skills get us through the city with only a couple of wrong turns and a little backtracking.

Passing the airport, we stop in at Tricolor, the car rental agency, to talk with them about the broken window and insurance. They’re very congenial and easy to work with. They’ve obviously dealt with this many times.

Our goal today is to return to Hacienda Barú with time in the afternoon to do some hiking. With the brand new highway from San Jose to the Coastanera, it shouldn’t be a problem. All we need is to get to the highway. The guys at Tricolor draw me a map and I’m off.

Once again, I’m astounded. There is no easy way to get from the airport to the highway! You would think that because this will now be THE route for tourists to take from the airport to the beaches, and that the highway runs quite close to the airport, there would be an obvious way to reach it. But no! Finding it requires miles of driving through busy, populated areas constantly wondering if the last turn you took was the correct one.

And once again, a total lack of signs. Call me arrogant, but it’s hard to believe.

Crocodiles congregated below the bridge over the Tarcoles River

The new highway is a beautiful road. Once I find it, it’s only forty-five minutes to the Costanera. It’s a lovely drive south past Jaco and Quepos, stopping at the bridge over the Rio Tárcoles to see the congregation of large Crocodiles below. (I swear they must feed them chickens to keep them there.)

We arrive at Hacienda Barú in the late afternoon and spend three wonderful days hiking the well-maintained trails and wandering the beach. Dinner is at their very good restaurant or a restaurant in Dominical. Excellent Thai food at Coconut Spice. After flying from one treetop platform to another on their zip line, Yolanda included, I make a reservation later in the week for a Night in the Jungle and head south.

Yolanda flying on the zip line at Hacienda Barú

Looking into the treetops at Hacienda Baru'

The Osa Peninsula, a large landmass jutting into the Pacific two hours south, contains Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica’s wildest and least visited. Access is difficult, lodging options limited. I want to check out logistics for the future.

The village of Sierpe is one access point.  The Veragua, a lovely B&B with charming cabins on the river, is a find! Benedetto, an Italian artist, built it twenty years ago and with the help of Ester, a lovely Swiss woman, provides European hospitality amidst beautifully landscaped grounds. Scarlet Macaws rule the trees during the day; a chorus birds wake us before dawn.

The terrace fronting the Estero Azul at the Veragua Hotel

Lacking enough time to do Corcovado justice, we settle for a half-day mangrove tour down the Rio Sierpe. Rafts of purple water-hyacinths float up and down the river with the tide. Monkeys, toucans, tree boas and crocodiles live among the mangroves. A walk along a gorgeous, deserted beach at the river mouth makes the trip especially rewarding.

Along the Rio Sierpe

A tree boa on the banks of the river

Low tide at the mouth of the Rio Sierpe

Yolanda wading along the deserted beach at the river mouth

A deserted tropical paradise

The Las Vegas Restaurant becomes our favorite. Very good food, excellent shrimp. Their deck overlooking the river is wonderful.

The village of Sierpe along the Rio Sierpe and the Las Vegas restaurant

After three, relaxing days, I need to return to Hacienda Barú by three PM when seven others plus two guides start up the mountain to the jungle camp. I’m quickly sweating profusely. It’s not a difficult hike, only a few miles, but it takes two hours. The guides stop frequently to explain the creatures and plants indigenous to the reserve.

Hiking to the jungle camp at Hacienda Baru'

Tall hardwood trees abound at Hacienda Baru'

Me on the roots of a pretty amazing though not yet fully grown tree in the secondary forest

It’s a wonderful experience. The forest is lush, verdant. Paths of Leaf-cutter Ants cross the trail. A sloth is sighted high up in a tree. Huge, thick-trunked trees climb to the sky. The guide points out the amazing eyebrows of a pair of Crested Owls. How they spot the them in all this density I’ll never know.

Male and female Crested Owls

The veranda of the jungle camp at Hacienda Baru'

My hut for the night

We reach the Jungle Camp spread out in a clearing at the boundary between the primary and secondary forest and relax to the sounds of cicadas, toucans and many other hidden birds.

Night descends quickly. After a typical Costa Rican dinner of fruit, rice, beans and chicken, we grab flashlights and VERY slowly move along a trail.

Somehow, the guide spots a tiny, red and green Poison Dart frog about the size of a nickel. Touch it, lick your finger, and you’ll become at least, very ill.

A Poison Dart Frog, a Costa Rican icon

He leads us up a boulder-strewn creek. Big, hairy tarantulas lurk in the nooks and crannies. Spiders, five inches across perch on rocks. I joke about this being the Valley of Death; Abandon hope all ye small reptiles and mammals who enter here.

As we climb out of the stream bed, coiled next to the trail, the guide finds a Terciopelo, Costa Rica’s deadliest snake. Just then, one of our group spots something slithering amongst the tree litter ten feet away. I chant, “Red and Black, Friend of Jack. Red and Yellow, Kill a Fellow.” Sure enough, a Coral Snake!  Too many creepy crawlers for me though you’re much more likely to be hit by lightening than bit by a snake.

A Terciopelo also known as the Fer de Lance, Costa Rica's most dangerous snake

An interesting fact: many biologists of all stripes spent over 450,000 man-hours traipsing through the extreme wilds of Costa Rica before one was finally bit. He lived.

Nevertheless, upon returning to camp, I retire to my small, well-screened hut and, before crawling between the clean sheets of the freshly-made bed, carefully, unapologetically, check EVERYWHERE!

My very comfortable bed

Hiking out the next morning through the stream bed of the "Valley of Death"

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

The Wildlife Preserve of Hacienda Barú and Volcan Turrialba Struts Its Stuff

The landscape around Turrialba from the Turrialtico Lodge

After leaving the relative coolness of Amy’s farm, Yolanda and I head to the surf town of Playa Dominical. Amy and other friends told us of the ecological preserve of Hacienda Barú, just across the river from Dominical.

We bump and grind our way over the last, few, unbuilt kilometers of the Coastanera, Costa Rica’s new coastal highway. The Coastanera is a god-send, as is the brand new highway linking San Jose and the airport to the Coastanera. With the completion of these last 4 kilometers, it will be possible to drive on a very good highway all the way to Panama.

Previously, access to the Pacific beach resorts and to southern Costa Rica, necessitated navigating the chaos of San Jose and over two mountain ranges.

The trail to the beach through the secondary forest of the preserve.

Upon checking in at Hacienda Barú, http://www.haciendabaru.com/ ,I meet a bit of a legend; Jack Ewing, a Coloradan born in Lamar who, after graduating from CSU, came down to Dominical to run a cattle ranch. That was 1972.

It didn’t take him long to fall in love with the complex and valuable ecology of the area. With the support of his wife, Diane, he has devoted his life and those of his family, to returning the land to its natural state.

Over the decades, what once was pasture, is now dense forest filled with monkeys, coatis, sloths, birds, and yes, deadly snakes.

Jack’s vision, combined with the foresight and financial resources of Pennsylvanian Steve Stroud, enabled Hacienda Barú to be decreed a National Wildlife Refuge. It is a link in the Meso America Biological Corridor, an international attempt to restore a continuous stretch of forest between North and South America. This enables animals, especially large mammals like Tapirs and Jaguars, to once again roam over range sufficient to their needs and increase their endangered populations.

Our cabin is quite nice, with three bedrooms, a kitchen and living room. Only $68 for two people. There’s a restaurant and pool, beautifully maintained gardens, several kilometers of private beach and the adjacent preserve.

The deserted beach at Hacienda Baru' and only part of the largest flock of pelicans I've seen in my life, at least 80 pelicans!

A short hike to the beach through the reserve brings us face to face with a troop of White-faced Capuchins, the smallest of the monkey species in the area. Scampering and jumping through the trees as they forage, they show no fear of humans. A group of perhaps a dozen Coatis, a raccoon-like animal, their 24” tails straight in the air, follows beneath, scarfing up what the monkeys drop.

A white faced Capuchin.

A Coati forages beneath the monkeys.

We still have a broken passenger window so only spend one night. We make reservations for the following week and head back over the mountains to San Isidro. Tricolor, the rental agency, sent the window to a body shop there and within twenty minutes we are on the road.

Heading back into the mountains, the Mirador Valle de General, http://valledelgeneral.com/valledel/, beckons. Another remembrance from the previous trip, it offers clean, very private, inexpensive cabins with breakfast and a restaurant with killer views of the valley. A lovely Tico family owns the lodge. Dinners are reasonable and I have a trout in lemon sauce for $8 that is divine.

The Valle de General from the Mirador Valle de General.

Detail of a plant in the forest preserve of the Mirador Valle de General.

After two, relaxing nights, we head north over the mountains and then east to the city of Turrialba. Passing through Cartago once again, we travel in heavy traffic on a winding, two lane road along the flanks of Volcan Irazu. The decent into a warmer climate is through extensive fields of coffee and sugar cane. We wonder at the large farms completely covered in black, shade material, later learning that they raise house plants.

Just before arriving in Turrialba, we follow a sign to a hilltop hotel, Hotel Valle Verde. Perched high up on a mountainside, it offers front row seats to Volcan Turrialba’s latest eruptions. For only $21 a night, we have a large room with wrap around windows and an open air sitting room. Toucans and many other birds inhabit the trees outside our windows.

Once again, we have the entire hotel to ourselves. Turrialba woke from it’s slumber a week or so before and blew a big cloud of ash miles into the air, covering the upper elevations in a gray shroud. The eruptions now prove to be little more than a column of gray smoke rising into the sky.

Volcan Turrialba

As dusk arrives, the lights of Turrialba below and those of the pueblos on the mountainside of the volcano come alive, sparkling in the darkness. Seeing as how the restaurant is closed mid-week, we drive to another hotel listed in the guide books, the Turrialtico Lodge, http://www.turrialtico.com/  It is situated on the opposite , eastern side of the large valley. Also on a hilltop, it offers a sweeping view of the city with the volcanos behind. It’s lovely, open air restaurant serves us breakfast. I take advantage of their wifi to call via skype and deal with American Express who offered us supplemental auto insurance when we used their card.

An amazing pump organ with bamboo pipes at the Turrialtico Lodge.

The afternoon is spent exploring the lush campus and botanical gardens of CATIE, the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación and Enseñaza, one of the premier biological research facilities in the world. http://www.catie.ac.cr/magazin_ENG.asp?CodIdioma=ENG

The campus at CATIE.

Driving through the extensive orchards is edifying. Who knew there are over twenty species of Cacao from which chocolate is made? As well, the huge collections contain numerous species from around the world of Palms, Guayaba, Macadamia, Mango, Bamboo, Coffee and exotic trees.

The addictive fruit of the Cacao tree.

A path in the botanical garden.

One of the many species of palm at CATIE.

After wandering around the beautifully, landscaped campus and its lovely lake whose trees and lily pads are filled with egrets and many other birds, we stumble upon the cafeteria and have a wonderful meal for very little money.

Rain falls as we return to the Hotel Valle Verde. We settle in for the night in anticipation of the following day’s long drive through San Jose and down the coast to Hacienda Barú.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

Organic Farming and a Celebration of Costa Rican Democracy

The view toward the ocean from San Luis.

That afternoon, we travel to another tiny pueblo, San Luis, high in the mountains for a small feria. On the way, we detour to see the fortress built by an American who was murdered there only a couple of weeks prior.

The Fortress

The government removed over $3 million in jewels from the incredibly ugly fortress he and his wife lived in. He surrounded himself with an 8,000 acre preserve. Several guard shacks and twelve guards protected the approach. In addition to the jewels, the government removed three semi-trailer loads of furnishings and art work, not a small feat on these bad, narrow, dirt and rock roads.

A small waterfall along the road to San Luis.

It is a beautiful, long, slow drive on a bad road to San Luis. The town is perched spectacularly on a mountainside which drops steeply away several thousand feet into a valley surrounded by mountains leading to the ocean. What a view!

Leif, Deiner and Amy discussing organic farming.

We meet some of the warm-hearted locals and buy lunch. They’re having a benefit to raise money for the community. We also meet, Leif Palmer, a Peace Corps volunteer from Portland, Oregon. He is living in the village trying to bring in phone and internet service. He also is working on obtaining government grants to add computers and a computer room to the school. One young local, Deiner Fallas, takes us to visit his greenhouses where, with the encouragement of Amy and Leif, he is learning to grow organic vegetables for his family and the market. His enthusiasm is contagious. He clearly expresses joy and pride in his accomplishments.

Deiner Fallas and his organic greenhouses.

The next day Amy joins us to experience the Costa Rican national election in San Isidro. A friend recommended visiting a city to see Costa Rican democracy in action. It is so different from our elections. There is much hoopla. Everyone from young to old participates. The streets are filled with honking, flag-waving cars and trucks full of supporters. People must to travel to their home town to vote. Trucks and buses ply the countryside throughout the day, ferrying voters to their polling places.

Bringing in voters.

Everyone participates.

Supporters of Otton Solis.

Registering supporters for Otton Solis.

Each party has their colors and flag.

Supporters of Laura Chinchilla.

Voting takes place at various schools. You must find your name outside the room you need to vote in.

Only one person or family is allowed in the room at a time.

Lovely Laura supporters holding the three ballots, one for President, another for National Deputy and one for Regidor or local representative.

It’s one big party. Almost the entire population joins in. Ticos are very proud of their democracy and express it much differently than we do. Costa Rica elected their first female president, Laura Chinchilla, by a 20% margin.

Laura supporters celebrating democracy Costa Rican style.

After taking Amy home, we pick up our luggage at Capt. Jan’s. It starts raining hard, most unusual for this time of year. Not having felt a need to immediately replace the broken window, there is still no passenger window. Yolanda holds a piece of plastic over the space, trying to keep the rain out. It rains most of the way to Dominical on the coast where we have a reservation at Hacienda Barú, a much recommended Eco-Lodge and National Wildlife Refuge. After the mountains, we are looking forward to the coastal jungle and beach.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

A Lot of Good and a Little Bad

The view from the cabin at Los Chorros. The ocean lies obscurred in the distance.

After a wonderful afternoon exploring Amy’s finca and eating deliciously fresh fruit, we head down to a Tico house she had found for us to rent. We agree to meet at her finca the next morning at 9:00 AM.

The house is in San Salvador, a tiny pueblo a couple of kilometers from her farm. It is pretty basic but fine, especially for only $20 a night. As evening quietly falls and fire flies light the trees, we sit outside, enjoying a meal of greens, fruit and heart of palm Amy provided us. Around 7:30 I lay down in bed to read and suddenly, my legs are crawling with big, black ants. Turning up the mattress reveals a nest, larvae and all.

Yolanda is freaked out and insists we find another place. We had checked out Capt. Jan’s B&B, Villa del Diamonte, that afternoon, so we head back up in the dark. The TV is on, her two doberman are barking, but I can’t rouse anyone.

The gutless wonder parked well off the road with the cabin beyond

Heading out to the highway, we rent a cabin at Los Chorros, a restaurant with incredible views. I’m told to park the car well down a road off the highway. “Es seguro.”, “It’s safe.” assures the manager. In the night, someone brakes a window stealing a jacket. There was almost nothing in the car but some dirty underwear, shoes and the jacket.

We never could get all the broken glass out.

Lesson learned: leave nothing, not even trash, in the car.

My phone doesn’t work. Tricolor, the rental agency, can’t be called until the restaurant opens at 10 am, an hour after we are supposed to be at Amy’s. They said if anything happens, don’t move the car until you call them. It turn’s out this applies only to accidents. I could’ve moved it and gone to Amy’s. That would’ve been so much easier and caused much less stress all around.

On the way back to Amy’s, Capt. Jan is home and gladly takes us in. Of all nights, last night had been darts night. She was at a neighbor’s. Jan has led a very interesting life commanding luxury yachts for rich folks. She provides a contrast to Amy’s mindset and the gentle, loving, helpful mindset of Amy’s ex-pat friends toward Ticos. We learn a few things about the arrogant attitude some Gringos can have.

Amy, of course, was very concerned when we didn’t arrive around 9:00. She left messages on my phone, called her mom in San Diego and emailed me. She called the Tico’s who rented us the house and found out we had left. I had no way to contact her so there was relief all around when we finally show up.

Amy's rancho

Once again, we spend most of the day together. I interview her, we hike around her land, and I take more photographs for the article I’m writing on Amy and sustainable living in Costa Rica for the Organization of American States, www.oas.org/americas/.

A water ram pump Amy uses to move water from a spring up to her fruit trees. It is powered solely by water.

The next morning, we’re up early. I had volunteered to do portraits of the students in La Florida, another tiny pueblo, and to photograph their new library. Students and teachers from Landmark University have been visiting La Florida for the past five years. They were brought in by Drennan Flahive, a 10 year resident of La Florida. Each year they worked in the community and brought $2,000 to go toward building the library. Drennan designed the library and donated the labor of his company, Jungle Brothers Construction. http://sustainablesolutionscr.com

Amy as well, solicited donations from family and friends,raising almost $10,000. One friend donated $6500! Probably a total of $27-28,000 was required to build a truly lovely library for the community. It provides a connection to the world through books and the internet for a community that has historically been isolated.

The biblioteca in La Florida

Another gringo organization, Creer, http://www.truenaturecommunity.org/creer-site/index.php, has also benefited the community, bringing in America students who spent part of their vacation repainting the school adjacent to the library.

The recently painted school in La Florida

Clearly, ex-pats are benefiting Costa Rica. Many, like Amy and Drennan, come looking for alternatives to the materialistic culture they were born into. They actively seek ways to involve themselves in their chosen communities and are creating sustainable lifestyles as well as influencing the people in their communities toward the same.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

Two Beautiful Birds of the Costa Rican Forest

Male Resplendent Quetzal.

Amy Shrift on her finca with her home in the background.

The most beautiful bird in the world. That is our destination before visiting the farm of my friend Amy, who left Manhattan to live alone in the jungles of Costa Rica.

After two wonderful nights in the Orosi Valley, we head south via the Pan-American Highway across the Cerro de Muerto, the summit of death. It is so-named not from the narrow road and its death defying drivers, but because at over 10,000 feet, unprepared people die from hypothermia.

We reach 8,500 feet and the turnoff to El Mirador del Quetzales. For $80 there’s a small, basic cabin with meals and a Quetzal tour. Relaxing on the porch presents a stunning panorama dropping away to lush Costa Rican forests and mountains.

The view from the Mirador del Quetzals

Cabins at the Mirador del Quetzals

An afternoon hike in their private reserve of ancient, bromeliad and moss encrusted oaks reveals no Quetzals. The manager assures me Quetzals for the morning guided hike, “Guarantizado!”.

We dine with a Dutch family and a Brit, all very congenial, with stimulating conversation.

Afterward, we prepare for a cold night. I doubt there’s insulation in the walls and only two blankets. We’re grateful for having brought our thermals and the thin, down sleeping bag we’re taking Amy.

5:30 comes too early. Coffee, thankfully, at 6:00 and then the guided tour into another private reserve directly behind the cabins. Within ten minutes I spot my first, male Resplendent Quetzal.

Male Resplendent Quetzal high up in an oak tree.

It is a magnificent 14” tall bird, glittering green, with a crimson breast, white tail feathers and two 25” long turquoise streamers that float with the breeze. His fuzzy, green, helmet-like crest gives it a somewhat bewildered look.

For years I’ve wanted to see one and here are four males and two females, even three on the same branch. A satisfying morning.

Our next stop is south of the mountains, the city of San Isidro del General, to meet Amy at the market and take her and her week’s worth of supplies to her farm. Five years ago, Amy Schrift exchanged her life as a jazz trumpeter in the concrete jungle of Manhattan for life in the jungles of Costa Rica.

Yolanda and Amy on her finca.

She has transformed a former coffee finca (farm) into a veritable Garden of Eden. Amy appears an unlikely pioneer. Slight of frame with thick, black hair framing lovely, dark eyes that betray her intensity of purpose. She speaks passionately of growing her own food, working with local farmers developing markets for organic produce, translating for sustainable farming classes and teaching English to young Ticos.

Wandering through her stream, her bathtub.

On the forty-five minute drive to her finca, up the mountains and then down the dirt road into the Valle del Diamante, we catch up on the happenings over the four years since we first visited. Arriving at her finca, we are overwhelmed by the changes.

Four years ago, where a newly built palapa was surrounded by bare earth, a stone path  now meanders between lush, flowering bushes and fruit trees. We are surrounded by so much natural beauty it’s breathtaking. Amy’s hard work has been richly rewarded.

Amy at the door to her bodega (store room). Bare dirt four years ago.

Talking on her rancho (palapa).

We spend the afternoon learning more about her sustainable philosophy. Amy is dedicated to eventually eating only what she grows herself. She sleeps without walls, usually under the stars. Up well before sunrise for two hours of yoga and meditation, then it’s to work, nurturing the abundantly, fertile land she is so fortunate to have bought and become it’s temporary caretaker.

What a place to meditate!

Morning yoga.

Over these past four years, she has planted pineapples, guavas, papayas, mangos, avocados, jackfruit, oranges, durian, bananas, berries, and an amazing fruit, guanabana, with the taste and delicate texture of custard. Through a government program, Amy has planted over 3,000 hardwood trees to help with the reforestation of her former cafetal (coffee farm).

A jackfruit tree she planted a couple of years ago.

The rancho with banana trees below.

As we hike down to the river flowing through her land, she plucks edible leaves and flowers from trees and bushes, urging us to taste; peppery, sweet, lemony, sour, salty, each a surprisingly different flavor. Toucans fly overhead. Bird song surrounds us and the lion-like growls of Howler Monkeys reach us from the primary forest surrounding her finca.

If only humans could learn that the Garden of Eden is not some fairy tale place, but a possible living reality right here and now.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com