A Paradise of Trees

Galiuro Mountains' Trees Flaunt Their Grandeur

A PORTFOLIO BY TOM DANIELSEN

ASH CREEK FORMS A CANYON on the eastern face of the Galiuro Mountains northwest of Willcox, spawning significant stands of maple trees in a mostly sere land. As one traverses to the upper reaches of the streambed, a spectacular tree-filled sight awaits at Upper Ash Spring. Black-bear droppings laden with partially digested manzanita berries abundantly dotted the trail I followed when hunting autumn-tinged trees to photograph. Colorful maple leaves wedged incongruously among the fleshy leaves of the Parry's agaves led the way. Each twist in the canyon revealed a spectrum of trees wearing hues of yellow to crimson. I found a variety of leaf patterns covering the ground beneath some of the maples. Muted colors comprised a few, while others formed a brilliant red forest floor that cast a tint on everything nearby. The last of the accessible maple trees to photograph grow here in the canyon, and some of the tallest aspens I've ever seen emerge from the maple grove. The contrast is striking between the canopies of the towering golden aspens with the carmine red of the maples below. The memories of that scene will stay with me for a long time.

[PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 24 AND 25] Bigtooth maple trees in Ash Creek Canyon lay down a red carpet, giving autumn a royal welcome to the Galiuro Mountains in southeastern Arizona. [ABOVE] Dry most of the year, Ash Creek's rocky bottom provides moisture for a stand of bigtooth maple trees bright with fall color. [RIGHT] Bedecked with bigtooth maple leaves, a Parry's agave holds center stage before a multicolored curtain of foliage.

A PORTFOLIO BY TOM DANIELSEN

[LEFT] A mottled assortment of leaves and rocks blanket Ash Creek, while streamside trees display a range of yellows and reds from saffron to burgundy.

[ABOVE] Rocky outcroppings above a crescent of aspen and bigtooth maple trees bespeak the Galiuro Mountains' volcanic origin.

SONORAN DESERT OWLS RULE THE NIGHT

In distinctive languages, they teach about natural diversity