Vindaloo? No, Vedauwoo: Please Take it for Granite in Wyoming

     A friend returned from climbing in the cracks at Vedauwoo in the Medicine Bow area of southeast Wyoming last fall. (Oops, you ought not say "fall" to a rock climber, I suppose.)

      These silicic rocks, the 1.4 billion year old Sherman Granite, hold spiritual meaning for the local Arapaho Indians who call them "bito'o'wu" meaning "earth-born".

      
      I've heard folks talk about visiting the hoodoos of "Vindaloo" in southeast Wyoming for many years. 

    

       In fact, DuckDuckGoing (or Googling) Vindaloo and Wyoming does bring one straight to Vedauwoo, affectionately also called "The Voo."

      Interestingly, the Sherman Granite is relatively young, compared to the 2.4 billion year old granite (and marine deposits) of the Great Tetons Mountains to the northwest. {Old rocks in a relatively young uplift (about 9 million years)--a great combo for striking mountain peaks}.

        Any ideas about why I chose Vedauwoo this week?

           And not the Vishnu Schist?! 

More to be revealed,
Steph

Hoo Doo, Hoo Doo You Think You're Fooling: Paint Mines Interpretive Park on the Plains of Colorado

      Hoodoo, who do you think you're fooling?! 

      A class in wild clay painting (using a mixture of native clay and wheat paste) led Maizie and me to the Paint Mines Interpretive Park, near Calhan, east of Colorado Springs, CO.

     It was a starkly beautiful, still January day in eastern Colorado. 

     We took the slightly longer, scenic route from Denver through Parker and Franktown. The Paint Mines are a wonderful surprise in the middle of miles and miles of prairie.

         The colorful clays were harvested by ancestral native people at least 9,000 years ago. The formations have been dated as 55 million years old.

The bone white clay of Paint Mines (3 minutes) is especially striking:

      Here are a few images from our clay painting class. It was great to be able to paint on a cold January day with no paint fumes, creating walls with lots of "movement" in the clay.

       Thanks to Rob Lewis of Bellingham, WA, for pointing us to the Paint Mines and for the great class on painting with all natural materials harvested in our own "backyards."

          Have you experimented with painting with clay or other natural materials? Have you heard of or been to the Paint Mines in eastern Colorado?!

Steph