Phillips 66

I had one of the busiest summers I can remember, beginning in May. The new semester has started and so my travels are done for a few months, which is a huge relief. Most of my travel was for field work - first to Utah, then northern California, and, just last week, to southern Mexico. I've been working on a huge photo project for our Penstemon grant, but during our field work, I was also working with my medium format film camera when the opportunity arose. Here is a series of photos from Utah where we came across an old Phillips 66 station, which appeared to be an outdoor museum. All the photos were done with my Yashica Mat 124G twin lens reflex, and Ilford Delta 100 or 400 film. (©2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved).

Penstemon petiolatus - at last!

Last weekend I was in Utah for the American Penstemon Society meeting. We stayed in Springdale, Utah - the gateway to Zion National Park.  Field trips included hikes in Zion National Park, a road trip to visit unusual and rare species of Penstemon, and a Monday excursion to visit some of the more unique species that occur in Utah.

One of the highlights for me was Penstemon petiolatus - a species that is endemic to limestone outcrops.  Limestone outcrops - the kind that are weathered and razor sharp, that is. One would not want to slip and fall on this substrate - you'd be suffering some dramatic lacerations. Needless-to-say, I was very careful to be balanced and step very carefully.

 My colleague, Mike Stevens, refers to P. petiolatus as "skidmark penstemon" - that's because you slam on the brakes when you spot it from the road. It truly is a stunning species, and I very much wish I had collected it back in the 1990s when I was trying to find it in Nevada. I didn't have success then, which meant that it could not be in my phylogenetic study of the genus. It is the only member of section Peltanthera subsection Petiolati, and that was the only subsection that wasn't represented in the study my lab published in 2006. 



We visited the Beaver Dam Mountains of Utah to see this species.  The plants were easily seen on a limestone outcrop.  On the side facing the road, the plants were scattered over the north face. Climbing over the top and onto the other side, though, revealed an amazing garden of Penstemon petiolatus and some barrel cacti. What a feast for the eyes!

For more information about this interesting species, check out my Penstemon of the day: Penstemon petiolatus blog post at News from Andi Wolfe's Lab.

Utah 2007 - finale (i.e., let's party!)

One of the things I enjoy most about the Utah Woodturning symposium is the party hosted by Kip and Kim Christensen for the current and previous demonstrators. It's so nice that they open their home for this social gathering. It makes for a lovely evening of fellowship and fun.




Some of the turners gather on the back patio to visit and eat their dessert.











J. Paul Fennell, Gigi Laidler, John Wessels (hidden) and Dennis Laidler reacting to some antics going on with the patio crowd.










It was probably something Dick Sing said (front, right). Next to Dick is Stuart Mortimer, then Cindy Sing, someone I've not met and Kirk DeHeer.







There's always a crowd in the basement rec room. Playing ping pong are: Stuart Batty and Mark Baker (l to r with backs to camera) and Jason Marlow and Kurt Hertzog.









There are a bunch of lookieloos, too.











Back in the corner on the air hockey game are Vaughn Richmond and Dixie Biggs. You better think twice before challenging Dixie to a game.








It was a lovely evening so most people stayed outside to enjoy the cool temps. This was a real respite from the typical weather we had during the symposium with temperatures approaching 100°F.








However, the competitive types stayed at the game tables. Ping pong was pretty popular all evening and the air hocky table stayed busy as well.








Michael Werner (back toward the camera) and Terry Scott played a few rounds of foos ball.











More spectators, including Kip Christensen coming down to photograph the happenings.










Dennis Laidler enjoyed seeing Kip's woodturning collection.


















Allan Batty showed Jason Marlow one of his threaded boxes.









Allan Batty and Paul Fennell.











Jason Marlow and Dennis Laidler.











Here are our gracious hosts of the evening, Kip and Kim Christensen.

Thanks, Kip and Kim - it was a great evening spent with friends.






What in the world are these two up to?

Well, please take note of the extensive amount of perspiration present on Richard Raffan's shirt.








Johannes Rieber is demonstrating the proper technique for airing out.









There was a nice breeze coming around the corner of the house and these two decided they needed some help to cool off. I think Johannes must have had some dance training given the way he was moving. Can't say the same about Richard, though. . .







Richard makes up for his lack of dance expertise by wearing flashy socks.

Seems to me that I have a similar pic from a previous symposium.







Dennis brought the platter Richard had donated to the raffle, which Gigi won, for Richard to sign.











Back to the basement for more games - Michael Werner (L) and Jason Marlow (R) teaming up for ping pong.








Dennis Laidler (L) and David Nittmann (R) doing the same. This was the long haired, maroon shirt team.










"Who are you calling ugly???"










Oh, these two Aussies do know how to make nice. Vaughn Richmond (L) and Richard Raffan (R).









Add Terry Scott, a Kiwi, and you have a good sampling of some southern hospitality.


For pics and posts from previous Utah Woodturning symposia (2003 - 2006), you can do a search on "Utah" in the box at the top of this page.

Utah 2007 - more about the symposium

The Utah Woodturning symposium takes place on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo. It's a great symposium every year and well organized. Some of the rooms are a bit limited on seating, but nobody seems to mind. I went to many of the rotations, sometimes skimming in just to take a photo or two.


I watched Cindy Drozda's demo on doing a three-sided lidded box where the inside had a larger diameter than the outside (i.e, you cut through the walls). She started this demo with an explanation of how to layout the centers for doing the three axes.

I liked her usage of the large cubic box to illustrate her demo.





Here's Richard Raffan during one of his rotations.











Mark Baker demonstrating surface enhancement techniques.










Stuart Mortimer showing how to cut spirals.











Caitlin Batty with grandfather Allan Batty.













Dale Nish.











Dixie Biggs showing how she does some surface enhancements.









Michael Werner.











Kip Christensen on one of the 10 projects (fast and easy) he demonstrates in just over an hour.











Johannes Rieber turning a canteen.









Cindy Drozda and David Nittmann during their Left Brain/Right Brain demo. This was a great rotation - Brilliant!

Cindy and David tackled the question of how to find one's own voice by copying one of Steve Sinner's classic forms. Cindy started out by taking exact measurements and doing a very close copy through measuring. David then did basically the same shape except without all the measuring. Then they put on a different piece of wood (shorter and fatter) and did a similar shape. By the time they were done with the rotation, the form had evolved into a unique shape and surface treatment.







The Friday night picnic took place at the usual venue up in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains.









The volunteer cooks all did a great job again this year.










The Friday night swap meet had a big turnout, also.











Meanwhile, back at the ranch (or demo room), Stuart Batty is getting ready to throw some shavings.








Terry Scott talking to some new friends.











Paul Fennell had a lot of carving burrs to sell.











L to R: Ron Gerton, Dick Sing, Cindy Sing, Gary Gardner.












Geri Carder and Ron Reeves.









Jason Marlow turning an interesting platter. He did some color printing on the surface after he finished the turning.









Richard Raffan doing a functional plate. He donated this to the raffle and Gigi won it! Woohoo!










The silent auction - lots of great stuff to bid on here. I didn't win any of the bids, but I sure pushed some of them up.








One of the things I like about the Utah Symposium is the closing ceremony. Somehow it just brings closure to a great weekend and gives everyone a chance to say goodbye to new and old friends.

Mike Mahoney and Kip Christensen are working out the logistics of awards and raffle tickets before the start of the ceremony.






Dennis and Gigi Laidler. Dennis has posted a lot of pics of Utah on his blog here.











A bunch of demonstrators up on the stage up front.









There's still a big crowd at the end of the symposium. I think everyone wants to win some raffle prize.









Let the fun begin!











Raffle time - Caitlin and Stuart Batty assisting Mike Mahoney.










After the closing ceremonies. . .

John Wessels, Gigi and Dennis Laidler.









Here I am with some of my favorite friends.









The cabinets we're standing in front of are chock full of interesting artifacts from Central and South America.

L to R: Dennis Laidler, John Wessels, J. Paul Fennell.











































Here's a motley crew -

L to R: Allan Batty, Johannes Rieber, Stuart Mortimer.








The last thing to do is to go back to the instant gallery and repack one's turnings.

Here I am with Cindy Drozda...











and with Cindy and David Nittmann.


What a great symposium!