Field Tip #2: Gila Wilderness - Elephant Butte - Valle de Oro (there and back)

Gila Wilderness - Elephant Butte - Valle de Oro (there and back)
By Amanda Stuart

After topping up on city comforts for a week, we recommenced our journeys in the Gila State Forest, New Mexico. Much had I heard of this major American southwest wilderness, though most of which I confess was cross-pollinated with childhood imaginariums of terrifying geila monsters. I hadn’t figured that these reptiles actually DO exist, though perhaps not with the same godzilla-esque mythological status.

Looking south from a rise above Turkey Springs, Gila Wilderness

The brooding late afternoon Gila (pronounced heeler) we rolled into was warm and unusually wet. It had a strong psychic impact that demanded absolute respect. In addition, for the first time in my life I was confronted with the prospect of animals that might want to eat me, or at least want to know what business I had in their patch.
It makes you acutely aware of your position in the food chain.

Black bear print, Turkey springs confluence

The Gila is physically characterized by complex geology and high country aridity, which supports a plethora of diverse flora including deciduous trees, cottonwoods, spiky ground herbs, succulents and the mysterious datura plant.

A swollen Gila River

The fertile Gila River swelled over the 5 wet days we spent there, refusing us access to its high reach hot springs, but providing ample opportunity for explorations of its fascinating lower reaches. Fuelled by more superlative camp food, the crew busied themselves with a variety of research and art actions, centered round soggy river walks, canyon forays, river floats and of course the increasingly mandatory art of rattlesnake dodging. Generally rattlers will do anything to avoid human conflict, giving intruders a warning shake of their percussive tails. They must have been on the peyote that week, as they seemed a bit slack in adhering to this polite convention. I literally came face to face with a mute one that had cleverly embedded itself under the rocks of the lower hot springs – and consequently found myself inventing an innovative style of moonwalking.

what lies beneath….

The Gila is also home to many wondrous birds and animals including black bears, puma, coyotes, deer, habaneros and even wolves (!) – some of which were evidenced by the copious tracks spotted.


However the most frequent visitor to the camp was a persistent skunk (Pepe) that hovered around camp threatening any interfering humans with a belligerently raised tail. I must have good skunk karma, as the one that broke into my tent one night looking for licorice, whilst I was innit, mercifully spared me its skanky skunk juices.

Whilst exploring the Gila’s stunning striated rock stratigraphy, I came upon a most curious and unique cactus, with no less than 5 heart shaped leaves.
There was only one gesture to honor this aberrant succulent.

a bit of harmless cacti affection




Elephant Butte

Our second work site was the picturesque Elephant Butte, a massive reservoir in in southern New Mexico, west of an enormous region earmarked for military procedures by the good ol’ U.S. Air force.
Astounding in scale and stark in beauty, the crew quickly established creative inroads into its rugged topography and the go-pro was a smoking hot item, for many of these.

I used my time here marveling at and attempting to respond to aspects of the reservoirs exquisite light and topography, whilst attempting to make psychic contact with the plentiful fish and avian populations.
I also made an affectionate nods to the astonishing Australian land arts crew (Amelia, Heike, John and Marzena and co) in a few interventions that echoed the spirit of their respective inquiries.

Elephant Butte is close to the Bosque del Apache wetland – an area crucial to the many hundred thousands of migratory birds that travel along the central American migratory route. To visit here is to meditate on the wonders of safe trajectories and the need for shelter and replenishment along the path.

Our final evening at Elephant Butte brought a catatonic thunderstorm that resulted in an extremely sculptural manipulation of our camp by the forces of nature.

a munted camp – but a cracking good installation!

Valle de Oro

The second trip concluded with the consideration of the urbanized Rio Grande at Valle de Oro, and the crew developing strategies into collaborative and systemic thinking that were harnessed into an alternative presence and interaction with visitors to the Valle de Oro Nature Reserve Field Day.

Though a challenging time and place, I feel strongly that the repercussions of the work undertaken here will strengthen reflective thinking for all involved and illuminate the crucial role that creative thought plays at personal, community and global levels.

And so dear companieros, the final ramblings from your devoted Aussie land arts sheila monster, are officially bagged.

(still from the rockumentary) America is big…and Australians know how to rock it (for Hartmann, Henel, Gilbert and crew) -photo Cedra Wood

It is with a heavy heart I leave the crew to take up their final field trip, and return to the Antipodes…but it is time to connect with my own country and kin.

It has been an utter privilege to learn, laugh, explore and reflect creatively upon your incredible patch and to contemplate the wonders of the world within which we fumbling humans intertwine. Safe travels to you all, and thank you so much for your generosity and acceptance of me into the land arts family.

Aloha for now.
XXX

Heartfelt thanks to Jen, Ryan, Bill and Cedra for all of your ‘all’.
And to Amelia, Heike, John and all of my beloved kin and crew from home, who made this dream a reality.

I cannot talk about how much I love Land Arts

Noel Mollinedo


At our most previously visited site, Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge, the Land Arts Crew lived closely in alfalfa fields. We decided on working on a collaborative project which taught us much about each other. Taught us in regards to each other’s work habits and modes of engagement with others, switching from individuals into a collective thought. A fun process!

Anyways, this changed our daily process of exploration that we developed at other sites i.e. the Gila Wilderness, and Elephant Butte on that trip. Alone time can be crucial for recharging energy spent working in sync with others and can also be essential for giving space to the ideas that are asking to emerge. I’m sure we all felt this shift.

Valle De Oro, formerly known as Valley Gold, was the former site of a milk distributor. What remains of that era is a lonely but sturdy concrete structure. Geometrically sound and beautifully symmetrical, this building could be an aircraft hangar. The dirt floors inside are evenly lit by holy squares of light running down the center of the buildings length. However, in the back there is an isolated metal dome that seems to have held liquid at one point. The acoustics it resonated caught my attention when a rock tumbled across its opening.




I made several trips to it whenever time allowed and recorded some of whatever happened there. It’s hard to convey the space. A thin band of light circled the space from supine flashlights and glowed faintly at the top 50ft above our heads. Dust, however old, hung heavily in the silver dome, whose metal had been warmed by the day. Without revolving stars nor our phones, time smacked us in the face mad it had been left behind once we returned to the night sky.

Thanks to a detuned guitar, and the lovely voice of Tara Marshall-Tierney who shaped the atmosphere in that strange space.

The Journey

Wayne Nez Gaussoin

As I began to awake by the increasingly glowing orange dew soaked rainfly. I am trying to make sense of where I am. An increasingly loud roar comes closer and closer from the distance at a rapid pace. My heart starts to increase, it pulses at the same rate now the object that was in the distance now feels like it skimming the roof of my tent with all its muster and power. I am fully awaken now and remember I am in an alfalfa field south of the Albuquerque International Airport.

Farmland, Junkyard, Alfalfa, water treatment plant, Rio Grande river, ducks, port o potty, cottonwoods, allergies and of course the mosquitos, yes the evening attire for all, mosquitos. All of these elements are what have influenced surrounded and engulfed what is now called the Valle del Oro.

Starting out in the element with a group of only a couple familiar faces this was the beginning adventure of a group of strangers whom were about to engage in a 2 week journey together, living, learning not only each others pace but the environments we were about to explore.

During our journey there we decided collectively that it would be best to evacuate the beating Albuquerque heat and escape under the large cottonwood trees near the River to reflect, observe and learn to take serious notes about the natural world we were going to embark on. Not only the natural world but how as humans have we learned to adapt and in some aspects dominate and how we affect that as humans and Artists. Therefore like all humans before us we started with the creation of fire! Our good mentoring visiting guest Joel not only showed us the tools to staying warm and alive but invigorated our mentalities through teachings that he has learned from the ( tribe ) that he shared with us. Being who I am, it was a little hard to swallow at first judging his sincerity, which actually ended up being completely honest and actually we continued the morning practice the rest of our journey every other morning...for awhile.

As, our time there closed and it was time to move on up north
this part of the trip entered into a new world...


Rio Grande Headwaters

Visceral sound echoing through the canyon of a permeated history, calming the mind and displacing time making one feel micro to the cosmic universe. Time spent here puts a pause on constant email and social media addiction. Instead the rushing river and wind are the new ipod beats as I walk through the aspens. The fire we make at night, just to keep us warm for a bit is also the evenings Netflix choice. It is a real treat to be in such a visually attractive place. My only gripe that has been increasingly growing is...the constant annoyance of getting out of the way of serous faced ATV Users. The more time spent here and hearing the ruckus in the distance tearing through the mountains. This is a personal inner conflict, I am starting to realize. An inner battle and reminder of attributed carelessness of our connection to the land and the true appreciation of what gives us life. At the same time, I know it is fun ripping through the forest in a Jeep or ATV, using natural resources to our demand and pleasure, this is the world we have created for ourselves... When a group of us hiked up the Pole Creek trail and climbed to the top of a steep hill that over looks a massive waterfall. This definitely gave a contrasting feeling as I overlooked the massive valley and realized its immense power making feel micro. This was a fortunate opportunity to feel so small. This space allowed us to to gain a healthy aspect of the land and each other where we able to start to actually use found elements in sculptural ways. I felt that this process was a healthy way of being able to just see... and know that art is a true practice that has to be worked on continuously and changes continuously.

back south we traveled...


Chaco Canyon (National Monument)


We are not the first and we will not be the last... We are only in the 4th world.

Being a resident New Mexican, I can’t believe that I have never visited here before. I recommend this to all my NM people. This is a must it is a place that places you in a timeline of history, simplicity and beauty. It made me think of what a little ...complainer, I can be in life. Looking at all the symmetry of the precisely stacked walls and how the entire place was put together by bringing trees chopped with handmade stones and carried somehow about 30 - 40 miles away.

It made me think how much love there was for this place for so much work and detail to go into this massive place, where we would drive from Kiva to Kiva to reflect on spaces for ancient meditations. The little walking that I did in this vast area felt like I had walked for days. The sun was so very powerful showing its strenght as my little brimmed had did its best to hold back the UV’s. I feel I could go on and on about all the questions I had about this place and the curiosity of my own human DNA rooting these walls to an ancestrial past time telling stories that are whispered through the walls. This location is still puzzling archeologist a thousand plus years later. If anything.. some of these ideas might pop up in my work later...?

El Vado Lake
North East of Chaco - North West of Santa Fe / Albuquerque
Our last trip on Journey I .

In this spot, I was able to come more clear of my ideas in how my thoughts and creations started to collide with the land. On our way there we luckily ran into the man named Mike, who told us all about the Reservoir as much as he knew, and boy...most of it was over my head. CFC and what not. As I started to grasp the ideas it started to make sense to me in terms of Water Pressures and Levels.

Through the observation of the reservoir and the high desert landscape my ideas started to formulate with my own sense of curiosity.

One of two projects that I would say were of curious study was the question of ... now how do I take a nap in this blazing heat with no trees within 50 yards and only boulders to lay on. This was the birth of the Kite Camp.

Now, while I was up at the Head Waters I had discussions with Jenn Hartmann about the concept of home and one instinctually creating a space to inhabit it. The couple of tools I had with me were my hiking sticks, tarp and a couple of bungees. I had tried in numerous amount of ways to make it work but the wind just wouldn’t have it. An old Aikido philosophy that had actually come up during Joels talks was the concept of working with the elements and not working against it. Therefore, my tarp that was flapping in the wind was transformed into a kite. The tarp kept wanting to take that shape anyhow and all I had to do was figure out how to harvest the wind that would keep it up above my head and anchored to the ground. My hiking poles began to act as a steering wheel navigating the air that it would catch and all the boulders I was sitting on easily kept the back corners anchored to the ground..after that, it was smooth sailing.

I soon took down my kite camp and started to head back as it was starting to get late and I didn’t want to travel back in the dark. I was observing how dry the outer perimeters of the lake were, where it once was. The patterns of the cracks created a beautifully eerie feeling, as the hard dirt below rumbled and cracked below my feet. The concept of water has always been a mystery to mankind. It gives us life, we are constantly learning from it and often we think we are trying to control it by placing dams on it. Water is something we are always learning from. It made me think of the Ancient symbol of my pueblo pueblo. “ Avanyu” ( Tewa ; meaning water serpent). This serpent like figure is an ancient figure representing a connection to water, rain, rivers above and below ground. Growing up in New Mexico this depiction is found almost everywhere now days starting from ancient cliff walls to pueblo pottery and even mugs and t-shirts in tourist shops. I started to think about what it meant to me, as I started to draw out my own interpretation lines in the dry dirt. The area I chose was on a slight lean toward back to the reservoir. The deeper and deeper lines I began to draw as it became a slow addiction, as I am sure there was a little smile to my face like a kid drawing in the beach sand. I eventually made the lines deep enough that they started to look like little rivers to me. I decided what would the relationship if this was a performance like piece and I decided to take water from the reservoir and pour into the lines of the large drawing ( about 50ft) that ended up pouring back into the reservoir.. so I decided to try it. ( stay tuned as video should come later...)

Land Arts... I was curious how it would change my style or make me think about the approach to my work... So I tried. check back for more adventures.

Follow in the footsteps of Aldo Leopold and THINK like a mountain!

Kylie Heikkila


V A L L E D E L O R O

Mosquitos. Coffee. Alfalfa. Airplanes. Lavender. Tortillas. Clay. Sun

R I O G R A N D E H E A D W A T E R S

Frost. Coffee. Aspens. ATVs. Shooting Stars. 11,050 ft. Gooseberries. Guitars. Ants. Antlers.

Valle de Oro to Rio Grande Headwaters: Chasing the Watershed/Making Fire

Amanda Stuart

After spending a cracking first seminar week at the UNM with the amazing staff and students of Land Arts, I felt like I was beginning to find my mojo in a strangely familiar land - even despite a soul stripping surreal encounter with ‘Walmart’. For those readers uninitiated, this is a chain of retail stores across America where anything can be obtained at any hour for the rabid, insomniac consumer – from perishables, clothing, hardware and sporting goods to an ominously accessible range of semi-automatics, rifles and ammunition.

First thing Monday morning our 2 buses were packed with militant but joyful efficiency under the guidance of Jen, Ryan and Bill, with all students rolling up their sleeves and eager to learn the ancient art of mobile Zen storage. Necessary items carried for our intrepid team of 11 included, food, water, tents, a highly functional camp kitchen, solar panels, a tech station, cameras, recording equipment, a library, tools and of course, the crucial camp guitars.

(photo courtesy of Jeanette Hart-Mann (JHM))

Our first destination, Valle de Oro is a reclaimed dairy farm on the lower Rio Grande, a mere 25 mins from the UNM. It will be revisited during trip two, to give artistic input towards the visioning of the nature reserve it will one day become. Here the camp is set up with a stunning view to the north of San Dias mountain, which cradles the city of Albuquerque. We are given an introduction to thinking systematically by permaculture aficionado Joel Glanzberg. Despite a strongly contested landscape, these few days lay the interior foundation for our field trip psyche and include such diverse elements as morning tai chi sessions, dream circles, ecological ponderings, animal tracking exercises and learning to make fire – from scratch.
And yes, this little black mamba has been initiated into the realm of ‘twisted fire starters’.

(photos courtesy of JHM)

After breaking camp we head through the ‘badlands’ (reminiscent of settings seen in Breaking Bad) and begin to trace the Rio Grande, chasing its mighty wild headwaters towards Creede, Colorado – a 9-hour drive north. This is a breathtaking trajectory through the southern end of the Rockies, the great divide that runs north to Canada. Verdant marshlands and grasslands weave through this massive mountain range, and our spirits soar as we enter our remote new home for 5 days.

With a spectacular campsite bagged, we explore, document, traverse and imbibe the wilds of this gorgeous, remote site…soaking in its magic to the marrow. A cook team roster provides daily sustenance, and the standard is consistently gastronomically outstanding. As the designated ‘floater’ between teams, I provide the gourmet salad (including the popular HQ coconut /lime dressing) and buffoonery input. This gives me ample opportunity to get insider knowledge on recipes and more importantly get to know the crew from its most sacred digestive sources, and I am well blessed in this knowing. This crew are diverse, vibrant, enthusiastic, talented and generous of heart.

The meals are prepared lovingly and the sharing of them is rapidly becoming a cherished ritual, and one where highly entertaining discussions are enjoyed. The addition of a sparkling river, fire, incomprehensibly radiant stars and live music (including an impromptu injection of AC/DC c/- moi) at the headwaters has been embraced by all, and I personally foresee a Land Arts Band brewing on the near horizon.

The crew works both individually and collaboratively in a variety of mediums and approaches. A memorable lunch was shared at 11,050 feet during a spectacular days hike at Pole Creek. This mountain catchment supports a diverse range of deciduous trees including the aspen and sweet scented ponderosa pine – the latter of which is in serious decline due to an invasive beetle.

Other highlights include trying to find navigate northern hemisphere stars (with a late night faction reporting an asteroid shower), early morning cowboy coffee (a time-honoured tradition that requires a spittoon); a daily soak in a spectacular icy plunge-pool and a group hike to a sparkling waterfall (after which Jen found an impressive pair of moose antlers minus the moose).

I have personally reveled at the opportunity to finally land in the southwest, and explore this strangely familiar but foreign country, first hand.

Aspen stand.

Green powder from the aspen trunk.

Scarification from itchy elk and moose antlers.

View from my tent.

Beaver dam near campsite.

Since landing in the southwest my animal inventory has expanded from chipmunks, squirrels, mule deer, harriers, prairie dogs and vultures to include pikers, white tailed deer, and garter snakes as well as a myriad of unidentified birds and insects. But the crowning glory so far was a solo predawn encounter with 2 beavers at work on their formidable dam (reminiscent of massive platypus in their aquatic movements) and an elusive, but monumental moose, sans antlers.

Driftwood antlers for the moose with none.



I marvel at the scale and magnitude of this high country, can’t help but to reflect upon its geological sharp and youthful topography, in the light of the ancient eroded forms of my homeland.

Next stop chasing the Rio Grande, the ancient Pueblo ruin of Chaco Canyon…via a pit stop at the contemporary temple of Walmart.

Much love to my family and friends, who slumber as I write. ‘Til soon XXX