Armchair Adventures

Boars Tusk and Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming

Boars Tusk stands in dramatic isolation from surrounding mountains at the western edge of the Killpecker Sand Dunes.  Heavily eroded, it is all that remains of a long extinct  volcano.  This erosion resistant volcanic neck is composed of an uncommon volcanic material called lamproite – a rock originating from deep within the earth’s mantle and associated with diamond formation in some areas of the world.  The surrounding Killpecker Sand Dunes stretch 55 miles  east from here and across the Continental Divide into the Great Divide Basin and encompass approximately 109,000 acres . These living dunes are one of North America's largest fields.   

The Big Sandy and Little Sandy Rivers northeast of Rock Springs, Wyoming, once carried large volumes of sand during glacial melting from the Wind River Mountains. Westerly winds  have spread the sand eastward across the continental divide to its present location. 

Although the dune fields appear dry on the surface they absorb and  store snowmelt and rain which support a rich array vegetation and wildlife.  Dune beetles and other insects live among the dunes as do small mammals such as shrews, white-footed mice and kangaroo rats. Their presence in turn attracts predators including owls, eagles, bobcats and coyotes. Short-lived vernal ponds that occur at the base of the dunes support migratory shore birds and waders, as well as large game animals such as elk.

Turn Point, Washington

Turn Point, located on the westernmost tip of Stewart Island, is the westernmost location in Washington’s San Juan Islands. The shipping channel between the San Juan’s and Canada’s Southern Gulf Islands makes a 90 degree turn around the western tip of the island leading to its name.  A lighthouse was erected on the point in 1893 with the construction of a fog signal building and a two-story keeper's quarters. The station's first light was a lens lantern displayed from a post located close to the point. A steam-powered Daboll trumpet served as the fog signal.  In 1936, a square concrete tower was added to the site with a 12-inch (300 mm) light emanating at a 44-foot (13 m) focal plane.[5] A diaphragm foghorn replaced the Daboll trumpet. The station was automated in 1974. 

The station is part of the San Juan Islands National Monument, which was created in 2013. Volunteers from the Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society help maintain the lighthouse and offer seasonal docent guided tours of the original 1893 Keepers House.