Does the Passport Potash, Inc. Holbrook Basin Project Hold Water? - 2013

 

Does the Passport Potash, Inc. Holbrook Basin Project Hold Water?

In 2009, I first visited the Cane Creek Facility, operated by Intrepid Potash – Moab, LLC. The main features of the “facility” include a hydraulic (in-situ) mining operation, large settling ponds, plus a processing building and a loading facility for the finished product. While driving along the public road known as the Shafer Trail, I observed the almost total destruction of the natural environment within the confines of the facility. Contemporary large-scale farming requires potash as a fertilizer. Still, I wondered, when is the environmental cost too high for any particular mine to be developed?

In 2010, environmentalist Kathy Hemenway contacted me regarding my research into potash production near Moab. A consortium of mining companies, she told me, was preparing to mine potash from beneath the Holbrook Basin, near her home in Snowflake, Arizona. Over the next three years, Passport Potash, Inc. became the lead company in the effort to mine potash salts in the Holbrook Basin. After making agreements with various ranchers, other mining interests and the Hopi Tribe, Passport Potash commissioned the German consulting company ERCOSPLAN to create a Preliminary Economic Assessment, or “PEA”. In March 2013, Passport Potash, Inc. published the ERCOSPLAN PEA on their website. (Author's note: By 2015, the ERCOSPLAN PEA was available only as a PDF file)

During 2011, I had researched and written a series of four articles on the Holbrook Basin and the Little Colorado River Basin within which it resides. With over-stressed aquifers and a drying environment, the introduction of a Moab-style, in-situ (solution) mine in the Holbrook Basin would reflect an obvious overuse of a diminishing resource. Initially, when I read the 2013 Passport Potash PEA, I was buoyed by the consultants’ recommendation that Passport Potash conduct conventional, “room and pillar” mining at Holbrook.

When I looked deeper into the report, I discovered potential problems with the Passport Potash conventional mining plan. As they say, “the devil is in the details”. The devil, in this case, is the potential overuse of surface water and groundwater in the Holbrook Basin. Although Passport would build conventional shafts and galleries for their mining operations, large amounts of water would be necessary for ore processing and other uses adjacent to the mine. While much of the Passport Potash PEA looked feasible to me, the lack of a comprehensive hydro-ecological survey raised an immediate red flag.

In Moab, Intrepid Potash needs only to drop a siphon into the adjacent Colorado River to suck up the incredible amounts of water required to flush potash salts from deep underground. To my knowledge, there is no public disclosure of the amounts of water required for the “Big Flush” at Moab. With relatively high purity of desired potash compounds, Intrepid Potash uses sunlight to dry their produced brine. After minimal processing, Intrepid Potash is able to ship its final product by rail or truck.

In the Holbrook Basin, however, there is a “high amount of Carnallite (approx. 8%) and the relatively high amount of insoluble material (nearly 5%) in the mineralized material”. Further, the consultants say, “the reliable processing route to obtain a MOP product (commercial potash) will be a variation of the hot leaching/crystallization route”. Since hot leaching is a water and steam-intensive process, “the total water demand for processing, including process water and make-up water for cooling cycles, is approximately 550 m³/h”. That translates to 145,295 gallons or 2.24 acre-feet per hour.

Put into context, one acre-foot of water will sustain a single U.S. suburban household, or up to four “water wise” households for one year. With a full running time of 6600 hours per year, and water usage of 2.24 acre-feet per hour, the annual water usage at the Holbrook Basin Project would be 15,840 acre-feet. In context, that amount of water could support between 15,000 and 60,000 households. Flagstaff, which is the largest city in Northern Arizona, has a population of just over 65,000. With a population of about 5,000, Holbrook is the largest city in the Holbrook Basin. When operational, the Holbrook Basin Project would dwarf the water usage of Holbrook and approach the water needs of Flagstaff. Instantly, the Holbrook Basin Project would become the largest single water user in all of Northern Arizona.

According to the PEA, “A regional aquifer is located within the Coconino Sandstone and locally within the uppermost Supai Formation, which is called the C-aquifer. Furthermore, the Moenkopi and Chinle Formations might (italics mine) contain undefined/unreported aquifers. South of the Project Area, there are extensive areas of sinkholes reaching the land surface, which suggests major salt dissolution that likely contributes to the salinity of the water in the Coconino Sandstone (COX, 1965, /6/)”. The above statement ignores the fact that new sinkholes have developed in the area within the past twenty years. Earth scientists know that as the local water table subsides, sinkholes are often the result.

“The Little Colorado (River), a permanent stream (italics mine), and the Puerco River, an intermittent stream, run through the area (COX, 1965,/6/). These streams merge about three miles east of Holbrook and tend to generally produce fresh water, which is reported to be brackish to saline in the surrounding areas”. The only hydrological study cited in the PEA dates to 1965. Perhaps the Little Colorado was a “permanent stream” in the 1960’s, but it is far from that today. In the current century, that river runs hard and fast for only a brief time each spring. At that time, snowmelt from the Mogollon Plateau runs off toward the Colorado River. Summer thunderstorms may produce brief river flow, as well. Otherwise, most of the flow cited in the PEA is running beneath the surface, if at all.

“The availability of water has been investigated in a preliminary hydrogeological study (MONTGOMERY & ASSOCIATES, 2013, /27/), but further in-depth studies are required. According to the MONTGOMERY & ASSOCIATES study, the required amount of water could be supplied (italics mine) by the Coconino Sandstone aquifer”. The cited study, by MONTGOMERY & ASSOCIATES is not currently available on the internet, so its conclusions are speculative, at best. Without drilling, logging and publication of numerous test-well flow-rates, Passport Potash, Inc. should not base their development decisions on such speculative information.

“Water demand will be met by wells drilled in the vicinity of the preliminary plant site. A pipeline system will be installed to pump the water to the plant site, where it will be stored in several large water storage tanks for use in processing, general usage in the mine, fire suppression and potable water supply”. With a planned twenty-six year production cycle at the Holbrook Basin Project, we may now extrapolate how much “mystery water” the Coconino Sandstone aquifer must contain in order to provide an adequate supply for the life of the project. My quick calculations indicate that during its lifetime, the Holbrook Basin Project would require water resources equal to almost twice the carrying capacity of Bartlett Lake, near Phoenix, Arizona. Bartlett Lake is twelve miles long, with a surface area of over two thousand acres and an average depth of one hundred feet. Until I see a professional hydrological study of the Coconino Sandstone aquifer, I would not trust mere reference to an unpublished study commissioned by Passport Potash, Inc.

“A sewer system will be constructed on-site to treat the waste-water from the sanitary facilities at the plant. Afterwards, it will be used as process water”. Before it becomes a saturated brine solution, the processing facility would reuse and recycle water several times during various phases of mineral production. Although this recycling effort is admirable, “about 15.4 MTPA (millions of tons per annum) of wet solids and 997,000 m³ (808 acre-feet) of brine per year remain as processing residues, which have to be disposed of”.

The PEA states, “The disposal brine remaining from the production process can be disposed of by deep well injection”. To me, that is a glib statement. Over the life of the project, injecting over 21,000 acre-feet of saturated brine into deep wells could result in unintended consequences. To see what might happen, look no further than the States of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas, where deep rock fracturing (fracking) and process water disposal in deep wells may have caused earthquakes of unprecedented size and scale. The only way to study deep well injection at a particular site is to do it. Could large-scale process-brine injection compromise the rock barrier that separates the injection sites from the Coconino Sandstone aquifer above?

Production Waste Disposal – “The processing of the potential potash ore described in Section 16.2 produces about 400 million metric tons of wet solid tailings and about 25 million m³ MgCl2-rich waste brine over the whole project lifetime. The tailings will be stockpiled on the surface and will remain after the mining operation. Potential emissions from the tailings pile are either salty water (brine), which will be collected and handled like the waste brine, or dust transported by wind”.

“Furthermore, a 1.5 m high dyke should surround the tailings pond and will collect water run-off. The collected water will be pumped into the brine ponds and disposed by deep well injection”. In the summer months, the regional Monsoon can bring heavy downpours to the Holbrook Basin. If a major thunderstorm were to unload its water supply directly on the Holbrook Basin Project, would a five-foot tall berm of earth be sufficient to contain the mountainous, salt-saturated tailings pile? If such a disaster were to occur, the resulting flood of brine could enter the Little Colorado River and from there, flow unimpeded toward the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.

“In total, about 400 million metric tons of wet solid tailings will accumulate during the operation. The wet salt from the plant has to be stockpiled permanently on the surface. Taking into consideration a height of 40 m and a material density of 1.7 t/m³, an area of about 6 km² is necessary to handle the solid disposal from the process”. Converted to U.S. standards, 6 km² is equal to 3.7 square miles of unprotected tailings, standing over one hundred thirty feet high.

Although the PEA passes off “dust transported by wind” in a single sentence, wind borne dust is already a major modifier of weather and stream flow throughout the Colorado Plateau. In recent years, spring dust storms have drastically altered the environment in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and other high altitude snow banks throughout the region. As wind borne dust lands on the snow pack, it changes the albedo (light reflectance) of the snow, darkening it and causing early snow melt. Rather than allowing slow release of melt water into the environment, rapid melting of dirty snow creates floods along both the Little Colorado River and throughout the Upper Colorado River Basin.

The Holbrook Basin Project, Phase 1 – “Studies to confirm and verify the assumptions made for the PEA. These studies include detailed hydrogeological investigations to determine the quantity and quality of groundwater available for the project. An initial water study indicates the general suitability of the Coconino Sandstone aquifer as a water source, but no specific investigations have been conducted. Recommendations: Detailed hydrogeological investigations to determine the quantity and quality of groundwater available for the project”.

If the legacy of the Holbrook Basin Project shall be a dried-up or brine-compromised Coconino Sandstone aquifer and a mountainous pile of salt tailings blowing in the wind, Passport Potash, Inc. should abandon the project now. Before the company moves forward with the project, it should publicly address the following issues:
      • Are there sufficient water reserves available to support both the mining operation and the Holbrook Basin at large?
      • What are the potential environmental effects of injecting brine into deep wells, beneath the Coconino Sandstone aquifer?
      • Will the company provide adequate protective covering and drainage for the tailings pile, both during and after the project life-cycle?

Until these basic questions are answered, I remain unconvinced that the ERCOSPLAN/Passport Potash, Inc. Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) holds any more water than does the Little Colorado River during its dry season.

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 03:14 PM | Environment | Comments (0) | Link

 

A Visit to Seven Mile Canyon, Moab, Utah with Author Craig Childs in October 2008

Recently, I received a message from Dr. Terry Swanson regarding Seven Mile Canyon near Moab, Utah. In part, it said, “Hello: I was trying to find info on the “Snake in the Mouth Pictograph” and came across your blog regarding Seven Mile Canyon and your trip there with Craig Childs.

I am a retired Boeing engineer and spend a few days each year in the Moab area and even more time in the San Rafael Swell, Cedar Mesa areas. I have been to more than 400 rock art sites, belong to the Utah Rock Art Research Association (URARA) (meeting in Moab, October 2013) and the Arizona Archaeological Society, so I respect sites and never touch anything.

Reading your description and seeing you were on the North side of Highway 313 in one of your photos I looked around Google Earth and thought the location might be as depicted on the enclosed image. Best Regards! Dr. Terry Swanson

It has been over four years since I last visited Seven Mile Canyon. I did make one attempted to visit there in April 2012, but the access points had changed and barriers prevented easy access. That day, I had insufficient time to park and hike Seven Mile Canyon on my own. With the new questions raised here by Terry Swanson, I hope to visit Seven Mile Canyon again in 2013.

To answer Terry’s questions about our 2008 Seven Mile Canyon hike, I searched Google Maps for the Utah Highway 313 turnout where we had parked that day. I located it about two miles southeast of the U.S. Highway 191 junction, heading toward Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point.

Prior to 2008, I knew of Utah Highway 313, but not about Seven-Mile Canyon. Not knowing where our driver was heading that morning, I was surprised when he stopped the van at a stub road on the east side of Highway 313. At that point, we were not more than twelve miles from Downtown Moab.

Where we stopped, there were no signs or other markings. In order to find the place again, I photographed the Canyonlands Field Institute Van and our leader Craig Childs, with distinctive natural features in the background. If you search "Craig Childs" on Google, my close-up photo of Craig from that spot appears on the first row of the images results.

That day, we visited two major sets of petroglyphs. The first set was just across the highway, in a small, boulder-strewn canyon. Around the lower edge of the canyon wall, we saw many casual markings on the rocks. It looked like ancient graffiti in a picnic area. Near the end of that brief sojourn, I hiked up on the rock pile and took a photograph looking down on our whole group.

After crossing back over the highway, we followed a path through some tall, reedy plants. Growing as they did on the outside bend of the arroyo, even in October there was sufficient water beneath to leave mud on our boots. It was a tangled mess, with only a limited passageway back and forth between canyon and road.

Later, much to our surprise, a couple of sales reps, out for a joyride in a Chevy drove past us in the arroyo. Somehow, they had driven through the wet and reedy area, not caring about the finish on their company SUV. From there, the two men drove up the sandy wash that comprises much of Seven Mile Canyon. As I learned in 2012, vehicular access from Highway 313 to Seven Mile Canyon is now blocked.

On one side of the watercourse, we found a wooden-rail fence that resembled a long hitching rail for horses. With the lonely fence standing at the base of a small escarpment, its original purpose was no longer obvious to me. In this ancient place, the rail fence became a mysterious, yet recent archeological feature.

In October 2008, the area appeared wracked by drought. We found no flowing or standing water at all. The only surface moisture was in the muddy area at our entrance to the canyon. In the upper reaches of the arroyo, only thorns and tumbleweeds grew. Around the area, large cottonwood trees had died, while others looked stressed, dying-back almost before our eyes. Although the drought around Moab continued since 2008, that one section of cottonwood trees and brush has thrived. The 2012 Google Earth photo of that place shows thick brush and mature trees.

That cottonwood stand is the place where upstream thunderstorms go to die. When flash-floods in the stream-bed are large enough to bring water to the thicket, much of it is absorbed in the alluvium. If you zoom-out on Google Maps, our hiking spot is the largest green space for miles around.

In ancient days that was true, as well. Prior to the Great Disappearance, we know from tree-ring data that the Colorado Plateau enjoyed a wetter environment. Over millennia, this one patch of greenery could have housed and fed people from many cultures. A mix of ancient and newer styles of rock art in Seven Mile Canyon bears out this thesis.

Upstream from the green space, a small side canyon juts away from the arroyo. Next, we visited that dry grotto. In the rainy season, or during a thunderstorm, water pours over the edge of the mesa above, creating a Garden of Eden in the protected alcove below. When we were there, the pool at the bottom was dry and only one stressed out plant of any size was alive in the immediate area. Imagine that space in ancient times. Was it a bathing spot for early residents and visitors? With the profusion of the ancient rock art on the walls of the grotto, I could see that it was once a well-populated place.

That day, we spent our time looking, listening and writing, all in the lower reaches of Seven Mile Canyon. At one point, Craig Childs asked us take off our shoes and walk barefoot in the bottom of the sandy wash. “Just feel the Earth beneath your feet”, he said. My field notes from that day read as follows. “As I walk up canyon, I feel hard sand beneath my bare feet. Rather than enjoying my journey, I think about my destination. Will I know it when I find it, or should I just walk on? Now I look up from my writing place and realize that it is here, in this canyon, among these shimmering cottonwood trees that I do belong”.

Soon it will be time for me to look again upon Seven Mile Canyon. I plan to do so in May 2013. If you go, be prepared to spend three or four hours in the canyon. Even if you hike no farther up canyon than we did in 2008, your encounter with the Spirit of the Ancients will be well worth the effort.

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 06:20 PM | | Comments (0) | Link

Greater Canyonlands National Monument - It's Now or Never - 2013

 

Greater Canyonlands National Monument - It's Now or Never

Recently, Ms. Sheri McLaughlin sent information about natural gas and other mineral exploitation in San Juan and Grand Counties, Utah. Sheri’s friend, Kiley Miller lives in San Juan County and keeps close tabs on gas leases, illegal off-road vehicle activity and other threats to peace, quiet and a natural environment. Following is Kiley’s email to Sheri.

From: Kiley Miller
Subject: Oil & gas leases sold Moab, UT BLM
Date: Saturday, March 2, 2013, 10:00 AM

The BLM did not defer many protested parcels including the hotly contested Parcel 042 just above the Moab Valley, which threatens numerous watersheds. The Moab area is under threat of massive industrialization from oil & gas development along with a proposed tar sands mine, potash mine, Green River Oil Refinery, & Green River nuclear facility along with a 24-mile oil & gas pipeline - starting at the gates of Canyonlands National Park, and then down to U.S. Highway 191 just north of Moab.

If you want to get involved, please get in touch with the groups I have listed below along with Utah State political figures, President Obama & write letters to the editors of newspapers & news publications.
Thanks so much-
Kiley Miller
Moab, Utah

Following is the resource list that Kiley Miller provided. Wherever possible, I have provided links to an appropriate internet resource or email address.

A recent article in the Moab Sun News – “All BLM Oil & Gas Parcels Leased”.

The website of the Canyonlands Watershed Council – at FarCountry.org

The website of Living Rivers – at LivingRivers.org

The website of – Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance -at SUWA.org

Letter to the Editors of – the Moab Sun News – at publisher@moabsunnews.com

Letter to the Editors of – the Moab Times – at editor@moabtimes.com

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Juan Palma: Utah State Director
email: jpalma@blm.gov
Jeffrey Rock Smith: Moab Field Office
email: jeffreysmith@blm.gov
Beth Maclean: Moab Field Office
email: bmaclean@blm.gov

Grand County Council – Through unilateral action, the current council is on record as opposing Greater Canyonlands National Monument.
email: council@grandcountyutah.net

San Juan County Commission:
email: bbadams@sanjuancounty.org
email: plyman@sanjuancounty.org
email: kmaryboy@sanjuancounty.org

Thank you to Kiley Miller and Sheri McLaughlin for sharing this valuable resource list. Now it is up to the reader to get involved. Without your help, Greater Canyonlands will remain unprotected from gas drilling and fracking, tar sands and potash mining and the watershed effects of nuclear facilities. Please help secure a future for Greater Canyonlands National Monument. If you contact any one of these resources, please tell them that Kiley Miller, Sheri McLaughlin and Moab Jim sent you.

Email James McGillis

By James McGillis at 04:54 PM | | Comments (0) | Link - 2013

 

"Late Afternoon Light at Artist's Point, Yosemite Valley" by Thomas Kinkade (1958-2012)

For years, a hand-retouched, signed and numbered, Thomas Kinkade 1992 cotton-fiber artist’s canvas print of “Late Afternoon Light at Artist’s Point, Yosemite Valley” hung in our hallway. With its dark location and short viewing distance, I often passed it by without notice. When some filigree scrollwork on the Brandy frame required repair, for the first time in almost a decade, I brought the 18" X 24" canvas into the light.

Regarding the original painting, Thomas Kinkade wrote, “Nowhere on Earth am I more aware of the sheer awesomeness of God’s handiwork than Yosemite Valley. This painting depicts the valley as seen from the little known place called ‘Artist’s Point’, named in tribute to the many 19th century artists who favored it as a sketching ground. In 1989, the National Park System selected ‘Yosemite Valley’ as their official print. I was thrilled with the honor, but after all, God alone deserves the credit for the beauty and majesty of Yosemite Valley”.

On the back of our frame, I found a Collector Fact Sheet and a Certificate of Authenticity. Our Kinkade is “No. 533/980 sn Canvas”. On the lower right corner of the print is the lithographed signature of Thomas Kinkade (1958-2012). Below that, hand-signed is the unintelligible signature of the artist who highlighted our canvas in oil. The net effect is a canvas print that looks like an original Kinkade oil painting.

Although a Master’s Canvas Edition of twenty hand retouched, signed and numbered prints was available in 1992, Kinkade’s own retouch and signature in oil made them too expensive for us at that time. In comparing our “sn” print with a Master’s Canvas Edition, the two look uncannily alike. That was part of Kinkade’s appeal. Through the economy of scale, and with added handiwork, Kinkade marketed “original art” at affordable prices. Since Kinkade personally trained all of his retouch artists, each of them retouched within the master’s concept. Thus, a well-kept “sn” can look every bit as good as Kinkade’s highest price offering at the time.

With Kinkade’s original art often retained in his own collection, lithographs and canvas prints are the only way for most of us to own a “Thomas Kinkade Original” painting. With its customary dryness, Wikipedia describes Thomas Kinkade thus: “Thomas Kinkade was an American painter of popular realistic, bucolic, and idyllic subjects. He is notable for the mass marketing of his work as printed reproductions and other licensed products via The Thomas Kinkade Company”.

After examining our own Thomas Kinkade “Yosemite Valley”, I could see both sides of the Thomas Kinkade legacy. Upon close examination, our Kinkade is indeed a hand retouched canvas print. Yet, when I photographed the print in natural light, it became a painting before my eyes. In the warm light of afternoon, the canvas shone with yellow, orange and brown. In later light, the sunlight faded and the Alpenglow of sunset displayed upon the clouds behind. With fuller light, the painting exhibits "morning light".

How one canvas could take on so many different visual aspects was at first a mystery to me. Then I remembered that early in his career, Thomas Kinkade had dubbed himself, “The Painter of Light”. Although the moniker had sounded pretentious to me at that time, my story is different now. I realize now that even a reproduction of Kinkade’s work can reflect light in interesting ways. With my renewed interest, our Thomas Kinkade now hangs lighted, in a place of honor on our walls.

With a collection of other paintings now crowding our wall space, we decided to sell our Thomas Kinkade to an appreciative new owner. With only nine hundred eighty original canvas prints of the “sn” type ever produced, our “Late Afternoon Light at Artist’s Point” has since moved to grace the walls of a happy new owner.

Email James McGillis

 

By James McGillis at 05:57 PM | Fine Art | Comments (0) | Link

An Energy Bridge to the 1930's Opens at Gandria Village, Lake Lugano, Switzerland - 2013

 

An Energy Bridge to the 1930's Opens at Gandria Village, Lake Lugano, Switzerland

Accompanying a recent email from Julia and Lowel Wise of Huntsville, Alabama were images of their Costantino Proietto original oil painting. While stationed as a service member in Stuttgart, Germany during the 1950’s, Lowel’s parents had purchased the painting. Lowel went on to write, “I was excited to see this on the Internet. We had searched back in 2006, but could not locate the artist by name”.

We live in Huntsville, Alabama. The Space & Rocket Center are located here, along with NASA, at the government military installation Redstone Arsenal. It is there where my father was last stationed, and then retired here.

The painting has traveled to many locations with us; from Germany where it's acquisition took place to Ft. Polk, Louisiana (my birth place) and back to Germany, and then back to Ft. Rucker, Alabama, and then to Ft. Wainwright, Alaska for five years, and finally here to Huntsville, Alabama. The painting was purchased on my father’s first tour to Germany, before I was born in 1956 and my older sister’s birth in 1955. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany where my father served two tours in the Army. My father (David J. Wise) served in the Korean War and then the Vietnam Conflict/War where he was an Explosive Ordinance Disposal instructor. After returning from Vietnam at the end of 1972, he retired. My father and mother (Gwinda A. Wise) are deceased. We acquired the painting after my mother’s departure in 2001, and my father’s passing was in 1988.

Since I was a child, the painting has been of particular interest to me. Sometimes, I would sit and stare at it and then wonder… What it would have been like to live in that location and what life would have been like there… Just a simple way of dreaming as any child would do. My father and mother would tell all four of their siblings how they struggled to save and buy one of C. Proietto's paintings while he was on his first tour to Germany. Again THANKS for the information.

In 2006, little if any information about the artist Costantino Proietto (1910–1979) existed on the internet. Not until 2011, when I began writing a series of eleven articles and founded a website about the artist did C.Proietto become widely known. I also met Mr. Nunzio LoCastro, first cousin to the artist, now living in New Jersey. With Nunzio’s help, I compiled an accurate biography of the artist, now published on AskART.com.

Since then, several owners of C. Proietto original oil paintings have sent images to me. Via internet searches, I discovered other examples of the artist’s work for sale in Europe and the United States. Since the Wise family C.Proietto represents the fourth known painting of the same village, I am now publishing images of all four paintings.

In July 2012, I purchased a Costantino Proietto painting identified only as “Villa di Lago”. Although my new painting bore strong resemblance to two C.Proietto paintings of “Lago di Lugano Gandria”, which I had found on the internet, I could not be sure. The artist’s Italian and Swiss lake scenes often contain ancient villas, snowcapped mountains and villages on far shores.

Using the Wise family C.Proietto painting as a guide, I can confirm that both their and my paintings are of Gandria Village, Lake Lugano, Switzerland. By comparing landscape and architectural details with those from the internet images, we now have four confirmed C.Proietto paintings of Gandria Village.

The Wise Family C.Proietto displays the 4:3 width-to-height ratios (27" X 18.75") typical of the artist’s early works. Yet, both it and one later example of the artist’s work depict the same stairs and doorway on the right side of the image. Other old photos show letters above that archway reading, “Ristorante Crivelli, Lago di Lugano-Gandria, Switzerland, 19”. The later C.Proietto painting, probably from the 1960’s, displays a wide-angle format, similar to a Cinemascope movie screen. Even so, because of a near-identical point of view, both paintings likely used the same 1930’s photo as their model.

From Nunzio LoCastro we know that the artist painted in his Stuttgart studio, using photographic prints to model his scenes. During the late 1930’s, the artist traveled extensively in northern Italy and Switzerland. During World War II, Costantino Proietto emigrated to his future lifelong home in Stuttgart, Germany. Using his German-made Leica camera, Costantino Proietto documented a soon to be bygone era. Having seen and photographed the major peaks and lakes of Italy and Switzerland, Tino Proietto was later able to depict with accuracy a simpler, more tranquil time and place. Although the simplicity of the artist’s work appears fanciful to some, I have yet to see evidence that Tino Proietto painted from anything other than real life, or his own photography.

With its lack of markings on the back, the Wise Family “Lugano Gandria” painting (top) is clearly the oldest of the four paintings pictured here, probably dating to the early 1950’s. In the late 1950’s, the artist affixed paper tags to the backs of his paintings. By then, he would often write the subject matter on the frame, in pencil. Later still, he affixed wax seals to the tags, indicating their authenticity. By the late 1960’s, the artist also wrote descriptive captions on the frames, often using a red felt-tipped pen.

With the publication of each new painting, we expand the body of work attributed to twentieth century master impressionist, Costantino Proietto. To keep this expansion going, I invite owners of Costantino Proietto original oil paintings to forward images (front, back, signature and details) to me via email. Please identify purchase location, past and current ownership, plus any details that might help to tell the story. Over time, I will be happy to authenticate and publish images of any newly found C.Proietto impasto oil painting.

Email James McGillis

 

By James McGillis at 12:46 PM | Fine Art | Comments (1) | Link

At Castoro Cellars Tasting Room, Discover the Charm of Cobblestone Creek Vineyard - 2012

 

At Castoro Cellars Tasting Room, Discover the Charm of Cobblestone Creek Vineyard

In early February 2012, we hooked up our travel trailer and headed north on U.S. Highway 101. Our destination was the Wine Country RV Resort in Paso Robles, California. Arriving before dark, we finished our setup and then sat down to dinner. Accompanying our roasted turkey breast and trimmings was a bottle of Castoro Cellars Paso Robles 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. With a foggy chill setting in outdoors, the red wine and white meat became perfect gastronomic partners.

A day before, I had visited our local Costco. My mission was to buy provisions for our Paso Robles wine country adventure. Although I had never purchased a bottle of Castoro Cellars wine before, the simplicity and elegance of their label attracted me. At less than ten dollars per bottle for an estate-grown, produced and bottled “Paso Cabernet”, the Costco price was exceptional. As it turned out, my instincts were correct. Unlike many Central California Cabernet Sauvignon of yesteryear, from the first sip to the last, this 2010 Cab was a multifaceted jewel.

The following morning, we awoke to cloudy, cool weather. Undaunted, we planned to go out for wine tasting that day. By noon, the weather had warmed to almost sixty degrees and the sun shined lightly through a winter haze. Heading west on California Highway 46, also known as “Windy Way”, we soon saw a billboard featuring Castoro Cellars and their motto, “Dam Fine Wine”. In Italian, castoro means beaver. In this case, the “dam” refers to that industrious animal as well.

After a brief jaunt south on U.S. Highway 101, we regained California 46 West, known there as “Green Valley Road”. In the coastal live-oak parkland of the Paso Robles Wine Country, we found a profusion of small and medium sized estate wineries. As we turned on to North Bethel Road, Peachy Canyon Winery, with its oak-studded vineyard greeted us. A bit farther along the road, we turned right at a driveway leading through an old head-pruned Zinfandel vineyard. Nestled there in Cobble Creek Vineyard is the Castoro Cellars Tasting Room.

After parking our car, I stopped to take pictures of the vineyard in its winter dress. With its leafless grape arbor, the path led gently uphill to the tasting room. At the foot of the path, a big red cat greeted Carrie and me. Immediately, I realized that this was no ordinary red cat. For that moment, at least he had adopted us and was leading us up the hill. Upon arrival at the courtyard above, the cat waited for us to open the door and then disappeared inside.

While standing just inside the doorway, we surveyed the busy tasting room. Attracted to a flickering fire in the large stone fireplace, I spotted a love-seat that faced the glowing hearth. Thinking that it might be nice to rest and enjoy the fire, I moved toward the love-seat. Just before I sat down, I realized that a cat, camouflaged with the colors of the love-seat was sleeping there. Later, we discovered that both were “outdoor cats”, meaning that they stayed outside all night, even in cold, wintry weather.

Since the love-seat was off-limits, we entered the second of two tasting rooms within the building. Inserted neck-down in one of the large racks, I found a rare 1996 Paso Robles Zinfandel. Pioneers such as Ridge Vineyards and David Bruce Winery had made Zinfandel wines from Paso Robles vineyards as early as 1967. Because of their excellent reputations, current offerings from both David Bruce and Ridge include only recent vintages. Some will claim that Zinfandel does not have the longevity of Cabernet, but I disagree. If well vinified and cellared, an old Zinfandel can be every bit as good as an aged Cabernet. If the just released 2011 “Zinfusion” we tasted at the bar that afternoon is any indication, my old 1996 Zin should be quite an interesting wine.

In the courtyard, we found old head-pruned Zinfandel vines re-purposed as fanciful planters. Even with annual pruning and great care, some old vines must go and new vines must take their place. With an extensive array of solar panels on the roof of the tasting room and a commitment to sustainability, the “recycle, reuse and re-purpose” ethic at Castoro Cellars is strong. After seeing the beauty of dead grapevines sprouting a cornucopia of flowers, moss and succulents, we purchased two bare vines. After “planting” the dead grapevines on our patio, I will write an article about planting our forty-year-old rustic sculptures.

According to a recent count, there are more than one hundred eighty bonded wineries in the Paso Robles Wine Country AVA. Any place named for a beaver and run by cats is my kind of place. With its beautiful setting, organic architecture and great wines, Castoro Cellars is now my favorite winery in Central California. If you visit “Paso Wine Country” and partake of a Castoro Cellars’ classic Zinfandel, be sure to tell them that Moab Jim sent you.

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By James McGillis at 03:24 PM | Travel | Comments (0) | Link

Colorado River Dine & Unwind - 2012

 

"First, there was the beating drum. Then, somebody invented the flute. Maybe we should have stopped there." - Edward Abbey

On October 6, 2012, I was busy with two projects in Moab, Utah. By noon that day, I had two live webcams operating Behind the Rocks at the last and final 24-Hours of Moab Off-road Bicycle Race. As soon as I had the webcam images of the race streaming properly, I headed for my base camp at the Moab Rim Campark. After a quick cleanup, I dashed off to the Canyonlands by Night pavilion on the banks of the Colorado River.

Travel in time through the North Portal of the Colorado River, Moab, Utah.

Now called Canyonlands by Night & Day, in 2012 the company celebrated its forty-ninth year as a river tour operator in Moab. With their unique floating dock, flat-bottom excursion boats and high-speed jet boats, the company offers a wide variety of tours both up and down the Colorado River. In the early 1970’s, Canyonlands by Night was already an established tourist attraction. In the early days, their most popular tour was a night visit to the Colorado River Canyon, downstream from Moab. With powerful lights played upon the canyon walls and music to match, it was a multimedia experience unique to Moab.

I had met Evan Haworth several years ago, while dining at Pasta Jay’s Restaurant in Moab. In conversation, I discovered that Evan and I had something in common. We both played traditional wooden Indian flutes. As it turned out, I am a novice and Evan is a master flute player, internationally known in the realm of the wooden flute. In those early days of Facebook, we "friended" each other and kept in touch from time to time. In October 2012 I found a special reason for taking the Canyonlands by Night “Dine & Unwind” tour.

In September, I received word that Evan would be playing the flute alongside Gray Boy, his Native American friend and master of the Navajo Hand Drum. That Saturday evening, Evan Haworth and Gray Boy were to play live on the new “Dine & Unwind” dinner tour at Canyonlands by Night. After rushing to the river, I was the first guest to arrive for the tour. A few minutes later, Evan and Gray Boy approached, dressed for their performance. Soon, a busload of French tourists arrived and we boarded our boat.

With forty guests, plus crew, we headed upriver in the open-air excursion boat. Almost immediately, we passed beneath the new U.S. 191 Highway Bridge. Actually, there are now a pair of identical bridges in place there, separated by a narrow gap. In order for traffic to keep rolling during bridge construction, engineers first built a new southerly span of the bridge. After switching traffic to the new span, engineers demolished the old highway bridge. With all of their experience constructing the southbound span, the new northbound span took far less time to build.

To motorists crossover over either span, each side appears to be part of a greater whole. From our vantage point, we could see dual structures arching gracefully over the Colorado River. With their concrete spans and massive center supports, the color-matched bridges created an impressive sight.

Earlier in the season, there was sufficient water in the Colorado River for the boat to travel unimpeded upstream. After passing beneath the highway and bicycle bridges, I noticed that the water level on the Colorado River was near its all-time low. About a mile upstream, our shallow-draft excursion boat could go no further. Ahead there was a rock-shelf in the river bottom over which the boat could not pass.

Taking advantage of the slow current, our captain centered our boat in the river, with the bow pointing upstream. As the sound of the engines died, Evan Haworth and Gray Boy began for their performance. Between each song or chant, the captain swung the boat back into upstream position, preparing for another slow drift downstream. As I looked through my viewfinder, the late afternoon sunlight played tricks with both my eyes and the video camera lens. As Evan played his first number, my eye caught the image of an Ancient Spirit up on the canyon wall. Known locally as “ET, the Extraterrestrial”, the Spirit of the Colorado Riverway is visible in the video accompanying this article.

Next, Navajo elder, Gray Boy performed solo, rhythmically playing the hand drum while chanting in Dine' Bazaad, his native Navajo language. As a young man, Gray Boy departed the Navajo Reservation to the south, traveling to Moab and there finding a good life for him and his family. Now, thirty years later, Gray Boy worked as a maintenance person at Canyonlands by Night & Day.

Earlier in the season, musicians scheduled to play on a river cruise were unable to perform. In his unassuming way, Gray Boy offered to play the drum, while his friend Evan played flute. The rest, as they say, is history. Now, during the season, Evan Haworth and Gray Boy often play together on “Dine & Unwind” dinner tours. If you plan to visit Moab, be sure to call ahead and see which days they will play, as theirs is still a limited engagement. Once the world discovers this unique experience, I expect to see the pair perform several times each week.

If you had walked the banks of the Colorado Riverway one or two thousand years ago, you likely would have heard both flute and drum. Throughout Canyonlands, those were and still are the primary musical instruments of traditional Indian culture. For a sampler of what you will see and hear on your own “Dine & Unwind” tour, please watch the accompanying video.

For several years now, I have studied and written about various energy bridges in and around Canyonlands. In my concept, an energy bridge allows us to experience vibrational energies that existed in that place, but at a different time. That particular time we may say is in the future or the past. The key to the energy bridge concept is that we can feel past, present and future, all right now.

While listening to the timeless music of flute and drum echo from the canyon walls, I realized that the new highway bridge serves a dual purpose. On one hand, it conducts traffic across the river, north of Moab. On the other hand, the the dual arched spans serve together as an energy bridge to the culture of the Ancients. After passing under the Colorado River Bridges, our boat headed up through the North Portal of the Colorado River. As we motored farther up the canyon, we were just in time to enter the timeless realm of the Ancients.

On our return trip, we passed again under the energy bridges. As we transited beneath the bridges, the sun was setting behind the Moab Rim. With fractals of new energy light captured by my still camera, the concept of an energy bridge seemed real enough for me. If only, I thought, we could capture that new energy; think what it could do for our world and us.

As rapidly as our upstream passage had sent us all to another place in time, we found ourselves back at the Canyonlands by Night, disembarking on to the floating dock. Shifting as we had from one earthly dimension to another in so brief a time, we had all worked up quite an appetite. Luckily, an excellent chuck-wagon-style barbecue dinner awaited us in the riverside dining room. At dinner that evening, I sat with Evan Haworth and Gray Boy. As we unwound from our mesmerizing upriver experience, I again felt the attraction of the energy bridge.

Suddenly, it was two hundred years before and I was sitting at a rendezvous between a mountain man and a Navajo elder, discussing their music. Since that ancient day, I thought, not much has changed. Being with friends while listening to live music on the Colorado River is as pleasurable now as it ever was.

 

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By James McGillis at 03:51 PM | | Comments (0) | Link