Trumpet of Doom

Posted on February 19, 2006 in Photos Plants

You don’t mess around with the flower depicted above. It’s Jimson Weed and it’s a powerful hallucinogen. Local peoples used it to conduct toalache ceremonies. Contemporary brats like to tell younger children that they can suck on the bloom like honeysuckle. Such pranks kill eight to ten school children every year and traumatize no one knows how many more.

A friend told me that she and her boyfriend tried some. Both vomited for hours. He took a week to stop hopping the Himalayas.

This is about photos, of course. I’ve finished the Capitol Reef shots (look under Utah to view them). The next group will feature photos from Fremont Indian State Park and then Zion National Park. I have additional photos buried away from other Utah parks that I will bring out for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime, enjoy the current batch featuring wintry scenes from Whiting Ranch Wilderness.

P.S. I’m going to Balboa Park in the morning. Taking the camera. May have a new picture or two for you.

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