I stood beside a busy, two-lane highway as semi-trucks roared by and streams of vehicles followed in a hurry. The rushing traffic was matched with a high-decibel barrage of noise.

 
 My friend and I had driven north from Arizona Rim Country and stopped at Ash Springs, a little roadside stop along Highway 93 near the National Wildlife Refuge Pahranagat in Nevada. It got its name from the water source which is believed to be part of a vast aquifer underlying much of eastern Nevada. This area was settled mostly by ranchers.

 The fuel at the little convenience store/gas station was high-- $3.09.9/gallon --but the RV overnight rate was most reasonable -- $30 with electric, water and sewer. Adjacent pastures felt very bucolic with their grazing cattle.
 Beside the store stood a giant old Cottonwood tree. How to verify its age? I know you can tell by the number of rings of its trunk. In a good growth year, the rings are far apart; in trying years, the rings are close together. One local said it takes several people linking hands to surround it
 It is a masterful piece of growth in modest surroundings and has stood the test of time. Its massive trunk and outstretched limbs reaching to the sky fascinated me. It was too large to hug, too big to take a photo from top to bottom and it had a huge hollow in its trunk. 

 

 
 I walked over in the dusk to get a closer look. To my surprise, there was a heart shaped rock in its hollow. I almost felt like I invaded its personal space. But my curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the rock and, to my amazement, there lay an envelope with clear printing on it -- “To My Beloved.” My head began to spin. Who would write such a letter? Was this the secret spot where two lovers exchanged communications? Were they old or young? How long had this been going on? How long had it been in this tree? Although I admit I was very curious, I restrained myself and did not open the envelope. I gently put the stone back, turned and walked towards the little convenience store. 


 Inside, the tiny store, crowded with many snack and sundry items for hurried travelers, I found Sandy who has lived there many years and knows the area. She said Ash Spring has hot mineral springs but not “the kind that is stinky.” The Native Americans who used to live in the area used the Springs. She told me the old Cottonwood tree is at least 500 years old and that the owners of the little store were going to cut it down because they wanted to build a building there and it was in the way. She said Las Vegas was after the area around the Springs for water and she wasn’t happy about “giving them water for who knows what silly use.” It seems, in 2017, the swimming hole at Ash Springs was closed by the BLM Land -- not open to the public because of safety concerns. 


 My heart felt pangs of sadness. This tree had endured for many years and now had to bite the dirt to make way for yet another building? I felt sad longing too for the lovers who left notes to each other under the rock in the “heart of this tree.”   


 This hot spring was an oasis for prehistoric and historic travelers. Prehistoric rock art is carved upon 60 petroglyphs, boulders and archaeological remains of daily life and many artifacts. The most common animals depicted are bighorn sheep, coyotes or dogs, and snakes. Native Americans used it extensively as a camp during the last 1,000 years, spring and summer. 


 I shuddered. What a historic piece in this dusty dry desert land, I thought. But there are many Cottonwood trees in the area and, from my wilderness training, I know when backpacking, Cottonwood trees are a sure sign of water source. If you camp overnight though, it’s best not to sleep under these trees. They store water in their limbs and sometimes become water-logged and drop their limbs. Hopefully, you will not be sleeping under that limb! And if you need to start a fire to keep warm, the Cottonwood is good material for the bow and drill fire-making materials. 


 Cottonwood is a soft wood but makes up for value in its leaves. In the hot summertime, their bright green leaves show you there is water nearby. They have some unique and helpful properties. Since they grow very quickly, they make great windbreak tree lines. Their trunk hollows give shelter for small animals and their twigs and bark provide food. Initially, their soft wood burns hot and quickly. They have heart-shaped leaves that arrange in an alternate pattern on the branches. The buds are covered with a sticky antimicrobial resin protecting the tree. 


 They tend to grow through the winter and leaf out in early spring, grow into green fruit and in May, flood the landscape with their “look alike” winter snowstorm. Their name was derived from the white fluffy cotton-like balls that float in the air. They produce male and female parts on separate trees. Female trees produce tiny red blooms in Springtime, then create masses of seeds with a cotton like covering which give off a delightful fragrance for a few days. 
 Cottonwoods have lustrous, bright green foliage in summer that turns to brilliant yellow in the fall. They are members of the poplar family. Settlers and early Americans used them for lightweight construction material and tools. Native American used all parts of them. Trunks made dugout canoes; bark fed horses and made medicinal tea. The Omaha Indians made a dye from the leaf buds and made their Sacred Pole from trunks. Both humans and animals ate their sprouts and inner bark. The Apaches considered the Cottonwood a symbol of the sun. Some Northern Mexican tribes thought Cottonwoods dealt with the afterlife and used the boughs in funeral rituals. Traditionally, Cottonwood was used by Cherokees for rheumatism, sores, colic, tooth aches and more. Iroquois used the bark to kill worms, for arthritis, skin sores and as a laxative.
 

 Arizona, we are familiar with the hand-carved Kachina dolls, masks and ceremonial objects created by the Hopi, Pueblo and Navajo tribes. The Plains Indians made their sacred poles from Cottonwood branches and trunks. 
 As a healing agent, Cottonwoods have many uses.