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golden poppies and lupines in Joshua Tree National Park

Season of the Sand Blossoms & Desert Gold
Desert Flowers and Desert Wildflowers

A DVD all about
desert wildflowers!
Season of the Sand Blossoms DVD

Click here to buy from:
CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
or
AMAZON.COM.

Native American Julia Parker preparing acorns "What is the purpose of a flower?"
Dr. Barbara Collins

Mojave Desert flowers in Spring: Painted lady butterflies on an Indigo Bush Brittle Bush, a desert wildflower Worldfest Winner's Trophy Purple Mat flowers, desert wildflowers Roadrunner in the Mojave desert, desert wildlife Costa's Hummingbird, desert wildlife "The wildlife of deserts is defined by their ability to survive even in the poorest and leanest of years."
Kimball Garrett
Sonoran Desert Ground Squirrel, desert wildlife Horned Toad in the Mojave desert, desert wildlife 2007 Aegis Award Winner Black Thorned Prickly Pear "When we gather plants, we make sure it's beneficial to the plant.."
Richard Bugbee
Swansea Bay Film Festival, Wales Desert Wildflowers Guide to the Mojave Desert, Colorado Desert and the Sonoran Desert
NEW!
Desert Flowers
Guide:

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I wonder, how many of the millions of tourists who visit Las Vegas each year know that it's also a hot spot for viewing nature? A 35 mile journey from skyscraping hotels brings you to towering Mt. Charleston. On its forested slopes you can find alpine wildflowers in summer and skiing in winter. The mountain pierces 11,918 feet of Nevada sky and its temperature averages as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the desert below. That's quite a relief when the flatlands are hitting 112 degrees in the shade.

Another natural sightseeing choice is the Valley of Fire, Nevada's oldest State Park. Only 50 miles to the north of Las Vegas and easily accessible from Interstate 15, this park features spectacular geological formations along with spring wildflowers.

Venturing further afield, Death Valley National Park is also within day trip distance from Las Vegas. The Park is world famous for its hellish summer climate, below sea-level altitude at Badwater and exciting Old Western history.

Last, but certainly not least, Las Vegas is close to one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World: the Grand Canyon. The Canyon varies from 2,000 ft above sea level by the Colorado River to 8,000 feet high along the North Rim. Within this vast span wildflowers flourish for much of the year.

"For those who have never seen a desert in its full Spring splendor, this film shows it beautifully. It captures the feeling of big landscape; the quiet and solitude of being out in the desert."
The Arizona Native Plant Society

Experience a rare and magical time when the desert blooms and a seemingly desolate landscape bursts with color and life. Season of the Sand Blossoms and Desert Gold travel through the Southwest to tell the desert wildflowers' story.

Season of the Sand Blossoms the Gold medal award-winning environmental art film set to music, immerses viewers in the amazing world of desert flowers, butterflies, birds and wildlife that thrive during the brief, abundant Spring.

In Desert Gold, a compelling award-winning documentary that has received international recognition, scientists and Native American tradition-keepers explain how and why the desert blooms. Desert Gold travels through the Southwest to tell the life story of desert flowers, revealing rare beauty, ancient history and a vital web of life that affects us all.

The disk includes a DVD Extra: a special version of Season of the Sand Blossoms called What Is That? which has subtitles that identify the more than 100 plants and animals shown in the film.

"As a Southern California native, our desert wildflowers are hardly new to me, but after watching Season of the Sand Blossoms, I felt I relived 60 years of desert visits in one sitting.

While the San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club has fantastic mountain ranges and hence our namesake, it is protection of our deserts that occupy most of our efforts. Desert Gold, in such a short time, accomplishes so much in illuminating this fragile environment; to think such an innocent thing as a flower plays such an important role in this intricate web of life. This is a must-see film"

Sierra Club San Gorgonio Chapter Chair, Ralph Salisbury

"We selected the Rhalters' two films for our Festival because of their transcendent beauty, technical excellence and specificity to our resiliant, yet fragile, Southwest desert ecosystems."
2008 RioFest International Environmental Film Festival board member, Kathryn Albrecht

2008 has been an excellent year for desert wildflowers, which makes these insightful and engaging films all the more relevant. The DVD is available to the public and the filmmakers are available for interviews and presentations.


AWARDS & HONORS

San Bernadino Sun article by Lauren McSherry
San Bernadino Sun article


San Bernadino Sun article by Lauren McSherry
Desert Sun article

WINNER - GOLD AWARD
Season of the Sand Blossoms
Nature and Wildlife category

(other Nature and Wildlife gold award winner: National Geographic)

2006 Houston International Film Festival

WINNER - 2007 Aegis Award
Desert Gold
Documentary category

WINNER - 2007 DV AWARD
Desert Gold
Nature and Wildlife category

WINNER - PLATINUM AWARD
Desert Gold
2007 Houston International Film Festival
Documentary Videography category


Honorees and Panelists
RioFest International Environmental Film Festival
Desert Gold and Season of the Sand Blossoms
January 25-26, 2008
Socorro, New Mexico


Official Selection: RioFest International Environmental Film Festival 2008
Desert Gold, Season of the Sand Blossoms
January 25-26, 2008
Socorro, New Mexico


Official Selection: Everglades Film Festival 2007
Desert Gold
September 25, 2007
Dargle, South Africa


Official Selection: Globians Film Festival 2007
Desert Gold
August 12, 2007
Potsdam, Germany


Official Selection and Tinny Award Nominee: Swansea Bay Film Festival 2007
Desert Gold
Swansea Bay, Wales


Official Selection: Twin Rivers Media Film Festival 2007
Desert Gold
Asheville, North Carolina


Palm Springs Desert Sun article "Wildflowers on film" features
Desert Gold
and Season of the Sand Blossoms
The Desert Sun; Palm Springs, California; April 21, 2007


Official Selection: 9th Annual Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival (2007)
Desert Gold
Seattle, Washington


Official Selection: EarthVision Film Festival 2007 Kick-Off Celebration
Season of the Sand Blossoms
Santa Cruz, California


Official Selection: 2006 Vermont International Film Festival
Desert Gold
Burlington, Vermont


Official Selection: 2006 Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival
Desert Gold
Napa, California


SCREENINGS AND PRESENTATIONS;

"After hearing the buzz about these amazing wildflower films, we were anxious to view what everyone is talking about. The DVD truly made me feel I was there in the midst of the gentle breezes, soft sounds of birds, bees and the magic of the flowers tipping their heads my way.
Shelley Kibby, Park Interpreter, Mountain County Parks, Riverside County, California

Idyllwild Nature Center 30th Anniversary Wildflower Extravaganza
Idyllwild, California: Saturday May 24, 2008

Sierra Club, San Gorgonio Chapter, Los Serranos Group
Upland, California; May 20, 2008

Party for the Planet/California Desert Nature Festival
Palm Desert, California: April 11 & 13, 2008

The Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix, Arizona: March 8 & 9, 2008

Sierra Club, San Gorgonio Chapter
Redlands, California; February 5, 2008

U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center
Mono Lake, California; August 17, 2007

The Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park
Palm Springs Public Library; May 8, 2007

The Living Desert
Palm Desert, California: April 21, 2007

The Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix, Arizona: March 10 & 11, 2007

Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park Association Visitor Center, February 18, 2007

U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center
Mono Lake, California; July 13, 2006


"You're in for a treat."
Barbara Lowell, The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA; April 21, 2007


Desert Gold wildflowers in Death Valley

Locations

Includes scenes from:
Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, California
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Joshua Tree National Park, California
Mojave National Preserve, California
Mono Lake, California
Prescott National Forest, Arizona
Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona
Tonto National Forest, Arizona
Red Rock Canyon, California
Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona
Yosemite National Park, California

and many more locations!

Details

Deserts are often considered wastelands, vast areas of little worth. In most years the casual traveler speeds through them and sees little to dispute this notion. In reality, desert lands are full of life waiting for the right moment to burst forth. This moment may only come every quarter or half century, but when it does a spectacular world of desert flowers and wildlife reveals itself. Season of the Sand Blossoms and Desert Gold travel through the Southwest to tell the desert wildflowers' story.

Season of the Sand Blossoms explores the world of desert wildflowers; from sweeping desert views to delicate close-ups. Viewers find themselves at eye level with the amazing desert flowers, butterflies, birds and wildlife that thrive during the brief, abundant Spring. The 12 minute environmental art film set to music has been hailed by many viewers as, "the most relaxing film I have ever seen," and, "a work of art." The Houston International Film Festival agreed, honoring it with the Gold Medal in the Nature and Wildlife category.

Desert Gold is a compelling 18 minute documentary in which scientists and Native American tradition-keepers explain how and why the desert blooms. They examine the growing cycle and how seeds can survive decades of drought, yet still know when to flower. The story traces the relationships among flowers, insects, birds and mammals as partners in a web of life that reaches far beyond the desert and explores the implications of human incursion on these magnificent, yet fragile lands. The role of wildflowers in the lives and traditions of Native Americans is featured.

The disk includes a DVD Extra: a special version of Season of the Sand Blossoms called What Is That? which has subtitles that identify more than 100 flowers and animals shown in the film.


Total running time: 42 minutes (Season of the Sand Blossoms 12 minutes, What is That? 12 minutes, Desert Gold 18 minutes)

Format: DVD compatible with all regions.

Special Guest Interviews with:

Richard Bugbee

Richard Bugbee
Richard Bugbee is a Native American from the Luiseņo Tribe in San Diego County. He teaches Kumeyaay Ethnobotany at Kumeyaay Community College. He is also an Indigenous Language Mentor for the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, (ADVOCATES), which is dedicated to teaching techniques and activities to Native Nations to enable the survival of their languages. Mr. Bugbee's credits include Associate Curator and the Indigenous Education Specialist for the San Diego Museum of Man and Curator of the Kumeyaay Culture Exhibit at the Southern Indian Health Council. He wishes to help connect the youth of today with the wisdom and traditions of their People.

Dr. Barbara Collins

Barbara Collins, Ph. D.
Dr. Barbara Collins is a Professor of Biology at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California where she has developed an herbarium containing 5,000 plants. She is the author of a quartet of books on Southern California's flora as well as other botany and biology books. Her expertise has been instrumental in the writing of numerous environmental impact reports for Southern California projects. The Sears-Roebuck Foundation honored Dr. Collins with the 1991 Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award and she was voted CLU Professor of the Year in 1996. She has also encouraged her students to appreciate their environment and become involved in local land-use decisions.

Some of Dr. Collins' published works are: Key to Coastal and Chaparral Flowering Plants of Southern California (1972) and Key to the Trees and Shrubs of the Deserts of Southern California and Key to Trees and Wildflowers of the Mountains of Southern California (1974). These guides are notable for their friendly format and ease of use. The chaparral book is in its 3rd edition.

Kimball Garrett

Kimball Garrett
Kimball Garrett is the Ornithology Collection Manager of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The museum's collection holds 112,000 specimens - approximately 60% of the world's extant birds. In addition to his museum work, Mr. Garrett is widely known for his extraordinary ability to identify birds and their vocal signatures and is considered the preeminent authority on the birds of L.A. County.

Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Garrett has co-authored: Birds of the Los Angeles Region (2006), the Field Guide to Warblers of North America (1997) and the Birds of Southern California (1981).

A Beavertail (Prickly Pear) Cactus in Death Valley Beavertail Cactus wildflowers

HOW TO ORDER
Click here to purchase the DVD Season of the Sand Blossoms (includes Desert Gold) from: CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY or AMAZON.COM.

For Wholesale price inquiries or to receive information about how to arrange screenings, call toll free 888-737-4562, or click here. Random Walk Productions creates exhibtion-quality films, from interpretive documentaries to environmental art. All Random Walk Productions' award-winning films are available for sale and screenings.

Season of the Sand Blossoms: A Desert Wildflowers Journey is for sale at the Visitor Centers and gift shops of:
Death Valley Natural History Association
Grand Canyon Association
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Idyllwild Nature Center
Joshua Tree National Park Association
The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
Mono Lake/Inyo National Forest Visitor Center
Mojave National Preserve Kelso Depot
Saguaro National Park
Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology

Xanterra Parks and Resorts gift shops at:
Grand Canyon National Park
Death Valley National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Zion National Park
Grand Canyon North Rim

Partial proceeds from all sales of the film Season of the Sand Blossoms: A Desert Wildflower Journey benefit efforts to study and preserve desert wildflowers.

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