Location
White Dome is a small, 800 acres, nature preserve in the Saint George, Utah area. As one can see from the picture it is not the most photogenic. In fact, it only has two interesting features; biotic soil and a plant. Both are intertwined.
White Dome is a small, 800 acres, nature preserve in the Saint George, Utah area. As one can see from the picture it is not the most photogenic. In fact, it only has two interesting features; biotic soil and a plant. Both are intertwined.
The biotic soil is alive. It forms a crust that makes it extremely difficult for plants to survive. It's a very brittle crust it's not soft at all. Being so brittle walking on it destroys the soil. It seems impossible that anything pretty could survive.
The Dwarf Bear Claw poppy loves the biotic soil. In fact, it loves it so much the plant will only grow in places with the exact same biotic soil. That limits the plant to pretty much the 800 acres of the nature preserve and a few smaller areas in the Saint George area.The plant only grows and blooms in the late April early May timeframe.
What does this plant have to do with genealogy? Well if one wants to see the Dwarf Bear Claw poppy, and it's amazing to see them popping up in the preserve, you must combine two things. It's not just where you go but when. You can stop by the preserve, but if you aren't at the right time, you won't see them.
The same with genealogy, locating an ancestor is more than looking in one place, the search must factor in many nuances, from spelling of names, to boundary changes, to record loss, and other such details. The end result when it comes together is that wonderful feeling when another brick wall falls.
The company name then is an invite to look for the obscure sources, deeply analyze records found, as the solutions to the genealogical question may only be found in a special record at some remote archive. The beauty of the poppy reminds us that taking time to truly search can reveal hidden gems.