of tan. Nuts with diseased or undeveloped kernals have a grayish cast. Three successive growing seasons are necessary to produce mature cones. Thus the pinon must have normal rainfall and other favorable conditions 3 years in a row to produce a good crop. One of the advantages of the pinon nuts is their excellent keeping quality. Dry unshelled nuts have been stored up to 3 years in New Mexico without turning rancid. Shelled nuts, however, turn rancid in 4 to 6 months. Roasting the nuts improves their flavor, but shortens keeping time. The easiest way to roast the nuts is to place them unshelled in a cast iron frying pan over moderate heat on top of the stove. Let the nuts heat, stirring gently and constantly, for about 5 or 6 minutes. Taste a few kernels and compare their taste and looks with unroasted kerne1s. Remember that the shells hold heat for a time and thus continue the roasting process after you remove the nuts from the pan. Roasting nuts in an oven is tricky. It is too easy to overdo it. Even Indians fail at this. Whatever you do, look upon the pinon tree as a friend. It clothes the weathered hills with softness, shelters wild animals against storms, feeds wildlife and humans with its rich nuts, warms the traveler before the fireplace, and cooks his meals.
(Editor:				The above was abstracted from an article written by Doyle Kline, Assistant to the State Director of the Bureau of Land Management. State Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The article was, submitted to the Newsletter by Barbara Lilley.)
SCHEDULED TRIPS
Waucoba and Paiute Monument (almost) - Nov 1-2 - Eric Schumacher On Saturday, November the first, a bakers dozen DPS'ers gathered for the scheduled climb of Waucoba. The meeting spot for the climb was reached by driving cast on the Westgard Pass Road just north of Big Pine. After turning off of Highway 14 we went two miles and forked off to the right, on the Waucoba Canyon road. The meeting spot was 12 miles further along at the Junction of the winding canyon road and the dirt Saline Valley road. Continuing for another 12 miles on the dirt we turned off on a short side road to our right. At this point we were standing about two miles east and 3900 feet below our very visible objective. (I might note that very excellent camping is available at this point.)

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