The Heinous Truck in the Magnificent Desert - Big Bend 2017 (2 Viewers)

[pmccraney]

Before we get to the splendor of gualea mesa at Sunset, I need to take another quick side-bar. @Bomar doesn't do the roof top tent thing. He's a die-hard, unapologetic loyalist to the Oztent, which is a palatial ground tent that deploys quickly for its size. We give him a pass because he feeds us brisket, which was on the menu for that night.

I wish I had a picture of it, but I don't. Just imagine the accommodations of a Bedouin nomad in the Moroccan desert, which is modest by comparison.

When @Bomar gets this thing fully-deployed, he's got full-length cots, a berber rug, a wet bar, surround sound and a disco ball. So, despite the foreboding weather, he deploys all that s*** in the middle of our hill side barricade (right between nolen and andy's trucks for added protection).

As sunset approached, it appeared like Bomar's gamble would pay off. The winds calmed a bit as the daylight faded and we were even able to build a fire, although we had to use fireman's extra long truck as an added wind buffer. Finally! The BBT added value to the trip. We used the waning minutes of daylight to take some pictures and explore.

Before darkness won out and we settled into camp around our fire, we were treated with remarkable sunset, which (for a mere 12 hours), was unquestionably the highlight of our trip. At this point, I'll let some of the real photographers drop in their pics, so you can get a better appreciation of it.

 

[wngrog]

The only "real photographer" was wigging out

 

[wngrog]

The drive up tho

 

[ntsaint]

Awesome work PMC. I really can't second your thoughts enough on how awesome this campsite was. Yes, the wind was bad that night and we probably should have moved, but so glad we didn't. It was like camping on the side of the grand canyon.

Also can't say enough about the food that night. Bomar killed it with pork and brisket, and David came in hot with the fajitas. I ate until i could barely move.

Below is the super exposed location we tried first, glad we pulled back from there:

#RunPMCEsquire

#rockmidget

#bestfriends

I'll leave it off here, let PMC pick back up. Good night around the fire/BBT, and a great morning to follow.

 

[OGBeno]

That last picture... "PMC trying to contemplate what occurred the night before".....

 

[pmccraney]

Since @Papalud won't get off his butt and contribute to our story, I'll drop in some of his pics.

So, yeah, this was our view, as settled in around the camp fire.

Fireman whipped out the skottle and starting making us some chicken fajitas. Bomar brought some of his vacuum-sealed brisket, which heated up to perfection over some boiling water on his cast iron grill.

The wind had calmed (a bit) and we were all sitting in a side-to-side line staring at the fire with fireman's truck to our backs blocking the wind. I settled into my kingdom chair with strong drink and Andy, Nolen and I proceeded to get substantially over-served... As in, can't see straight, everything is funny over-served... Meanwhile, Ron is scurrying about doing the devil's work with his camera with crazy night-time exposures, pedestal flashes and umbrellas like he was shooting porn (and he was)...

View attachment 1393449

 

[pmccraney]

At this point, all seemed right in the world. Looked like we were going to dodge a bullet... The clouds scattered and stars came out like I have never seen before, and I even considered deploying my tent (at this time, my hesitation was definitely laziness - I was far too comfortable in my kingdom chair with my eyes on the stars to consider any other efforts or distractions).... Look closely and you can see the stars were bright enough to cast some light on the ridges below:

We got to enjoy this light show for about an hour or two, and then a crazy ass blood moon showed up (yes, that's the moon, not the setting sun). It drowned out the stars a bit, but we were not disappointed with it crashing the sky party:

Again, photos by Ron (@Papalud)

 

[pmccraney]

And, then, as quietly as the clouds and wind had laid down, things started to subtly trend the other direction. First indications were clouds and lighting off in the distance...

So, here are we, staring at the milky way, with a blood moon and a touch of storm clouds and lightning firing off in the distance.... It's the kind of stuff you can't make-up or describe. Sensory overload.... If I were Yosemite bear (the double rainbow guy on youtube), I might have gotten a little teary and asked "what does it all mean."

 

[pmccraney]

At this point, Lou (who doesn't drink) had gotten tired of the jokes that were only funny to three people and Bomar (who typically goes to bed before lights out at a nursing home) was ready to turn in as well... Lou to his exposed perch on the shelf-road (below) and Bomar to his Oztent palace.

Luckily, the worst of the storm (and the lightning) stayed far enough away that we got to enjoy the view in relative safety... But, the impacts were noticeable...

The winds came back with twice the fury of the late afternoon. Tropical storm pending upgrade to a category 1.

Even though fireman's truck was set up as a wind blocker, it was no match for the wind. As we start to see sparks and pieces of our fire carried off into the dry, desert landscape, fireman calls professional veto and says we have to put out the fire immediately... We reluctantly agreed...

Of course, I was not possessing all of my mental faculties, so right about the time he made this call, I threw my dinner plate in the fire so that it could die an appropriate death before the fire was gone... Of course, Andy/Nolen and I laughed uncontrollably watching a fireman dance on hot coals trying to keep my paper plate from becoming a flying fire missile.... After pretending to help for a little while, I went and got my jerry can and quickly finished the job.... In the end, we didn't burn down the guale mesa, so that was nice...

 

[Papalud]

alright. about to back-track this bitch a little. Since I never heard back from the toyota trails dude I'm gonna go ahead and dump the rest of these photos on the thread.

 

[Papalud]

 

[Papalud]

 

[pmccraney]

At this point, Fireman also gets a little irritated with us, and says he moving the truck to flat ground to get ready for bed, and we could sit there like over-served idiots in the exposed wind staring at the stars if we wanted to... So, of course, we did....

About that time, the storm gets upgraded again and Lou's tent starts flapping like one of those dancing, roadside wind funnel characters announcing a used car sell-off... We can hear fearful cursing from inside his tent..., and the remaining hooligans sitting around a non-fire shout to him that he should definitely try to bone Dorothy when he wakes up in Oz.... Of course, we thought it was funny..

Then, there's the giant (and appropriately named) Oztent.... It looked like a bounce house full of too many kids at a birthday party.... Walls imploding, roof teetering, tent poles bending, etc... ..Of course, for humor's sake, we start pretending like Bomar and Drone guy were either fighting or sport fxxxing in there... So, we start yelling things like "hit em with the paralyzer to the chode, bomar" or, "you better say my name, bitch." Again, had to be there, etc..., but when your intake has convinced you that you are Dave Chappelle, you embrace the moment.

After about 10 minutes of our heckling, Bomar unzips the Moroccan villa and calls no joy with a complete look of defeated disgust on his face...

The rest of us (still seated) look at each other and say "we should probably help him, shouldn't we."

"Nah, screw it, - hey fireman, You're a trained first responder, get over here and help Bomar while we laugh...."

At some point, we gathered our wits and took the remaining tents down. Everyone scattered to make do in their vehicles. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering how and why I was sleeping in my car, scratched my head for a minute, grabbed a swig of water out of the fridge and crashed again. The next thing I know there is a knock on my window (and horns honking) telling me to get the hell out of my car immediately...

 

[Papalud]

Here's another of the cool ensilage cutter. Great patina...

It's been said over and over, but it was really breathtaking pulling up to Guale. It really is the best western campsite within a (long)day's drive, and on par with sites in Arizona, Utah, etc. The best part is the total remoteness. We were the only bozos for miles.

A peak at the canyon wall. Not visible from camp, but from an overlook trail just a few minutes away.

 

[Papalud]

 

[OGBeno]

Damn. Serious photos @Papalud

 

[fountainhead]

Fxxx me.

 

[Papalud]

#EAF Modeling shoot

We had about an hour of just insane stars- including a good view of Venus and Mars, and some decent Milky Way. Pretty soon the horizon started to glow with the rising moon.

So for about 10 minutes, we had a deep black sky full of stars above us, the blood orange moon to our left and the lighting storm over Mexico to our right. Magical.

Unlike all the other pussies that retreated to the back of the site, I left my truck out on the point and curled my big ass in the back. Thank god Lou had an extra foam pad I could use, as I fully planned on ENO-only the whole trip. The wind rocked the truck all night like a big-ass baby cradle.

 

[Papalud]

Serious Kudos to Bomar and Fireman for the food that night. It's pretty rare that I get to just park at camp and screw off shooting all night.

 

[pmccraney]

Hey, @Papalud, @ntsaint and @wngrog, go ahead and show everyone why it was imperative that we all get our asses out of bed at first light.