Got a dove yesterday and a rabbit today. Learning not to take shots unless I'm 10 yards or less from the target. When using BBs, you have to immobilize the animal on the first shot or they get away.
I got up early today and walked into the mountains, up past the new school into Rascon Canyon. After passing the first fence I had a close encounter with a bull. He pawed the ground once and I got pretty nervous. Pulled out my Hi-Point and chambered a round, but kept it pointed at the ground. I kept my eyes on the bull. When I was closest to him, about 10 yards away, I said, "Don't mess with me, and I won't mess with you. Simple as that". He didn't. I ejected the magazine, removed the bullet from the chamber, put it back into the magazine, put the magazine back into the pistol, and holstered it. Whew.
Turns out I had to do that a few other times. After passing the 2nd fence, approaching Rascon Windmill, three dogs, possibly feral, were in the path. But after one barked, they left me alone.
When I got to the Rascon ranch, the gate was locked. I yelled "Permission to pass through!" several times, and got no answer, so crawled under the barbed wire and started walking through the arroyo. I kept yelling "Helloooo!!!" as I walked until I passed the house. I guess the owners were away or in the larger house up the hill.
What had looked like a spring on the map, just west of the ranch, was just a pile of whitish dirt. Made my way to Niggerhead Spring (don't blast me for that, I didn't name it) after passing the remains of a dead cow, and taking the right fork where the road split, and found the tank full. There are a bunch of white spots on the map in that area too, but they seem to all be reflective volcanic rock. There's a run-down rock building on the hillside overlooking the spring that only needs a roof to be a decent shelter.
I was talking to myself, as I usually do when I'm alone, and said "that didn't pan out" after trying to avoid the rocky arroyo by going farther up the hill and finding it just as rocky. It got me wondering where that phrase came from. Without looking it up, my guess is that it's from the gold rush days. "That stream looked promising, but it didn't pan out". Whaddaya think?
Climbing up the arroyo from the spring, you see a hole dug that could also be used as a shelter if it had a roof. Two shelters and a good source of water, not a bad area for a tribe of 5-10 people. Bearing left to head due north, I found myself looking straight at the "eye in the sky", the surveillance blimp that helps feed our conspiracy theories in this area. It's a steep downhill there to a jeep trail, then to Mary Lee Draw. Some nice sand in that arroyo, where on a nicer day I might have lay down for a nap. It was too cloudy today.
I missed the road, and walked under a barbed wire fence across the arroyo. Not much later I found myself against a fence I couldn't cross. Headed North and jumped the gate onto Pie Road (I think). A neighbor just happened to be passing by and gave me a lift. Turns out the Border Patrol had been watching me and sent an officer to check me out. When we got to the checkpoint they were full of questions. I tried to be nice, since I was packing and didn't want them to ask me to leave the vehicle, at which point they might have freaked. Got through without incident. Bought a six-pack of Pipeline Porter at Peppers and got the bus home.
Exhausting day. Tomorrow is the annual Valentines/Mardi Gras party at the Pink Store. See you there? Free food and drinks, can't beat it. Just have to dodge the bullets from the drug war which goes on constantly in the Palomas streets, if you believe the news media.
last updated 2013-01-10 21:20:50. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com