FIRE!

[NAD]

Hang on April.

This is my tribute thread to my hometown burning down right now. I was down in that area for work this morning, it didn't look so bad but then again I wasn't exactly right next to it.

Me: "I'm sorta depressed, the place I grew up is getting torched."
Woman (born in Iran): "If it makes you feel any better my homeland is about to get bombed."

 

[cthulufhtagn]

Me: "I'm sorta depressed, the place I grew up is getting torched."
Woman (born in Iran): "If it makes you feel any better my homeland is about to get bombed."

hahaha rimshot!

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

http://gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=5714

 

[Krilons Resa]

that was one of the best NES games ever!!!

on a sidenote, mother nature is a bitch sometimes.

 

[NAD]

Good video, and TMNT arcade >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> home version

 

[skeptik]

TMNT arcade >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> home version

.

 

[NAD]

Monday was a very emotional experience for me, I visited the recently burned forest. Saw some things I've never seen before. Felt some unique emotions as well, I suppose. I am quite attached to this particular part of said forest, having spent a lot of time here over the last 20 years. Here are a few photos.


All the pinky color is fire retardant sprayed all over an area right by Angelus Oaks. Saved the town, they did.


This panorama is just forest. Just amazing forest.


This ashen landscape is within the burn zone. It's amazing how many tiny trees survived and how green it is just 8 feet above the ground. Not all areas look like this, but it was a reminder of the resilient nature of Nature.


These four large trunks are in the burn zone as well, but at the edge of it. There were more of these trees here, but they have literally disappeared, just a pile of ash remains and nothing more. Right next to these four that survived with barely a tiny scorch on the very bottom. So weird. Behind in the higher elevation you can see further damage, many brown trees. Also a lot of green though, huzzah!


This majestic tree in is my favoUrite tree in the forest right now. I have visited it many times over the last few years, and I think the fire depression I went through a few weeks ago was because I thought this tree might have been lost. You can see the abandoned fire hose at its base, the fire stopped about 30 feet up from here.




I have never seen something like this before. I talked to a friend of mine that lives in this forest, he has never heard of such a thing either. It appeared to be a burial mound, apparently for a bear. It was inside the burn zone, but not far from the edge. The visuals that spun through my head after seeing this were intense.

On the way down the mountain, I drove by a brand new fire. This morning, the south side of my town was on fire. Alas.

 

[NAD]

Another burn area visit this week. This time over to the Mojave Preserve to see the Dome Fire aftermath (43,000 acres of Joshua Tree forest burned by lightning in August 2020). This is the densest Joshua Tree forest in the world, and for the most part left alone. It's too far away from anywhere to see a lot of tourism, unlike Joshua Tree Park itself, which has become overrun in recent years.

Anyhow, before the photos, I suggest playing this song to set the mood:




To the left, burn. To the right, life. I've watched enough forest fires to know how quickly they grow back, it's really quite something to witness because within weeks the first signs of rebirth begin, and within a few years, you see the saplings return. Desert fires are uncommon, and I don't know how long it takes for things to grow back in the arid regions, but this area looks like the Blasted Heath from a Lovecraft tale. I had a bit of an emotional moment seeing all this death.


I liked this log. It framed my shot of this mountain better. The next morning there was snow up there. It was a cold night.


My campsite is in the middle right of this photo, and the inclination on the left is the Cima Dome, a volcanic bubble of sorts.

I camp alone.
Yeah, with nobody else.
You know, when I camp alone?
I prefer to be by myself.


When I am here, I am home.


Another animal grave. Not sure how I keep running into this phenomena, but here we are. Two coyotes I assume? That's the only "large" animal in this region. Or maybe someone's pets/children/sacrifices.


Barrel Cactus, quite a large one. Growing out of solid rock, which is pretty fucking metal.


Amboy, California
Population: 5
Well, 6, if you count this TEN FOOT TALL GOLDEN BUDDHA.

 

[MFJ]

Great shots man!

 

[Ellestin]

Awesome report. These sceneries are so unlike what I'm used to. No rattlesnakes?

 

[NAD]

Thanks, dudes. Narp, no rattlesnakes. I haven't been face to face with one in about 38 years actually, when I was wee lad I'd see sidewinders skate across the road all the time. Out in the wild I think my size 12 wide boots have them slither away long before I get near. I tend to hike like a dwarf.

 

[Krilons Resa]

My ex-bro in law/best duder grew up in San Diego and was out and about in them parts and was bitten by a rattlesnake when he was a kid. I'm pretty sure he had to be air-lifted. He apparently hasn't learned his lesson and has moved back a couple years ago.

 

[NAD]

Ha! Yeah if he's out toward the south end of the desert... that's where the diamondbacks live.

Sidewinders can fuck you up, but mostly want to be left alone. Diamondbacks love carnage.

 

[einride]

Awesome report. These sceneries are so unlike what I'm used to.

2ndeded

yeah these landscapes are totally alien to me as well, nature is cool shit