No, your monitor is working just fine. The first image is what living off-the-grid away from light pollution on a moonless night with no generator looks like. It IS that black, that deeply black and consuming! I kid you not; it is like a black velvet painting without any trace of Elvis to illuminate it. I found this out one night when we got home a little later than expected. I forget the circumstances but we had probably been socializing with the cowboys a few places up the road from here. As much as it only happens maybe once or twice a year, it is still a fine ol' time to be had. I wouldn't say that I had earned any designated driver status by merit that night as much as an ability to hit the driver side door the quickest. Not to worry, that little aside has nothing to do with the story here.
We came home and realized that we needed to fire up the generator before Mark could even find his way around inside the Rat. I parked in front of the barn at such an angle so that he could find the generator. It wasn't long before light sprang up from within the Rat and I could see Mark through the windows. He quickly put up our window shades and the Rat sunk back into darkness from the outside world. I backed up and headed the Dakota into my usual spot in the barn. In one smooth motion, I killed my headlights, turned the beast off and hopped out, locking the door behind me. And found myself immersed in the most intense and drowning darkness I have ever experienced. Other than the keys still in my hand, I had just relinquished any vague connection to the lit world - and I could not even see those keys now, let alone the truck. I put out my left hand and was relieved to find the familiar bed of the truck at least within reach. I knew that if I followed the line of the bed far enough back that I had a chance of making it through the barn door without running into a wall or a pile of potentially lethal junk.
It was about that time, with me being about five foot into groping along the bed, that I heard something. Something loud, something moving, something BIG by the sound of it. In the following seconds, it appeared to me to be something immense and bipedal, all according to the steady beat along the row of old well pipes that we had salvaged and laid out in one area of the barn. Clang, clang, clang, clang, resounding like a church bell death toll - heavily, steadily and quickly it continued towards me. I felt the invisible keys in my hands. I gauged the chances of returning to the truck door and finding the keyhole in just the right way to insert the key and find myself within the locked safety of the cab. My heart started to pound a little when I realized that I wouldn't likely have the time to execute that option - the creature was getting closer by the nanosecond. Clang, clang, clang, clang, ever closer. What to do, what to do next?!
I guess such situations are where major personality traits come into play. With what I thought was little to lose at this point, I stopped, turned on my heels and addressed the advancing unknown. "Knock it off! Get lost or I will kick your butt on the way out! Make my day, bud - I will enjoy it." And despite the still advancing noise, I turned around again and headed back towards where I presumed the door lay. Somehow I managed to clear that door with my dignity intact and found myself out in the larger engulfing darkness but the hairs on the back of my neck told me that I still might be grabbed from behind at any moment by the unseen predator. Sometimes you just have to understand that you may only have two options; that you are either totally screwed or you're not and so I kept walking vaguely in the last known direction of the Rat and hoping for that latter option. After much pawing ahead of myself in the dark and stumbling, the door of the Rat and its light within greeted me. A small eternity passed by in the process.
Didn't seem worth alarming Mark at that point however; some things just don't seem worth the stress of a re-telling at the time.
The second photo? Well, that is my collection of skulls and antlers tacked along the back inside wall of the barn. Do they sometimes come alive at night and stalk hapless victims? Nah ... probably not.
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35 comments:
A jackelope... it had to be, apart from the facrt they arent huge and bipedal... scary though, sounds like when you lying in bed and you hear a nise behind you, do you roll over and see the murderer/monster/tony danza, or do you go back to sleep and let them do their business.
PopeT, that is EXACTLY the scenario - "Fine, whatever - you are going to do whatever you must anyway so I might as well get on with my own agenda here and ignore you." There seems to be certain ways of approaching pizza-inspired nightmares and real-time nightmares that work well in both realities. A good thing, too, I might add.
I think I would start carrying a baseball bat at all times. I have been trying to catch up on things, and I must say its all absolutely fascinating to me. I have always wanted to live in New Mexico. Always. And reading this, even with the tribulations you both have endured, just adds fuel to the fire.
Wonderful writing and a grand adventure.
Did you look for tracks?
I get that feeling if I walk through the house in the dark back to the bedroom...I just know something is going to touch my back! You'd think a 61 year-old kid would have outgrown that kind of thing. But it's always there, we just learn to "kept walking vaguely" toward safety.
Great piece!
I would have a hard time continuing without knowing the source of the commotion. And as I read I couldn't help buy wonder if at any point you considered screaming since Mark was in the rat? The potential of serious harm or danger would have prompted me to scream louder than ever.
So...didja ever figure out exactly what was making those noises, Lin? Like the next morning, or something?
And I can relate to the "dark." One of my favorite things to do in this part of the world is to drive south of town to get away from the ambient light, park on the side of the road and just stare up at the heavens... It's just too amazing for words.
It was probably Hannibal Lector.
Glad to see there are no moose antlers there.
JustMe, lots of folks have suggested that I carry something defensive with me when I am out but I am lucky to remember even bringing keys with me. So far, so good but you know how that works.
New Mexico really is that kind of place - if it calls out to you, you need to seriously consider what it's saying. And the natives are largely decent folk compared to the rest of the world. It feels like one of North America's last frontiers. You'd love it here!
I JUST LOVED your story about Mama dealing with 'the preevert'!
Mushy, so just what is that thing we all still seem to feel in the dark? Is that why kid scout leaders can still get as wigged out with creepy campfire tales as their charges? Whatever it is ... what a rush to be able to still feel it when everything else is turning to solid jade.
Anonymous - you have to know Mark before wondering if a scream is worth the breath it takes. Ummm ... best said that he can run a little oblivious. Plus, I was never much of a screamer to being with. My sister though, now THERE's a screamer for ya - that type of scream you heard in those '50s drive-in horror movies, that glottal vibrato at searing volume that sends everyone into an immediate coronary. Sigh, I never could master that though.
Buck, I forgot to answer JustMe on that one. Funny thing is, I never did follow-up but then again, I have never followed up on FAR more stranger incidents. I'm not sure what that inclination is all about.
Is this state great or what when it comes to the darkness of the sky at night? I stand out on the porch on moonless nights and the Milky Way is so LOUD that it looks like a Hollywood search light behind the mesa is blazing it across the sky. The sight is still beyond my ability to assimilate.
Moose, yep ... Hannibal runs through your thoughts right about then - flared eyes coming at you with a knife and fork. Would have served him right - I am probably a little tough and gamey anyway.
Those are all seasonal mule deer sheds so no critter was offed to get them. Haven't heard of moose this far down south yet but, then again, you'd sure be a novelty when you show up so wear a very large and distracting hat.
I envy you for your velvety sans-Elvis skies. I enjoy looking for constellations when we travel. Were the skies cloudy or starry? When last we went camping, I saw a man take a picture of the stars with a regular digital camera and a tripod. He set the exposure to 16-seconds, half-clicked for focus (or whatever that does), blocked the lens with one hand while he snapped the photo. He blocked incoming light for two seconds, allowing all vibration to stop, and then pulled it away, so that it was really a 14-second exposure. Then it goes to Photoshop.
Craver, our friend Rick the Welder said he put his camera on the roof of the car for a few hours and got a great print of stars in their partial arc movements. Sounded pretty cool. What I really miss is a wide-angle lens since the views here are ultra wide angled.
You know, I never stopped to look up at the skies that night like I usually do. Clang, clang, clang!
Hi lin. Scary New Mexico. And the governor wasn't even around.
May I suggest a plebian idea to you? Next time you hit a store, buy a couple of flashlights and lotsa batteries? Doing that will stop your enchanting night stories, but you might feel a bit safer.
(That's my practical side coming out. Please forgive.)
That noise was probably ME, lookin' for a tree to water down! Needless to say, it was hard to find one---I hope that wasn't your LEG that I defiled that night......!
Oh Cat,you are indeed so very practical. Thing is, we always forget to bring along anything that is remotely practical even though we have plenty of everything around. Even if there had been a flashlight kept in each of the trucks, I still would have forgotten to bring it out with me when I locked up the truck. Yep ... plain scary at times.
Bruno, now that you mention it, I WAS trespassing in your personal Imperial Suite. Maybe it was just as well that we had the pipes laid out in there or you might have watered me down before I could exit. Remind me to install glow-in-the-dark tree markers for you.
I don't see Elvis's skull on your wall. I guess that means he's still alive and maybe, just maybe, that was Elvis sneaking up on you to give you a big kiss.
Moose, how COULD you scare Lin like that?
i have to say- I love the night sky when there is absolutley NO lighting... when you stand ina desert and witness it..it makes you realise just how small we really are
Hey, Babzy ... I am SURE Elvis is still out there somewhere, just like Pancho Villa. Come to think of it, they are both probably flipping burgers in Tupelo about now - still probably beats being famous or infamous, that's what I would do.
But ANYBODY that lays a big smoochy on me in the pitch black outdoors is STILL gonna get the big Bruno welcome on general principle. grin
Ohhh Simon, you still have the outback, don't you? All these remote places are disappearing so fast. I'll mourn the day when people cannot find a naturally dark place on Earth to ponder that sky above them. It does bring home our realization of what microscopic cogs we really are, doesn't it?
Girl - email me your address and I'll send you a little squeeze-on LED light for your keychain. That was just TOO creepy. Then again, maybe it's better NOT to see what's stalking you, sometimes! Did you ever decide what kind of critter it probably was?
I think seeing Elvis would have scared me more than bigfoot...
Phlegmmy, I'll send you my address soon. That gizmo does sound very useful since, if I remember my keys, I will have light also. But you're right - maybe it was just as well that I didn't see what was stalking me.
Ohhh, JustMe - you ain't kidding, especially if it was the latter day Las Vegas Elvis ... brrrrrr. Justa hunka hunka burning lard.
The first thought I had was: why is she locking the truck? LOL! Something I never do here at the house is lock my truck. Nor do I take the keys out of ignition. I do in town, or at someones house, but here miles away from anyone, I don't.
But since you do lock your truck, and you make sure you have your keys, may I suggest a pen flashlight that attaches to your keys? Or the light from a cell phone works pretty good as a flashlight, too.
It was probably a skunk, or badger maybe. FIL killed a very large porcipine a couple weeks ago, size of a medium sized dog.
New Mexico is great. I actually love the nights when the moon is so bright, I turn off the trucks headlights and drive by moonlight (only once I reach the last 3 miles of dirt road, never in a place where I would actually meet a vehicle).
Deb (Just Me) loves lard.
Lard on toast
Deep fried lard
Lard cocktail
Lardaroni
Lard and meatballs
Stir fried lard
Baked lard
Roasted lard
Lard on a bagel
Lard and beans
Run Lin Run ....
JennyE ... you're back! I was about to ask Buck where you were. I thought your family camp-out had long since past.
I know - it's strange that we still lock stuff but every time we loosen up, someone gets out this far and takes a joyride or performs some other mindless act. Doesn't happen often just when we relax our routines, it seems. Phlegmmy is going to send me a keychain light after reading this tale.
Hey, I know what you mean about the huge porcupines - I saw some gnaw marks into tree trunks that looked like someone had hacked away with a chainsaw!
Isn't that so cool? - to drive by the light of the moonlight down those dirt roads? Not many people have that option - which is yet another simple and awesome joy missed out on.
Ah-hah-hah-hah ... Babzy, I gotta admit I am partial to lard, too, at least for good pie crusts and biscuits! On Elvis or Mark though? Maybe not so much.
I'm still around, just get busy sometimes. I have 4 kids ages 1-10, coach cheerleading (ages 4-12), the farm and the ranch (and it's harvest now), plus I'm taking a biology class online. Just busy around here lately. In fact, I'm heading out the door now to go to a pep rally at school (homecoming tomorrow).
Good heavens, girl, with a schedule like that, I'm surprised we EVER hear from you! You're definitely that rare breed that I could sit quietly and watch all day in awe. Good on ya!
Something immense and bipedal? That would be me. Sorry, didn't mean to skeeer ya.
And that's a beautiful picture of those skulls and antlers. Cool.
FHB, we already figured out that the immense and bipedal was Bruno. The noise of two of you clanking around in the barn would have cold-cocked me.
I was amazed, myself, that how appealing that photo of plain old found stuff came out.
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