A Quiet Week at the Hog Lake BLM

A pretty relaxed few days, overall.  Just some notes for my own recall.

May 19-20

First time I saw the below rattler, I had almost ridden on top of it as I exited the campsite and onto the access road.  I had veered away as I saw him coil up and rear its head, stopped the motorcycle, dug out the camera but only got this fleeting and blurry shot of its tail as it disappeared into the bushes:

Next day, I'd been sitting by Yagi, my TW200 motorcycle listening to an audio book.  My situational awareness was apparently lacking because when I stood to get something, a flicker of movement drew my eye towards the back of Yagi's rear tire.

Yep, I believe it was the same snake, which I believe now is a young rattler.  He rose from a coiled position then started moving away.  I managed to get this shot with my camera phone:

No more sightings since then, fortunately.

May 23

The use of the trailer and sidecar rig to block access to my campsite bore fruit.  This asswipe stopped and requested I move them so he could park in the campsite so he could walk his dog.  I had been doing something on the trailer when he showed up; told him no and that he could get a parking spot just down the road.

I was even leading him to it when he pulled up next to me and said: "I've got it" and drove off.  He used up an empty campsite:

About an hour later, he drives by on the way out, using his camera phone to video my site.  I was glad I'd taken a picture of his license plate before he left.  Oh, and I gave him the ADV salute, hopefully he saw it in his rear view mirror.

Note to self, next time make it more obvious you're videoing the ass wipe when you suspect possible problems.

May 25

Went on the hike back to the Hog Lake Falls, to see if I could find the border fence that marked the limits as to how close one can get to the falls.

Eventually, I did find the fence line and spotted a few "No Trespassing" signs.  Still, I also found a closer overlook and got these shots:

Going for the blurred water effect

The northern end of Hog Lake

My view of the campsite as I returned.

In the late afternoon, Chris and Lori Z. rejoined me at the campsite for the next few days.

After dinner by Lori, we sat around their new firepit (I think there might be a similar one in my future) and chatted as the sun set and the night's darkness surrounded us.

It's a pretty efficient firepit, somewhat smokeless, I believe double-hulled to channel intake air to burn the wood more effectively.