Your Daily Photo (Emptiness Edition)

Long time no blog. Shot taken driving back from Vegas after an impromptu mini-vacation. Might post some other shots later in the week from the trip, or take new shots, we'll see. Going back to a single shot per day, instead of five shots occasionally. Also, plan on blogging daily, again. There's stuff happening worth talking about, and even if my opinions aren't always worth listening to, no harm in putting them out there.

Yet More Desert Related Stuff . . .

. . . you may not have asked for it, you may not want it, but here it goes anyway. A YouTube video of portions of my trip at warp speed (with Orb's Outlands in the background).

The video above was shot during my daytrip on Sunday. The early bits are on National Trails Highway, aka Route 66. The road ain't what it used to be. Towards the end of the Route 66 portion I commit the sin of Shakycam. Films with budgets well over $100 million shouldn't have shakycam, dudes in a car using an inexpensive point and shoot, will give you shakycam from time to time.

The rest is on Kelbaker Rd., cutting through Mojave National Preserve, all the way into Baker, beautiful, beautiful Baker. The world's tallest thermometer towers above the town majestically (or phallically).

Speaking of YouTube, the Al Jazeera babe is really hot. I mean, really, really hot. Her shamelessly uncovered hair has totally messed me up with their wily feminine rays.

My suggestion for Al Jazeera, cover her hair, but otherwise, she should do the news topless. I'll be willing to watch internet feeds of their pro-crazy, anti-American propaganda, if it's delivered by topless cuties with their shiny hair rays properly shielded. Support religious freedom (even in Arab countries), denounce violent jihad and all acts of terror, quit spreading lies about Israel, quit saying one thing in Arabic and another in English, do all these things, and I'll watch your channel online, even without hot topless anchors, otherwise I want nipples, or I ain't watching.

I'm Still, Still Stuck in the Desert

Mojave Dessert?



Sunset off I-15 (near Apple Valley) [the colors are false, but the image is true, and it's cropped at 16x10, perfect for a widescreeen desktop background]

I'm Still Stuck In the Desert

Posting wise, anyway.

Above, a photo from the Kelso Dunes set. Hard to tell scale in these pictures, but the tallest peak is about 600 feet.

This shot gives you a good sense of the middle of nowhere-ness of the place. I could have taken that shot in any direction and it'd look much the same.

Next up the Kelso Depot set. It's restored nicely, no longer useful, and a bit out of the way.

I wonder how well this lunch counter will do, or how easy it will be to staff? I arrived after closing time, don't know if it's open for business yet, by the looks of things, looks like it's still not being used.

Look, I found a colorful flower of which to take a close-up (I have Althouse envy).

Still uploading more sets, the Kelbaker Rd. set (taken while moving, forgive the lousy composition), the Baker set (experience the wonders of the Mad Greek Diner), and the Sunset set (air pollution and forest fires are good for something, spectacular sunsets).

I'll link to those sets in this post, once they're uploaded.

Uploading is iffy in my neighborhood at the moment, I blame E3 being in town, the local internet is groaning under the strain.

A Sad or Happy Tale?

One of the stops along the way on my trip into the Mojave, was Daggett Pioneer Cemetery (flickr set at link). It's a sandy, rocky place. The decay may only be due to the harsh conditions, or might be due to neglect and even vandalism. There's no grass, no trees, no live flowers, just a few shrubs, a few fake flowers, a few American flags. But this cemetery is still serene, still holy, still a place of reverence.

There are old graves, the earliest death on a marker that was still legible was in the 1890s. There's new ones, too, even sites waiting for a husband or wife to join their beloved who preceded them. The graves whose markers are legible tell stories. You have families who've suffered losses, many men proud of their service to this country (mostly WWI and WWII), and lots of weather beaten crosses that bear no indication of who rests below.

These two markers seemed to have quite a bit to say.

Above you have Joseph L. Balderas, Jr., dead before his 32nd birthday. Not yet old, but not exactly young either. Still too young not to be around, you wonder what might have been the cause of a death at that age.

Then you look next to Joseph, and you see the grave of his mother Susie May, and you see that Joe L. is still alive, still waiting, "Until we meet again". Susie May died less than a year ago, and Joe, Jr., almost 20 years ago. I wouldn't be able to guess which Joe mourns for the most, though. But, despite this, I bet Joe is a happy man, a good man, a man you'd want as a neighbor and a friend. Joe, Jr. probably wasn't Susie and Joe's only child, hopefully he's their only child that preceded them in death. Joe probably has grandkids that keep him busy, and keep him wanting more days here.

That's a lot to infer from two grave markers, and I could be completely wrong, but it's certainly one of the many possibilities.