..one of those weekends..

water skull

i had one of those moments this weekend. one of those moments where you find yourself in a place that evokes a sort of quietness. one that causes introspection and a certain amount of reverance in those that visit there. oh. and a place where you can find skulls. (pictured above)

i went camping for memorial weekend, and during the trip visited an old sheepherder's (shepard's?) property.. there was a large fenced-off pasture type part and a few small buildings.. one of them fully equipped with the creepy hole in the ground full of water with a creaky wooden door leading down to it.. (because of all of the water i couldn't tell at all how deep it went. i imagine it to be a sort of freezer. a hole in the ground to keep things cool.) on the property i also found the well, its walls held up by wooden boards.. it was completely full.. and sort of creepy as well. (no pun intended. ha.) there was a large brick oven that told me it was built in 1945 (the people who built it left a note in the mortar) and everyone got "bad vibes" from it.. i just found it to be historic and interesting.. and it tricked me only being sixty years old..

i thought about the times the family loaded up drove out into the wilderness of the midwest.. on the prairie.. it made me think of the time my dad found an American Indian (what tribe would it have been do you think, pa?) bead in an anthill.. it seemed magical at the time.. actually.. it still seems sort of magical.. one of those dad things.. well.. one of those things i attribute to my dad.. i really liked those trips as a kid.. i always wanted to learn more about that part of the country because of those trips..

anyway.

i had a good weekend. two more nights under the stars, just me and my sleeping bag. (and the eleven gazillion mosquitos buzzing around my head the next morning) the weather wasn't too hot, but the fire was good and i had good company...

next weekend is aci's graduation and carousing with old friends.. this is going to happen and i'm pretty happy about it.

(if you want to see what happens when it rains a lot in the desert go here and look at the photos)