beautiful countryside, rough night

just outside of Sedona; breathtaking countryside, visually stunning, yet perhaps one of the creepiest nights I had on the road…

I had planned on camping in an open field near a pond with a willow tree to do some astrophotography. There wasn’t anyone near that portion of the campground and the people that ran the campsite let me stay there by myself specifically so I could take some photos in the evening without disturbing anyone else.  Otherwise I would’ve stayed near the river where everyone else was camped out by.

Everything was going well.  I had a nice campfire, ate dinner, and was prepping to start doing some photos.. got my 14mm out and started to put the settings at a starting point of F2.8, at 30 seconds, set to infinity and ISO starting at 800 working up to 3200.  When it got dark enough and the stars started to appear I started to take some photos. Walked around the pond and took photos from all sides, ending with images of my tent and the stars (which is shown here).

Then the fun started…

I tried getting Rascal into the tent with me but there was a strong odor surrounding us and I didn’t know where it was coming from. It smelled something like burnt rubber or plastic. Rascal was rubbing his eyes a bit and the smell in the tent was unbearable.  Well lo-and-behold, while I was looking up into the heavens and shooting stars, Rascal was having a one-on-one encounter with a skunk! I didn’t see anything as the event was unfolding…

I decided I had to wash him off, the smell was just horrific, and I didn’t think I’d last the night.  It was pitch black out and I had a little flashlight attached to my backpack while we walked down to the river. As we were approaching the river I saw a little pair of eyes and wouldn’t you know it we came head-to-head with another skunk!!  Although this time we parted ways without any major catastrophes. So… I washed Rascal in the river with an organic mint and lavender doggy shampoo I was traveling with.

After a good wash down, we went back to the car as the tent smelled too terrible to sleep in. I had a flimsy blanket because all the other blankets and sleeping bag were covered in the scent.

So the car, as you could imagine, was not too comfortable.  I was too tired to put down the backseats and empty my car to be able to try to sleep in it properly. So while Rascal had the backseat, I was in the front trying to avoid being poked by the seat belt buckle. As the night went on, and I couldn’t get any sleep things kept getting weirder…
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Behind the car was a small stream and some bushes. I started to hear what sounded like footsteps.. yes footsteps. I know I could have been imagining things but it really sounded like footsteps rather than just your typical night rustling in the bushes by some unknown creature of the night.  So as if I wasn’t unnerved enough as it was… anyhow, I tried to get some rest but as the night continued it was starting to get a bit chilly… about 38 degrees chilly, and my little flimsy blanket wasn’t cutting it. I tried to start my car to warm up a bit but my car wouldn’t start.. it was just dead.  I was thinking that besides freezing to death at night, I would have to deal with calling AAA in the morning, trying to explain where I was, and putting a delay on my travel agenda the following day.

The night was truly creepy… there was a fog that set in surrounding my car and I couldn’t get comfortable or warm or at ease in the least bit.  (I locked the doors at this point and half expected to see some Blair Witchy event happen in front of my car or have someone come out of the fog and knock at my window).

Morning came not a moment too soon and I tried to start the car once again… and it started no problem! I’m still not sure why that happened and it hasn’t happened since.

Before leaving camp, I took Rascal down to the river once again to wash him (before taking him to Petsmart to have him washed, again, with a special shampoo to get the stink out).

So yes, beautiful place but oh what a night!!  🙂

and here is the setting of that lovely evening…..

this is one for the memory banks… anyhow, Sedona is a beautiful place in which I had mixed events happen, both positive & negative, but it is still magical in its right.