BajaNomad - Hair rasing Moments.

Hair rasing Moments.

Eli - 9-30-2010 at 08:57 AM

Truly, I live a sheltered life, I am blessed with seldom ever running into life threatening situations that would scare the wits out of me. I must say that in all my years on planet earth (so far) there are only 4 times do I recall that I have run into a scene of potential violence that literally puckered my but.

Once sleeping on the ground in the meadow behind Catch 22 beach in Sonora, I awoke to the sound of water running, I went to turn off the faucet and realized I was in the pitch dark and the sound was not a running faucet but a rattlesnake, I was over the dune and in the water bare but naked and didn't return to the campsite until daylight.

A few years later on a ranch by that same Catch 22 beach, 2 brama bulls decided to do battle over a cow. My daughter was just a little over a year old, and I tossed her over a fence into a mud filled coral in my rush to get her and some other little kids out of harms way. I will always remember little 6 year old Juanita's screams as she got caught smack in the middle of the Bruamas thunderous trampling the ground, the cowboys stepped in with their whoops and ropes, saved the day and got that poor little ranch kid out of harms way.

Next good scare I had was on the road back from San Jose. Made a pit stop for a run to the bushes and doing a peaceful enjoying the relief of a squat with my pants down moment, when I suddenly saw a snake slithering straight at me. I am sure I was the scene of great comedy for the good gods that be as I ran with my pants around my ankles back towards my truck.

And finally, at home in Los Barriles. Went for a walk with the kids; My granddaughter was less than a year old and in the stroller being pushed by daughter, ( yep, the same one that so many years before I threw over the coral fence), my grandson was maybe 7 and he was with us also. Suddenly out of no where came this wacko cow, dancing sideways, snorting and pawing the sand, just totally wild and crazed charging straight at us. I remember separating myself from the family and waving my arms and yelling at the cow trying to get her to focus on me instead of them, (Mom's are like that). I thank my lucky stars that there were some Mason's working on a project next to the road, they came to the rescue and with their usual bravado, chased that madder than a hornet ol cow away.

Saludos, Sara

[Edited on 9-30-2010 by Eli]

windgrrl - 9-30-2010 at 09:46 AM

Eli - you reminded me of my snake own episode.

I had a broken leg some years ago and was in early recovery and learning how to use crutches. After some coordination of necessities I was comfortably propped up on pillows and a blanket in the grass. While I enjoyed soaking up the sun, my husband was rigging his sailing gear on the other side of our van to my back.

As I looked forward to the grass along the shoreline, I spotted a large rattlesnake with his head stretched up about a foot high about 10 feet away and headed towards me flicking his tongue. Well, I don't mind snakes and my husband is good at catching them and sending them somewhere safe, but I was so surprised screamed. All that came out was a weird muffled sound that one may experience when trying to scream in one's sleep...sort of like, "ooomurf". I was able to crawl sideways and get up on the crutches and hobble away. Although I didn't see where the snake went, he was very thick and about 5 feet long and apparently curious about us!

DENNIS - 9-30-2010 at 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eli
there were some Mason's working on a project next to the road

Is that when you met Skeet?? :lol:

Skeet/Loreto - 9-30-2010 at 10:11 AM

Hey Eli>

How did you know they were Masons?? Where they all good Looking, well dressed, respectfull??

Skeet

17 edition of Airports of Baja California (1987)

David K - 9-30-2010 at 10:18 AM

which included northwestern Mexico...

Eli - 9-30-2010 at 10:43 AM

Good story Windgrrl, yeah, that kind of scream is the kind of experience I mean, for sure sounds like "You've been there and done that".

Dennis & Skeet, Am I malaproping again? Albañiles = Masons? Or what do you call a person who works with block & concrete in English?

David K - 9-30-2010 at 10:43 AM

On Google Earth now...

Maybe 'Hook' can take some photos of the movie set ruins?

[Edited on 9-30-2010 by David K]

Cypress - 9-30-2010 at 10:46 AM

Bush lives rent-free in a lot of folks minds. :lol:

Eli - 9-30-2010 at 10:52 AM

Interesting pictures of then & now David, thanks for posting them, I still haven't made friends with googles map collection. My favorite place to camp was on the North end of the cove that is North of the old air strip. Maybe it is still camp-able? The south side of that cove was a fish camp, kind of looks built up now.

DENNIS - 9-30-2010 at 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eli
what do you call a person who works with block & concrete in English?

Illegal.
Jes kiddin'. You're right...a mason.

sancho - 9-30-2010 at 11:15 AM

Mtgoat, Cypress, Fynally after all these yrs.,
2 posts I appreciate
gracias

Cypress - 9-30-2010 at 12:46 PM

sancho, You're welcome. :spingrin:

DanO - 9-30-2010 at 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Hey Eli>

How did you know they were Masons?? Where they all good Looking??

Skeet

I'm assuming this was meant in jest. If that was a requirement for acceptance, they must've looked the other way when this guy (on the right in this photo) applied.

Also, I am extremely good looking (and more often than not polite and well-dressed), but I have never been asked to become a Mason. So there.

wadlowrobertbio.jpg - 27kB

DENNIS - 9-30-2010 at 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DanO
Also, I am extremely good looking (and more often than not polite and well-dressed), but I have never been asked to become a Mason. So there.

Would you like to come over to my place and build a fireplace for me?

Martyman - 9-30-2010 at 02:58 PM

Nice hijack. This started out as a great post!
My scary story always includes aerial photos...jeez!

Debra - 9-30-2010 at 03:11 PM

Yeah Marty, I want more scary stories.

DanO - 9-30-2010 at 04:01 PM

Hey, I didn't start the hijack, Dennis and Skeet did.

Anyway, I've had a few close ones but only one involving a bull. When I was kid, my step brother and I, competing to see who was a bigger marooon, came up with a fun way to spend a lazy summer afternoon with a Daisy BB gun and no parental supervision. The plan was to take turns crawling into the cattle pasture of the ranch next door to our place until you were halfway between the biggest bull and the fence, then aim for his hindquarters, squeeze off a shot, and freeze so he wouldn't see you (don't worry girls, I've been shot with a Daisy BB gun and shocked with a cattle prod, which was in constant use in those days, and the latter was much worse). The winner of the game would be the one who got the highest number of hits without the bull figuring out where you were and chasing you off the property. Did I mention that my step-brother and I were utterly retarded?

As luck would have it, rock beat scissors and I had the pleasure of going first. Of course, like all well conceived stupid ideas, this one went haywire fairly quickly. I managed to crawl out to the halfway point, about twenty yards from the fence, and I got a bullseye, er, butt, on my first shot. However, my idiot step-brother, waiting for me back at the fence, let out a huge whoop and the bull immediately wheeled around in our direction and charged. As he was headed right at me and would either see me or just run right over me on his way to my step-brother, I had to get up and run for it, leaving the BB gun behind in the process. I heard the bull gaining on me and I swear I could feel on my back the rush of air he was displacing when I launched myself into a dive through the barbed wire strands of the fence. I belly- flopped in the grass on the ground on the other side, jumped up and kept running, although the bull had wisely pulled up at the fence.

It is my firm belief since that day that the purpose of adrenalin is to enable you to do amazing things to stay alive when your own physical limitations and abysmal judgment should easily have killed you. There is no way in hell I could have run that fast or sailed through that fence unscathed under less stressful circumstances.

Oh, we went back and got the BB gun the next day, after the cattle were moved to another pasture for grazing. It was used exclusively for paper targets, tin cans and small game after that.

mcfez - 9-30-2010 at 04:06 PM

It is my firm belief since that day that the purpose of adrenalin is to enable...

Oh...you bet!

Great story.

[Edited on 9-30-2010 by mcfez]

Baja&Back - 9-30-2010 at 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Hey Eli>
How did you know they were Masons?? Where they all good Looking, well dressed, respectfull??Skeet

They all had the secret handshake.

Eli - 10-1-2010 at 06:12 AM

Dan-o, that was a great and funny story.

Marc - 10-1-2010 at 06:35 AM

DanO great story and a page from my past although we always kept to the safe side of the fence.

[Edited on 10-1-2010 by Marc]

wessongroup - 10-1-2010 at 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by DanO
Also, I am extremely good looking (and more often than not polite and well-dressed), but I have never been asked to become a Mason. So there.

Would you like to come over to my place and build a fireplace for me?