Monday, June 20, 2011

The third weirdest thing that's ever happened at the 7MSN

You guys called it in the comments. "Events happen in threes," you said. "What will happen next?" you asked. I scoffed. A mad-scientist kind of fire, two fully dressed horses showing up in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere..that was enough weird stuff for the week a lifetime, right? Wrong.

It was Saturday afternoon. The Hay Man called and said he could be here in an hour with another load. He had delivered the first load on Friday but had some trouble getting up Steep Rocky Hill, so we agreed that he should take the alternate route from the highway. While it is more twisty-turny and up-and-downy, it would be a better choice than to risk dropping the whole load of hay on Steep Rocky Hill. I told Hay Man I would meet him at the highway and escort him the 8.7 miles back to the 7MSN.

I hopped in my truck and happily made my way out to the highway – happy because my hay barn would soon be full, I didn't have to do all the work by myself for once, and I didn't have to deal with the stress of hauling hay up and down the road.

About halfway to the meet-up spot, I rounded a curve on the narrow, barely-one-lane dirt road and there was A Bus. A great big honking motorcoach of a bus, dropping off a load of camera-toting tourists. Excuse me? This is nowhere, this is not Disneyland! What are you doing here and why are you in my road and how is Hay Man going to get past you to fill up my hay barn? I tried to remain calm while the bus driver explained to me that these tourists had come from all over the United States to view the petroglyphs. "Well, isn't that nice," I said aloud, while my inner voice was screaming "get the f* out of my road, my Hay Man is coming." Bus Driver said he couldn't pull over any further without tipping the bus over. I said try.

I got my truck around the bus with a millimeter to spare, then proceeded to the highway to meet Hay Man, who showed up a little later than anticipated because he had lost all the tread on one of the trailer tires. The tire still held air so Hay Man thought if he drove slowly, he would make it. I thought he was nuts. I was skeptical. I sized up the hay trailer, and it wasn't any wider than his or my truck, so I was cautiously optimistic that we might be able to squeeze by the bus...if we made it that far.

Slowly we drove and all was well. We got to the parked bus just as the tourists were hiking down the hill from the petroglyphs. They saw Hay Man's truck and heavily laden trailer and started to gather 'round. I squeezed past the bus, parked, and got out to guide Hay Man through.

Two things were obvious: 1) the treadless trailer tire was now shredded to a pulp and Hay Man was driving on the rim; 2) the tourists thought this might be as interesting as the petroglyphs and began taking pictures. Perhaps they are bloggers, too. 

I did not have my camera with me so am forced to recreate the scene from a picture taken at the exact location about three years ago, when I unsuccessfully tried to find the petroglyphs these folks had come to see. (Here's the link to that post.)

One very nice gentleman who was taking pictures of Hay Man's truck shoehorned next to the bus approached me and asked if that was my hay and if I had a ranch back here. He commented that this was probably the first bus I had ever seen on this road and I confessed it was. He apologized for the inconvenience and explained the significance of the petroglyphs and that he was the lead scientist of the group and I think he said he was from UCLA. I would have been paying more attention but my stomach was starting to churn over the flat tire and how we were going to get 125 bales of hay down the road. Anyway, Mr. Scientist told me exactly where the famed petroglyphs are, so I should be able to find them next time I venture up that way, and for that I am eternally grateful.

While I was chit-chatting with Mr. Scientist, Hay Man and Bus Driver were discussing the odds of traveling another four miles on a rim, a wing and a prayer. The shredded rubber still clung to the rim, and I theorized that we'd be driving on dirt, so even if the rubber fell off we might still be ok. We'd made it this far... Hay Man, God bless him, wasn't the least bit upset. He said, "Hay Hey, nobody's getting hurt. Let's try it." I know his inner voice was saying a rosary or two. Maybe three.

Hay Man successfully squeezed around the bus, drove across four more cattle guards, and made it to my hay barn with the rubber still hanging on to the rim. He may have fallen to his knees to pray when we finally arrived.

Unloading and stacking the hay seemed like child's play after what we had just gone through. I thanked Hay Man profusely for delivering his gorgeous green grass hay under less than ideal circumstances, then he removed the rim from the trailer and drove off on the three remaining tires.

So I think we would all agree that there has been entirely too much weirdness and drama around here lately. I hope to return with our standard bucolic fare tomorrow.

p.s. Google tells me that the people in the bus were actually on a trip called "Under Southwest Skies – Astronomy, Archaeology, and Summer Solstice in the American Southwest," led by Dr. E.C. Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles – a.k.a. Mr. Scientist.

31 comments:

  1. OMG Carson, you had me on the edge of my seat reading about this adventure! I'm SO glad all turned out ok, but A BUS out in the middle of nowhere ... who'd a thought!?!?! Hopefully life will settle down for you now.

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  2. Next time you are in a town that has a Catholic church pick up some Holy Water and sprinkle it around the ranch,,,,hey it can't hurt eh?
    Now you need to take Lucy and smooch on a field trip to visit your local petroglyphs and show us what they are like, k :D

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  3. I like the cartoon hay bales :) Glad it all worked out. Now we need a post about your discovery of the petroglyphs.

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  4. So much drama lately. All has to stop! Loved the story and your telling and recreating of it! I'm wit theresa ... Lucy and smooch and a trip to the petroglyphs....

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  5. Well at least your three weird things are over and you can enjoy your barn full of hay and go looking for the petroglyphs.

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  6. Oh, my! That's a lot of excitement in just a few days! Do you think your excitement is now over? We've been on the road up by Bishop, CA and took a day to view the petroglypys there. We saw bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, circles, and some kind of 6 legged camel, plus some really odd things. I'll be posting about them in the upcoming days, once we get home.

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  7. Sounds like 7MSN is becoming 7MSS (7 miles south of somewhere). Darn humans, can be worse than pack rats sometimes. ;-)

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  8. Carol in Colo6/20/11, 8:09 AM

    It's been said and I don't know who coined the phrase, "things happen in threes." So hopefully this was your three for a while and you can get back to "normal" for you and the gang. I can't wait until you, Lucy and Smooch take the trip to the petroglyphs.

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  9. I keep hearing the theme song from The Twilight Zone!

    Here's hoping the weirdness is gone and you can return to your normal, low-key life at 7MSN!

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  10. I'm with Theresa Eh on this- a good saturation of Holy Water might just restore tranquility at the ranch. But now that you are a "destination", internationally known, your peaceful existence is in jeopardy! ;0)
    Lucy and Smooch to the Petroglyphs!

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  11. Geez Louise! What were they thinking bringing a tour bus up that road? You and Mr. Hay guy were far more friendly about it than I would have been. Hay Man needs to bottle his cool demeanor and sell it. He'd be a gagillionaire.
    Glad it all worked out and your "3 things" are over.
    Beautiful hay!!

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  12. Crazy. Perhaps you should have enlisted the help of the tourists to come help off load the hay. You could have billed it as an authentic SW ranching adventure. I like Mr. Hay Man. He sounds unflappable, cool under pressure, and committed to his word. Is he single....? *grin*

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  13. I wonder if my childhood girlfriend, Michele was on that bus!! She loves petroglyphs!! Did YOU meet any Micheles?!! Yayyyyy! for the hay!!and Mr. Hay Man!

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  14. What an exciting day!!
    You do great photocropping!
    Can't wait for you to take the gang up and find those petroglyphs!! But becareful - if you blog it, you may get more of those big busses out your way. . . .

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  15. Yup, there are some strange things happening out there in the middle of nowhere! Could it be that some Indian spirits are testing you?

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  16. *Love* the recreation photo; you're getting really good at those. :-)
    But seriously? What were you thinking, leaving the house without a camera? (lol) The mere thought causes my heart to jump in my chest. I know you have that smaller, litle pocket one like mine and, if that one is left behind, there's always the one on your cell phone. Heck, you can't use it to make calls, so you might as well get some use out of it. Heh.
    Really glad your "third thing" happened right on the heels of the "second thing". I was getting nervous opening your blog in the mornings. :-)

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  17. Love the Hay Man. Sorry some people have decided that nowhere is somewhere. But, your three things are over and done. Hope everything is chill for a while.

    Take Lucy for a ride. I'm sure you both need it :)

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  18. i sure would like to know how that bus turned around and made it out of there...

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  19. Lol, that is so bizarre. The things you see, in the middle of nowhere. Who knows where the pics they took will show up! Loved that you could Google and find out just what tour they were on.

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  20. Okay, so the other day when I read about the near fire my first thought was a play off of a line in that Simpson's movie when Bart says "This is the worst day of my life." and Homer says "Worst day of your life so FAR." I agree, things happen in threes. I think you are safe now. Sadly for us though ;-).

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  21. Just when you think there's nothing to blog about anymore... poof - stuff pops up like weeds.

    Love the recreation of the bus. I can't believe you left the ranch without a camera!
    George & Alan FAn

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  22. After reading post three, I can only conclude that you have way more fun than me!

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  23. Well Never a dull moment living 7 miles south of now where! Who wouldv'e guessed! Hey, I went to that web site...MY GOSH! They charge $3,995.00 for that tour! WOWEEEE! I am thinkin'......ummmm.....You live how far from there???? LOL

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  24. I know who Dr. Krupp is, he's one of the go-to scientists here in Los Angeles when the news media needs an expert - not quite as recognizable as our Cal Tech earthquake TV gurus, Dr. Lucy and Dr. Kate - hey, we're not totally shallow out here, we have famous scientists! (we even live in the same town as Bill Nye the Science Guy, while we're talkin' bout science)

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  25. I read this post early this morning and have mulled it over all day. Wow, you sure do have an eventful life out there in the vast beauty of middle NM.
    Your post has given me pause to think how fortunate we are who live in this beautiful state where the "ancient beauty" surrounds us and we are only a day trip away from seeing it up close and personal. Thanks for reminding me of that fact.

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  26. Geez Louise!! You sure have had your three! I hope it has ended for the time being. Love your sketch! I cracked up laughing loud in the office this morning when I saw it. So glad you found a connection that will not only deliver your hay (even on a three wheel trailer!)but will also stack it for you!! What a deal! Hope the rest of your week is nice and quiet. Thanks for the laugh!

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  27. maybe it won't snow now.

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  28. The stick people just killed me! Thanks for the laugh.

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  29. You really are having a weird week! How did the bus get out of there? Love the stick people! :)

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  30. The poor hay man. My hay guy is always calling me with excuses for why he can't deliver. His truck has broken down, gotten stuck in a ditch, he can't reach my block because it's too far back in his barn and he's too tired to move the other blocks... It's nice to know that your hay man is willing to go the extra six miles for you.

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  31. Gridlock at the 7MSN! Great story! When you go see the petroglyphs, perhaps you should add one of this bus/haytruck sketch.

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