Category: off grid desert

Learning to love the scariest of what nature has, the desert has them all.

Posted in off grid desert, slab city CaliforniaLeave a comment

One of my biggest fears has been of a cold black widow or brown recluse finding sanctuary in my soon to be worn clothes and unknowingly dressing. Well it happened. Not one of the dangerous ones, but a camel spider was chilling out on my sarong when I wrapped it around myself. The number one rule, shake all clothes, was not followed. I tied and retied, then wrapped to a skirt before I realized she was there. Trying bite me with her giant sized mandible mouth pinchers were just to small to do more than draw my attention to her. I pinched her in my skirt till she was out the bottom. From my hip to the ankle I didn’t know what was in my fingers. It drops to the ground writhing angrily chomping trying to bite. I scooped her in a jar and looked at her closely. Scary!!! Looks like a cross between a spider and a scorpion. This one was about an inch long.

After a little research she is added to the list of my well respected insect friends. Not aggressive but there need for shade makes them appear to chase things when they just want to sit in your shadow. At night the are extremely attracted to light. Maybe because their food is hanging out in the light.

They are not scorpions or spiders regardless of their common names the camel spider or the wind scorpion. They are neithet. They are just a super creepy looking arachnid of its very own.

I’m now slightly obsessed with them. Not afraid. They can bite, but have no venom and they can run 10 miles am hour!!!

Check out my latest Instagram to see!

Seatbelt lifesaving car flipping accident

Posted in California, off grid desert, slab city CaliforniaLeave a comment

That my friend, 3 dogs and I were in yesterday.  Just outside of town while I’m looking at my phone I hear the rumble strip, the see us drifting off the road I yell and grab the wheel to keep us on the road when my friend some how completely overcompencated sending us across the highway toward an embankment that worked like a nice ramp to flip us over. Hanging from the seat belt both of us and the dogs are slightly disoriented even trying to figure out how to turn the engine that is still running off was a challenge. We both manage to get out of the seat belts sitting on the ceiling and windshield. The doors were wedged shut by the angle and the bushes, but it was only a few moments before we heard our Spanish speaking saviors probably asking if anyone was in there, do you need help, but my continual reluctance to learn Spanish had left me ignorant again.  Joyce my dog ran off immediately back across the highway for a nice tour of the burnt up old palm farm. Finally I catch her and make my way back over to the highway as the emergency services has pulled up.

No one was hurt. My friend had a huge bump on her forehead of great concern but she had done that on a tree earlier that day.

The services people stay till the police show up then police stay till the tow guy shows up and just before sunset we drop the car in front of her shabby slab. 

Seatbelts save lives. This is the second car flipping accident I have been in, both the seat belt saved me.  I can’t imagine, and I was really surprised none of the dogs were hurt.  I was asked multiple times if we flipped more than once, and I said no, but who knows. It did seemed longer than one. Doesn’t matter really.

I was bracing for impact with the embankment knowing we were heading straight for it not slow enough. I did not expect the flip although I visualize this exact accident often like a terrible premonition.

I’m curious if I’ll keep doing that now or if I’ll just replay the memory all the time.