Sunday, June 24, 2012

No Country for Old Men

Movie description:  Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter notices abandoned vehicles in a remote desert location and stumbles upon dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash...


We're thirty-five miles east of 29 Palms... going north parallel to the Sheep Hole Mountains... another 30 minutes on a Jeep trail... 103 degrees. We find a trail and wonder where it leads, so we follow it. At the end of the trail is a rusted-out, shot-up 2WD sedan that should have never been driven out here in the first place!
I'm busy taking pictures of this old heap from various angles. It's been used and abused extensively for target practice, with some large caliber holes in the body along with shotgun spray.
The term "shot to hell" comes to mind...
I hear my wife calling me, a slight urgency in her voice. She points out a late-model SUV down in the adjacent wash that I hadn't noticed. That's strange...
My first thought... perhaps a family out exploring or rock hunting? I call out loudly "Is anyone there"? No answer. My wife says "this is creepy" and "I think we should go". As we look more closely, I see no sign of tire tracks leading to the vehicle. It's been parked there for weeks, maybe even months. But it's much too nice of a car to be abandoned. I tell my wife I want to go take a look. She says "What movie does this remind you of" and I think instantly of No Country for Old Men, which we had watched recently. My wife complains that I make her watch too many scary movies that take place in remote desert locations!
I approach cautiously... thankfully no dead body or stash of heroin. No violence or mayhem ensue. Clear signs of vandalism, but a nice vehicle none-the-less, with leather seats, sun roof, all the bells and whistles. I find a Palm Springs golf resort brochure, golf tees and spare change in the center console. Package of cigarettes and chewing gum in the door. License plates are gone. Very strange that this expensive car was not winched out by the authorities or an insurance company as it's worth a lot of money if just for it's parts. And like the rusted-out, shot-up old car above the wash, this new addition to desert decay had absolutely no business being driven to this location. Perhaps is was stolen? Some kid taking the family car out for a joy ride? If so, they sure managed to end up in an incredibly remote location!


Back home, my wife calls the local police to report what we have found. Because of the remote location, they refer us to the Highway Patrol. The lady on the other end of the phone seems only slightly interested in gathering the information and abruptly asks "Are you saying it's not on a paved road? Our vehicles can't get to remote off-road locations!". Really? Well, OK. Not sure what happens when crimes are committed in unpaved areas (which is the vast majority of the desert!). Anyway, we've done all we can do to report it. They mystery of the abandoned late-model SUV continues!!


Linking to Sliders Sunday and 
Hope your weekend was a great one!

21 comments:

  1. oh good gosh! you'd think that would get some interest! yikes! guess you know where the bodies are buried now...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, what a story! (I had to laugh very hard about TexWisGirl's comment) Strange indeed, such a nice car abandoned in the desert.... I would love to know what happened here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, gosh! That IS a nice car! Yes, please keep us posted....creepy! I would worry about seeing a car like that abandoned in the desert, but I guess the authorities aren't interested! :-(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, keep us posted! Contact a news station. They might be interested. If you call CBS, maybe CSI will show up. They go in the desert. lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wonder, did you think to grab the VIN number? Surely it is a stolen car. This desert hold secrets til the end of time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great idea, Barb. We didn't think about that until we were half way home!

      Delete
  6. Ohh...I love an unsolved mystery! You have me on the edge of my seat, wondering what could have been the motive behind this and why the highway patrol didn't seem concerned!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hmmmm, very interesting. Hope you find out more and share.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Strange. What else can you say.

    ReplyDelete
  9. wow, that story had me on the edge of my seat! i'm amazed at the police not having more interest to go check this out. so what have we learned from this? if we want to commit a crime, do so on unpaved roads.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Um, I'd be like "honey, lets get outta here fast!" much too creepy for me....definitely something out of a movie!

    Yikes!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great post detailing a wonderful adventure. Could have been an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive" except...well, he didn't make it and is still out there somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow...you'd think they would give more of a darn! That car looks pretty beat up!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I say it was a drug deal...stole the car, ditched it..
    I need a new car. I would have towed it home:-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I always wondered about abandoned cars in the desert. You think they drove until they broke down? If so, how do the drivers get back to the highway? I always thought people were using the desert as a junk yard. And then for target practice. But then, why not just take junkers directly to the junk yard? People indeed are strange.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm learning some about the desert, visiting you, and that SUV will likely be there till it turns to rust. It's a mystery.
    In the next post, about hills, the last photo has such an unusual texture to it, that my first though was - has he taken up quilting?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh wow! How strange and kind of creepy. At least, you got some amazing shots out of this adventure. It makes you wonder what happened here? Fascinating!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sometimes the response from law enforcement is mystifying isn't it? I agree that new abandoned vehicle is a bit unusual, probably stolen though. Love your shots of the old one with all the bullet holes... Thank you for sharing on Weekly Top Shot #36!

    ReplyDelete
  18. How creepy and mysterious, but you sure took some great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, I would have been right there with your wife wanting to get out of there. Interesting and definitely creepy--I was expecting a dead body. :)

    Love your photos of the old car.

    ReplyDelete
  20. It looks so bleak and sad, but it does make for some great shots!

    ReplyDelete