Thursday, August 3, 2023

The Big Belch

 It was July 14, 2023, and Mitch showed up at the door of my desert house at the prearranged time. The outside temperature was 104 degrees Fahrenheit. I hadn't seen him in 2-3 weeks. I opened the door, and without saying a word, we both broke out in laughter. We knew exactly what the other was thinking: What we are getting ready to do is total craziness!!
 
Our plan was to head down Pinto Basin Road to set up for photographing the Milky Way that evening. This area has some of the darkest skies in Joshua Tree National Park, but it's also the hottest section in the Park. If it was 104 at my house, it was probably 109 (or more) in the Pinto Basin. Before you judge us too harshly, let me outline our plan of survival (yes, I meant to say survival):
  1. Find a good spot close to the road (there would be very little hiking involved).
  2. Take a large cooler on wheels, full of ice, cold water, other cold beverages, and Subway sandwiches. There would be no shortage of fluids to keep us hydrated!
  3. Take chairs to stay comfortable. This wasn't a hike, it was more of a picnic with camera gear!
  4. Broadbrimmed hats, long sleeved shirts, suncreen, etc.
  5. A first for me: Cooling towel. Dip it in the melting ice and drape it over my head. It works like a personal swamp cooler!
Here I am, modeling my new cooling towel!
I don't want to make light of how much importance we place on safety during our hikes, especially in the summer heat. There was a recent report of an experienced hiker about our age who died in Death Valley while hiking. It can happen to anyone.
 
We made a last minute decision to go check out Geology Tour Road. We figured if we don't see something we liked, we still had time to go to Pinto Basin Road. But GTR is at higher elevation (which means cooler) and has some large boulders (which means shade). It didn't take long to find some interesting boulders and get set up for the evening, a short distance off GTR.
Interesting boulders. This is the general area we chose for our MW shoot.
 
This huge split-in-half boulder caught my attention. Milky Way foreground??
 
I decided to use split rock as my foreground and hope that the MW would (at some point in time) align nicely with the split. Now all there is to do is wait for darker skies, so I think I'll walk around and take some pictures...


The temperature in the shade was remarkably comfortable! We sat around, ate our sandwiches, drank our drinks, solved a few world problems, and started taking our Milky Way photos around 10 or 11PM. 
 
My first attempt (about 11:20PM). I was hoping to get the Milky Way right over the top of the split in the boulder, but not quite there yet. According to PhotoPills, I would have to wait until about 12:30AM. Fortunately, Mitch was in no hurry, so a bit more waiting for the Milky Way to slowly rotate across this big beautiful desert sky.
 
Ah, there we go!! At 12:21AM I achieved the alignment I was looking for. It's as if all the stars in the Milky Way are pushing out through the split in this giant boulder. The Big Belch!
 
Thanks for stopping by!!
Linking with Skywatch Friday.



41 comments:

  1. I'm so happy to hear you did a picnic with cameras rather than a hike. Save the hiking for winter. Yikes. It's been so crazy hot. But that came out great. Great shot.

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  2. You have the right idea about safety and heat. Good for you! There are a couple of remarkable photos here. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. Aloha!

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  3. Dearest Peter,
    Your waiting did pay off with a stunning Milky Way photo.
    As for the heat, there are so many jobs that have to be performed in such heat and they never get any coverage... We also had to pick tomatoes, gherkins, English cucumbers in Dad's hothouses at around 120°F and we all survived! The shower afterward felt so good.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    PS Here in Georgia we also have 3–digit temperatures + high humidity!

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  4. ...it's been HOT here, but apparently as HOT as in your next of the woods. You photographed some fabulous scenes. Thanks for taking me along.

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  5. Glorious skies! The streak of streaming cloud actually reminds me a bit of the big, as you call it, "belch". :)

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  6. Ha ha, I love your name of the final photo! You guys are more hard core than me. I loathe hot weather.

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  7. Staying late in desert would have been a very scary experience for me. That boulder rock is an masterpiece together with the Milkyway core!

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  8. Great photos. You guys are such adventurers.

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  9. It sounds like you had a memorable experience in the desert..The combination of the rock boulder and the Milky Way core would have undoubtedly been a breathtaking sight.

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  10. It's cooler and has shade - definitely made the right choice. Wonderful starry sky photos

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  11. Another amazing adventure. That photo of the milky way spilling out of the rocks is amazing. Surely you'll frame it or something. I hope not too many people steal it from you.

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  12. Wonderful photos, Another great post.

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  13. So darn beautiful. Glad you have a personal swamp cooler!!

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  14. Love your entry :-) Lauging is the best!
    And your temps, though hiking in those, hmmm... a pool comes to mind, rather!
    Oh. Now I would like a Subway Sandwich. I have the day off, but soon we have to leave to East Frisia...

    "Cool" outfit! Here it´s still too cold (and I am supposed to wear a short dress, bu-huu).

    Very, very beautiful pics again.
    Thank you for the BIG smile on your world-solving problems!

    Great Milky Way shots (I still think of that chocolate bar, though! I think in German it´s called "Milchstrasse").
    My Dad would´ve "tried the internet" to see your pics! I thank you in his name.
    Great (fun) job! To friendship, good food and drink and stars. And warmth. And desert.

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  15. You achieved a stunning result. Fun and awesome to see.

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  16. So--- you're doing your Lawrence of Arabia impression--- Seriously fine pictures! I hope the fire isn't taking too many of the Joshuas.

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  17. I love yo see your photos from the desert, and they are as always very beautiful. The heat must be a problem there, and your outfit looks very smart.

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  18. Amazing how you managed to to get that beautiful shot of the Milky Way the way you wanted it.

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  19. Hi, was für eine erneute wundervolle Fotografie. Man muss schon etwas verrückt sein um in der Wüste zu fotografieren? :-)
    Liebe Grüße, Angela

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  20. Another great adventure with fantastic results. The alignment with the MW and the split boulder is amazing to see. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.

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  21. I thought you were going in the daytime at first but it was late evening at least and some great photos you got from it

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  22. You are brave but I am glad you planned well and were safe. The desert photos are amazing, the sky, clouds and rock formations are all beautifully captured. The last Milky Way shot is my favorite, well done. Take care, have a happy day and happy weekend!

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  23. Great shot of the split rock and the stars - coming out of it. Here on the shores for Lake Michigan I get to see many nights with all the stars of the Milky Way. At this point the lake is 60 miles across so there are really no light to ruin the darkness, and I have no neighbors with bright lights. Every time I look up and view all those stars I think of the vastness of this universe, and how small we are in relation to all that is your there.

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  24. Excellent shots, as always. Your patience in waiting for the line up! I could have thought of something besides a belch, but that's me and, fortunately, I don't write your blog posts. Nor do I go out in weather that hot but we all may (sadly) have to learn the skills you've already acquired.

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  25. You guys are amazing ~ fantastic photography and glad you were hydrated well ~

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  26. Wow! All amazing sights captured!

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  27. I admire how nothing stops you and I love how you live life large! Your adventures are so much fun to read about! The Big Belch packs a beautiful punch!

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  28. You guys knew what you were doing and went prepared. Mission accomplished! Great pictures as always, and thanks for sharing.

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  29. The Big Belch is a perfect photograph! Glad to read that you guys were safe with the temps.

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  30. That Big Belch is magnificent photo!! 👍👍

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  31. AWESOME!!! You guys know the right places and more important the right survival equipment to take some breathtaking milky way shots inside a hot pan. So very well done. Your hat looks clever and okay a bit crazy.

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  32. Excellent header and wonderful last photo. Great show again.

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  33. Der Aufenthalt in der Wüste hat sich auf jeden Fall gelohnt. Die Bilder sind grandios. Auch für mich ist das letzte Bild der Favorit.

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  34. Sounds like you were both well prepared. Do people ever go out there without the essentials and need rescuing?

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  35. Amazing and award winning photo of the Milky Way over the split rock! Your patience payed off! I'm glad your were careful in that heat. I hope the wildfires are not affecting your area

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  36. Oh wow - youre Photos are wonderful, amazing and and and. I'm lost for words (I hope so they say)
    Greetings
    Kirsi

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  37. Perfection. Absolutely perfect picture. Not sure about the big belch title though -- maybe this amazing photo deserves a more beautiful name for the photo before you submit it for the world prize it deserves? Seriously, I sometimes can't believe I am even commenting on photos like these in a blog instead of seeing them somewhere like, oh i don'/t know, -- the NP visitor center? Astronomy or photo magazine (do magazines still exist)?. Your blog definitely should be known world wide!! Thank you for sharing..

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  38. Yes, it looks like a vommiting pacman! It sounds like you had safety covered. And it was worth it. What a starry scene. I wonder if I'll ever see it like that, other than your blog.

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