Surprise Tank at Night

 Surprise Tank seen during mid-afternoon is interesting, but as the shadows draw longer, the light becomes golden, and the sun begins to set, it nudges towards amazing. After the sun sets and the stars begin to rise, the setting becomes magical. Not many get to experience sunsets and stars because it requires an open desert hike back to your car in the dark, using a headlamp and GPS app to navigate. I definitely consider myself fortunate.

Just after sunset, the air became still and reflection off the water at Surprise Tank was better defined.

The top of the dam at Surprise Tank can be seen in the photo above. Built many years ago by ranchers to entrap water for livestock, it still catches water to this day. Somewhat of a secret location, there's no trail leading here and it's not marked on maps.

 

 

 

It was a totally dark, moonless night, and it was dead quiet. By about 9PM, the stars were out and the Milky Way was visible (photo taken 9.20.25). I used my headlamp to light up the rocks. You can even see stars reflecting off the surface of the water! Just a guess, but I'll bet there are very few (if any) photos of the Milky Way over Surprise Tank.

 

As I sat at the edge of this little pond with my headlamp on, pondering the universe, I thought I saw movement in the water. Sure enough, there were little critters swimming around! They seemed to be attracted to the light. I never would have believed there are shrimp in Joshua Tree National Park, but after a little Google searching, I'm now a believer. I think these are Fairy Shrimp. Their eggs (cysts) can lay dormant for decades, only to magically spring to life by adding a little water. Remember "sea monkeys" when you were a child? Yup, those were Fairy Shrimp. 

 

Hiking at night off trail can be a little unnerving. You want to avoid colliding with anything or stepping on anything sharp, pokey or bitey. You need to check your GPS app often to continue in the correct direction because there is no trail to follow and it's easy to veer off in the wrong direction without realizing it. It's surprisingly difficult to walk in a straight line in the open desert in the dark!

Things take on a different appearance at night. The dead fronds of a Mojave Yucca look like some sort of hairy creature!

 

After the hike back to the car, driving to the desert house, and grabbing a few hours sleep, I was up early the next morning and treated to a beautiful sunrise!

 

Thanks for dropping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.