This old truck is a real mystery. It's a good 2 miles from the nearest highway, and how it got to this location before getting stuck in the sand is anyone's guess. It looks like a Ford F150, and I first posted about it here back in December of 2020.
My goal for today's hike is simple: Hike to the old truck, arrive an hour or so before sunset. Use that hour to explore some of the local boulder formations, then wait for the stars to rise. I have never visited the old truck at night, and I'm thinking it might look cool under the stars!
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| Hello, old friend! |
We are "upstream" in the wash where the old truck is located. That's a Smoke Tree on the left. If we follow this wash "downstream" for a ways, we will eventually come to the old truck. It's certainly possible that a massive thunderstorm pushed the truck down this wash for a long distance.  |
| Interesting boulder formations not far from the old truck. |
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| Possible shelter. |
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| Inside, looking out. |
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| I didn't try to crawl into this one for fear of being swallowed! |
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| Desert Milkweed |
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| Blurry Milkweed bug and seedpod (sorry, the wind was blowing!). |
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| Looks like a bad case of tooth decay! |
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| This boulder is split in half, then somehow pulled apart. |
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| The Belt of Venus. |
The sun has set on the old truck, but it's still hitting the peaks of the Coxcomb Mountains in the background.
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| Moonset over the old truck. |
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| The thing that looks like a UFO coming in for a landing is actually the moon! |
This was the photo of the truck at night I was hoping to get. The moon (just out of the frame) makes it harder to see the individual stars, but they are visible if you look closely. You can also see the shadow cast by the moon. I've placed two small LED lights in the cab of the truck to make things interesting.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Beautiful post with the sunset and arrival of stars at the old truck area - thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how time and the elements affect this abandoned truck. I also enjoyed seeing the different rock formations and the beautiful shades of dusk in the sky. The distant light pollution image is astounding!
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are great.
ReplyDeleteWhen my late husband and I used to hike in Red Rock here in Nevada, we would see abandoned vehicles every once in a while there too.
Love the night truck scenes and wild formations you captured as well as the unique idea of "light pollution"!
ReplyDeleteThis is a stunningly atmospheric shot, and the warm glow from the LED lights in the cab creates a hauntingly beautiful contrast against the vast, star-speckled desert sky! It’s incredible to think that after such a long trek into the Sheephole Valley Wilderness, you managed to capture this "old friend" in a way that feels both eerie and deeply peaceful. That one rock formation that looks like a large mouth had me thinking at first that the truck came first and the rock formed around its front end. :-) Then again, the truck isn't THAT old.
ReplyDeletethese are amazing photos and a stunning picture of the truck.. shocked to the core over the light polution
ReplyDeleteI very much like the light in the truck.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that the desert has a type of milkweed.
Great skies.
ReplyDeleteI'm always fascinated by the rocks, and Tooth Decay Rocks gave me my smile of the day. I've lived with light pollution almost all my life yet I was astounded that the lights you saw were probably coming from some 140 miles away. Yes, it's a huge problem. It's been probably a good 30 years since I've seen the Milky Way (except in photos). I never even saw a moon shadow, or how much the full moon lights up the night sky until I was in my 30's.
ReplyDeleteWow! Peter ~ marvelous post and photos with great variety from the old truck to the blurry milkweed, rock formations, sunset, UFO ~ lol ~ moon and the unique way you lit up the truck ~ stars and lights from Nevada ~ ^_^ thanks
ReplyDelete...I'm sure that many would consider that truck an eyesore, I find find it to be a sculpture!
ReplyDeleteThat's Las Vegas?!? Wow. I mean, I can see it, especially as there's really nothing between you and the city.
ReplyDeleteThat truck sure did sink into the sand.
ReplyDeleteMysterious truck!
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
These photos are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI especially love the night shots of the truck and the unique rock formations you found along the way.
Successful expedition. I'd say! Thanks for showing us. Really cool
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures, as always. I like the second-to-last one--- with the slightly dimmer light--the best.
ReplyDeletewonderful place, stunning series of photos.
ReplyDeleteimages amazing - but wow! that light pollution so far away!
ReplyDeleteThe silk plant looks enchantingly delicate. How on earth does it manage to survive in the desert!?
ReplyDeleteThe rock formations are magnificent and unique. We once visited a similar landscape in the Fichtelgebirge, an area with rocks, though with a different climate.
A wonderful trip... although the rusty truck looks rather out of place in the natural surroundings.
Greetings by Heidrun
Beautiful to see that enigmatic truck in the light of the moon and stars. And well, several of the rock formations you photographed are worthwhile again.
ReplyDeleteI live about a half mile from a local community college that must have a huge light bill every month. I never need a flashlight to wander around at night in my yard.
ReplyDeleteI love the second last photo. Literally stellar low light photography.
ReplyDeleteYou are still out there climbing into caves with the snakes. I guess you have a charmed life. The photos with the truck are amazing. Even here there are abandoned vehicles miles from any road.!! That last photo with the lights of the city is amazing.
ReplyDeleteBack again ~ awesome photography and to let you know you should be able to comment on my blog now ~ Please let me know it is working ~ Thanks ^_^
ReplyDeleteThe truck was awesome to see in the sand
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos. I love the bug and the truck at night is perfect :-D
ReplyDeleteYeah, I’m always curious about the back stories behind abandoned vehicles.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. I especially love the mountain shots and the starry nights.
ReplyDeleteWow that car is a true beaut! And yes, that stone sure would´ve swallowed you! The Milkweed must be very... sturdy.
ReplyDeleteOwww on the teeth!
Big, big WOW on those last pics and yes. Light pollution. I so miss the nights in the Outback of Australia.
The first time we traveled around, sometimes inside and when we came back to our starting point, Sydney, we saw a huge "glove" of light pollution from afar. That was 1995.
We didn´t see that coming back to Perth in 1999 but who knows how this is now...
Thank you, very cool pics!
globe, oh, darn it... autocorrect hit me ;-) And - btw - I´d love to visit "your" desert one time, too!
ReplyDeleteSehr beeindruckende Bilder. Das Warten auf das richtige Licht hat sich gelohnt
ReplyDeleteIch kann mir gut vorstellen, dass vor Jahren der alte LKW im Flussbett angeschwemmt wurde. Noch immer ist er ein super schönes Fotomotiv.
This is the kind of place I love to visit. The old truck itself feels less like an object and more like a marker in the landscape, a fixed point that gathers meaning simply because it has been left there long enough for questions to form around it. That kind of mystery is rare these days. What I enjoy most is the gradual shift in mood through the evening: the boulders, the wash, the changing light, then the slow arrival of night over something abandoned. It feels patient, almost respectful, as if the place is being given time to speak for itself.
ReplyDeleteGood job getting that photo under the stars. I like it. That light on the horizon in the last shot is pretty amazing especially if we are seeing lights from so far away.
ReplyDeleteGreat subjects again and that two boulders in that first bouldershot are really two faces who are lovingly leaning against each other.
ReplyDeleteI glad you achieved the lighting inside the truck as planned. Awesome! I personally got a kick out of the boulders having such BIG MOUTHS. LOL! Still giggling. I admire your adventures. Keep on keeping on.
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