Better Lucky Than Good

For the second time on that day, I got caught unprepared for the opportunity to capture a great photo. For the second time on that day, luck and good equipment bailed me out and I was able to salvage them. This time, I didn't even have a chance to change lenses.

After leaving Shell Reef, site of my last post, our caravan of Jeeps/quads and side by sides headed over to a place called the Pumpkin Patch. The Pumpkin Patch is a place where time, water and wind have created globular sandstone features resembling pumpkins.

We arrived at the Pumpkin Patch and I set up my camera for shots like this:

It DOES look like a pumpkin patch!

After getting all I wanted at the Pumpkin Patch, I stopped and chatted with other members of our party on my way back to the Jeep. I heard the whine of a turbo-jet engine, looked up and saw this:

The object visible just over the roof of the outhouse is an L-29, an 

eastern bloc military trainer. When I first saw it, I thought it might

be in trouble.  After I realized that it was producing power and was

 under control, I knew that this flight was about someone having

 a good time.

I was bummed that he only made one pass, but was ecstatic that 

I was able to catch it in five frames. Again, I only had a few
seconds to recognize, acquire and shoot. As I was set up for
photographing rocks, I can't complain too much about the above
shot.

The above L-29 is a C model and was made in Czechoslovakia back in 1968. It is now owned by a museum in El Cajon Ca, and is available for rides. For a measley $925, you can strap this beauty on and look down on the faces of us off-roading Schmoes as you streak by.  

I'll try not to be too jealous.

****

Fear not, only one more post regarding Ocotillo Wells left to go. I hope that it's not redundant, but it was an interesting place and an interesting weekend.

Thanks for suffering reading,

Schmoe

    

Rollover at Shell Reef

As mentioned in an earlier post, this was my first trip to Ocotillo Wells. When I heard we were heading to a fossil site known as Shell Reef, I set up my camera to take pictures of rocks. Little did I know that the other end of Shell Reef is a steep hill that is a popular site for off-roaders to hone their climbing and descending skills.

As we arrived, I realized that a lens change was in order, so I put the grenade launcher on and stepped from the jeep. Seconds later, I captured the sequence below. I didn't have time to set up the camera so I went with what I had.  I got very lucky, the settings were close enough to get usable images, though far from perfect.

Click on the images to enlarge.

I missed the first part of this, this was taken as the driver almost

saved it after getting sideways coming down the hill. The left front 

wheel is hitting the berm, though it is still parallel with the right.

Notice that the front wheels are no longer parallel. Trouble comin'.

And awaaay we gooo... Notice the passenger's hands firmly 

grasping her shoulder straps. That prevents injuries like those

described in the last post. She's trainable.

1/7 of a second later, hands still affixed to the straps. Well done.

The passenger's eating dirt, the driver is looking at what's for lunch.

The world turns brown.

Now, the driver gets his.

And they walked away. THAT'S what everyone wants to see.

I gave the blog address and my e-mail to some people who were with these folks and received an email from them a few minutes ago. Other than a bruised shoulder from the shoulder straps, no injuries were received. 

The failed steering knuckle appears to have had a hairline crack in it before the event, the roll-cage and frame of the Rhino were damaged in the rollover. The safety equipment did it's job, as always, I'll swap steel for flesh any time.

Anybody who has spent any time in the dirt has had something similar happen, though maybe not as severe. Safety equipment and gear reduce the risk, the above images prove that. I am really glad that the people in the above images were not injured, hopefully they will get a chuckle out of the images. It might take some of the pain away from visiting the parts store.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe

I Almost Passed It By

We spent the weekend in the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area, an off-road park located in Imperial County. The park is largely funded through off-road license fees and are a very popular place for off-roaders to camp and ride.

As last weekend was a three day weekend, Ocotilo Wells was pretty busy. Too busy, in fact, for my taste. I'm one of those guys who goes to the desert to be away from people, not share the experience with thousands of others.  That being said, we did have a great time and I am glad that I went.

The group that I was with consisted of two jeeps, a side by side and four quads and ranged from 60 something down to 8. We had visited Gas Dome, a unique geologic feature located within the park, when we came upon an accident involving a Razr side by side.

The dust had just settled when I arrived, I saw a man holding his left hand and a couple of other guys righting the Razr. My first impression was that someone had rolled the Razr (correct) and had hurt their hand in the process (also correct - though under estimated). I also thought that as no has ever died from a hand injury and as there was a ton of people already there, It was best for me to continue down the road.

Dave, one of our party, had stopped before I had arrived. I hadn't noticed him there, but he had been over to take a look at the guy's hand. He didn't like what he saw. The Saint rolled down the window as Dave walked toward the Jeep.

"Schmoe, you gotta take a look at the guy's hand, It's really bad".

Shit. How bad can it be? I parked the jeep and walked over to the guy. His hand was covered with a small towel, I asked him if I could take a look. He gingerly removed the towel.

Double shit, the hand was a mess. A crushing type injury with numerous apparent fractures, two avulsions,  lacerations, poor color coupled with mobility and sensation issues. Did I mention delayed cap refill in the injured hand? How about that his hand was really messed up? The hand looked like something out of the "Farm Injury" chapter in the EMT book. The victim denied neck/back/head pain, though appeared pale.

I carry some stuff in the Jeep for events such as this so I tossed the towel and used some kling and an ABD pad to hold the fingers in position, then wrapped the hand with some more kling. I didn't have anything with me to use as a splint, so I asked around. Nobody else did either so the poor guy just held it in place.

The next item for discussion was how to get the guy to real treatment. It was probably 20-30 minutes to pavement, then another 30+ to the hospital in Brawley. I figured that we would drive him out till we got to cell-service. We were discussing the options, when someone else pulled up and told us that the rangers were on the way.

I was surprised how fast someone got there. The first to show up were a couple of State Park guys who were first responders I think. I gave them my assessment as they contacted the patient. They unwrapped the hand just enough to verify my assessment, then wrapped it back up. A splint was applied as well. I "turned" pt. care over to them and returned to jeeper-photographer mode, a role I enjoy far better these days.

A few minutes later, an SUV with a couple of guys from CAL Fire showed up, as well as some State Park Rangers. The CAL-Fire guys were EMTs, everybody seemed to know each other and worked well together.

 After a short discussion, it was determined that due to the damage of the hand and the fact that a specialty surgeon would likely be needed to salvage functionality, flying the pt. to Desert Regional would be the best option. Again, I was surprised at how fast the bird got there.

The bird landed and a flight nurse (I assume) hopped out and made pt. contact.

 After a very few minutes, the pt. was placed in a truck and driven closer to the chopper, where he was then led to the bird and loaded up. A few seconds later and they were on their way.

Not too much longer. and we were on ours.

I chatted with some of the people who responded. Sadly, trauma such as this is very common on busy weekends. State Parks, CAL- Fire, private ambulance and Mercy-Air all have a role in the EMS response and it seems like like they have it figured out. Granted, the location of this incident was fairly accessible, some areas of the park are not. However, I was very happy with the response time and with the care provided.

I just hope it worked out for the pt.

Thanks for reading,
Schmoe