Over the Shoulder

After finding an old discarded sign in the dirt yesterday I was ready to explore further and see what other "treasures" I could come across. With all 3 dogs in tow, pepper spray tucked to the hip, and cell phone in my pocket I led the dogs south along the railroad tracks that run parallel to the road where we're staying. I keep an eye on the road as we walk a ways off to the side of it and normally when the road ends we turn around and head back home. Not today. I was in the mood for exploring and wanted to see what else I could find.

The dogs and I continued on along what appeared to be some old dirt tracks that wound through scrub brush and desert bushes. We came upon some abnormally large bushes and while walking past them I felt it was time to throw a cautionary glance over my shoulder and take in my surroundings. As I looked behind me my eyes came across a middle aged man sitting in the shade of the bush. My breath caught in my throat as my heart stopped beating for a second. In the back of my mind it was what I expected to see but I didn't expect it to be true. Due to the angle of the sun and the shadows it created I missed his outline among the dark colors. He was staring straight at me and without looking as startled as I felt I threw out a "hello". He offered a wave and replied back that I had nice dogs but rather than stay for chit chat I continued on my walk......and in a roundabout way we gave a wide circle around the man in the bush and came home.

.............especially after seeing all the gunshot shells out there.

Definitely not a place I'm showcasing to my Mom when she comes to visit.