Unexpected Drama

As I started back along the beach in the direction of the jeep, a truck pulled up beside me and the nice young gentlemen asked me if I'd like a ride back. Yes, it sounded tempting because it was quite a way back to the jeep, but I still had "sunset" photos to take. Sometimes the best shots occur after the sun has gone down and the light levels allows me to capture some smooth silky wave action. So, I said "No, because I'll be taking more photos as I walk back."

They were planning to drive down by the whale and back. They knew they needed to hurry because it was about time for the tide to start coming in and they did not want to be stranded.

I watch them head back toward the exit. And then I saw them come back for one more drive around the whale.

I kept walking back and stopping to take photos. And then walking a little farther, trying to find the "best" composition.

At one point I sat on a rock and waited for waves to come in. One of the bigger waves came right under my feet, but since I was sitting on a rock, I just lifted my feet and the waves came in below. However, it was not long before the next big wave came in. I got ready to do the same thing, but this time the wave was much larger, I stood up quickly because I had over a foot of water running around my leg and rock, and I did not want to get my camera vest wet. When that wave receded, I quickly moved higher than the current water line and took a few more photos.

Henry had come later to see the whale . . . I had neglected to charge the other camera battery and he waited in the car until it was charged and then brought it to me. He rejoined me right after the wave had gotten the bottom foot of my pants wet. We had started walking back to the jeep, when one of the young men from the truck came running by, he was a little agitated because the truck was stuck in the sand near the whale! And the waves had started moving it around! No . . it was not his truck, it was his friend's.

"Oh my" I thought. The waves were getting higher and higher. High tide was another hour or so away, but there was not going to be much time to rescue that truck. Henry and I were halfway back to our jeep . . . there was not really much we could do to help. But they had been such kind young men, offering to drive me back. I was concerned.

Once we got back to the jeep, I saw another vehicle come in.

On our way back to the RV park, we stopped at the overlook to check on what was going on with the truck. We could see two trucks next to the whale's body. We could see several people checking things out, shining flashlights. We could see two sets of headlights. But they did not seem to be making progress in moving the truck.

Henry suggested I get out the camera and tripod and take a long exposure. On one level I don't like taking photos of people in difficult circumstances . . . but I agreed that this was a photo that needed to be taken.



You can see the part of the whale in front of the truck on the left as well as the tow rope between the trucks.

Soon after the photo the second truck gave up and headed back out of the beach area. But I still saw flashlights around the stranded truck. All along I kept hoping that no one would get killed trying to save the truck. So I was relieved when we saw the flashlights walking up the beach, leaving the truck to its fate.

When we got to the RV we checked the tide schedules. Oh, dear, the next low tide was not going to be very low and only two hours after high tide. I don't know whether it will be low enough to be able to rescue the truck before the next higher tide in the morning.

We'll go by in the morning and see if the truck is still there.