Desolation: The Blue Hour

Our afternoon at the Spot was characterized by heat and wind, one of which makes for good swimming, and the other of which makes for quick drying. As the sun set and the light began to shift from Unremarkable to Photo, we were graced with a rapid shift in temperature, which was pleasant, and also a rapid calming of the wind (also pleasant). Unfortunately, the combination of those two phenomena resulted in an instant inundation of mosquitoes, all of whom had been hiding all afternoon, and were thus ravenous. This was not pleasant.

What WAS cool about the mosquitoes is that it brought the bats out to play. Three bats appeared out of nowhere and started sniping the mosquitoes left and right, and even dipped their wings into the water to catch the skeeters that took evasive action.

This frenzy of activity coincided with the stunning alpine blue light, so the photo frenzy started to kick into high gear. Before long, swatting skeeters became a full-time pursuit...little bastards.


Left...


...center...


...and right

The respite from the wind was short-lived. It kicked back up, scaring the mosquitoes back into hiding, and the temperature also kept dropping. Thus, we had dinner, bundled up, and waited for the show to start. Rough life.

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