Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 The Flying Eyeball of Mendocino A number of years ago a buddy and I were camping in the Mendocino Forest above Clearlake, California. 'Twas a day or two before hunting season, and we'd set up camp early to make sure we got our favorite spot. Well, Bobbo was tickled about some new umpteen-cell flashlight he'd gotten free from Radio Shack for buying an un-Godly large box of batteries, and was dying to try it out. So, some time after dinner and well after dark, he loaded it with a bunch o' batteries, and we saddled up in my ol' '73 Super Beetle and hit the road - actually, the fire trails that laced that part of the forest. That old VW was quite a scrambler, and would go just about any place a Jeep could... and we took it into some places that night I was grateful we couldn't see, as I wouldn't try it in daytime. Moseying through the mountain trails, we'd putter along until we'd come to a clearing or meadow. Bob would run that huge light out the window like a cannon on an ol' sailing man-o'-war, click it on, and we'd marvel at the number of eyeballs reflecting back at us. Mostly deer, reflecting bluish-white; coyotes or cats more yellowish... Eventually, we pulled up to a clearing we hadn’t visited before. Bob ran the light out and clicked it on... and, instead of the expected multiple reflections, there was but one. But WHAT a “one!” Probably something like a hundred yards out, there was a single, HUGE, red-orange reflection. At first, I thought it was a glass or plastic reflector on a stake, perhaps placed as a marker. But then, it started to move. Back and forth... left, right, left, right... And then transitioned and began to bob up and down... Bob whispered excitedly "Rocko! Do you see THAT??" Hell yes I saw it...! We watched for a bit as it alternated between back-and-forth and up-and-down, and then... at the end of an up-and-down set, it went down, then up... and up... and up!! Bob kept the light trained on it… when suddenly, it began to zoom along a curved trajectory toward us! Now, the windows on that car took almost seven complete cranks to close... and I swear, Bob made that thing snap shut, barely snatching the light in, all the while keeping it trained on the "Flying Eyeball." And as we watched, when it was within an estimated ten yards of us, it abruptly stopped… and returned along it's original trajectory... back to it's point of origin, reminiscent of one o’ them old rubber-band paddle-balls. Bob blurted "JEEPERS, Rod! Did you see THAT?? What the #%$^ WAS that???" Uh... needless to say, I didn't have an answer; only gulped as Bob lowered the window and ran the light back out. We watched the eye repeat it's swaying and bobbing routine for a couple minutes more... and then damn if it didn't take off again! At that very moment, my sense of survival overcame any sense of curiosity or fascination with the apparition, and, with Bobbo squealing encouragement in a falsetto voice that didn't match his six-three athletic frame, I popped the clutch on that Super Beetle and it lived up to it's name - we scrambled the hell outta there, most assuredly hidden behind a cloud of red dust! Whatever it was in that clearing obviously cherished it’s privacy, and did NOT want us there. And that evening I found myself to be particularly sensitive toward it's feelings. We never again went near that meadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Was the area up on Elk Mt. accessed from Hwy. 20 at Upper Lake? There is a state off road recreation area there that is the finish line for the Rubicon motorcycle endurance race that starts in Stoneyford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 That general area, north of Clearlake... We used to head into the Mendocino National Forest out of Clearlake Oaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 On a deer hunt in the San Bernardino Mountains I once hiked a mile to see what was randomly flashing an eerie red iridescent light. It turned out to be a partially helium inflated Mylar balloon hung up on a tree branch. I wonder if that’s what you saw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joke 'um Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 What kind of plants did you burn on that campfire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazeafar SASS # 6750 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Sounds like you crossed paths with Von Dutch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 On 1/10/2021 at 12:41 AM, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: That general area, north of Clearlake... We used to head into the Mendocino National Forest out of Clearlake Oaks. Clear Lake Oaks is on the south east side of the lake. It is where hwy 20 turns east toward Williams. Upper Lake is just above the north end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 6 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said: Clear Lake Oaks is on the south east side of the lake. It is where hwy 20 turns east toward Williams. Upper Lake is just above the north end. North east side, J. D.... Lots of good times there! And LOTS of rattlesnakes~!! I always thought that whoever named the lake had something of a sense of humor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 34 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: North east side, J. D.... Lots of good times there! And LOTS of rattlesnakes~!! I always thought that whoever named the lake had something of a sense of humor... I am sure the lake was clear when it was named. The clear became a misnomer after all the vacation properties were built before & after WWII. Very few were on sewage treatment plants & those that were the sewage only got primary treatment. Primary treatment is only solids removal. The nutrients in the leachate wound up in the Lake. In the 60's there were large mats of algae with maggots floating in the lake on the south end. Then the EPA required that the septic tank contamination of water be cleaned up. There were sewage collection & treatment systems built. The lake is a lot clearer today. Today in the channels at Clear Lake Oaks there are what look like algae mats; however, it is a small aquatic plant with a left like a lily pad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 6 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said: I am sure the lake was clear when it was named. The clear became a misnomer after all the vacation properties were built before & after WWII. Very few were on sewage treatment plants & those that were the sewage only got primary treatment. Primary treatment is only solids removal. The nutrients in the leachate wound up in the Lake. In the 60's there were large mats of algae with maggots floating in the lake on the south end. Then the EPA required that the septic tank contamination of water be cleaned up. There were sewage collection & treatment systems built. The lake is a lot clearer today. Today in the channels at Clear Lake Oaks there are what look like algae mats; however, it is a small aquatic plant with a left like a lily pad. Huh! My last trip to Clearlake was at least thirty years ago... if "house arrest" ever ends, I just might have to find my way back up there and check it out. Maybe catch some catfish! We used to hunt up in the Mendocino Forest (as mentioned earlier) and do some fly fishing. Good adventures and fun times! I remember one trip when I came across the wreck of William Penn Patrick's P-51. What a mess! Another memory ~ the Clearlake Oaks Fireman's Ball!! Ohhh... the look on that young lady's face... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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