Adventure Blog:
Oh Shi*! Bees!
Bees are beautiful and harmless (most of the time). The role they play in our ecosystems and food production are invaluable and at severe risk of being lost dues to the carelessness of what we place in our environment. We like bees.
As an outdoor enthusiast, I am not afraid of bees (well, most of the time). And as a man (haha!,) neither is Rick (well, most of the time). But we are not immune to the scary messages put forth by the media about invasions of killer bees that attack people in swarms. We are also not immune to visceral human reactions to the biggest f*ing swarm of bees either of us have heard and seen in our combined lives. (Hover over or click on images to see captions.)
As an outdoor enthusiast, I am not afraid of bees (well, most of the time). And as a man (haha!,) neither is Rick (well, most of the time). But we are not immune to the scary messages put forth by the media about invasions of killer bees that attack people in swarms. We are also not immune to visceral human reactions to the biggest f*ing swarm of bees either of us have heard and seen in our combined lives. (Hover over or click on images to see captions.)
Here's how it went:
- We were mapping at White Tank in Joshua Tree, CA. During the entire drive into the park from the south end, we were awed by the amazing display of wildflowers.
- At White Tank they had special, cute signs posted "WARNING: Thirsty Bees. May swarm vehicle looking for water." Other than making sure the windows and vents were closed on The Tiger, we really thought nothing of it.
- While we were at a climbing wall marking locations, Rick looked to his right and said, "What is that?"
- "What is what?" I replied making notes and taking photos of the location.
- "That! To our right!" he said with a bit more intensity.
- I looked up and noticed a deep buzzing sound and saw the swarm. I could feel my eyebrows raise and eyeballs pop-out. "Holy shit! Wow! That is cool! I wonder if I can get a photo." I tried to take a photo, zooming in as far as my iPhone would let me. None of the photos could capture the cloud of itty-bitty creatures, they were too small and the swarm was too far away.
- So we kept working. Then, both of us noticed the sound getting closer. "Is that getting closer?" I asked, seeking confirmation that I wasn't just making stuff up.
- "Yes, it is. And kinda fast." he replied with a seriousness verging on alarm.
- "Oh my God..." (That seemed to be my phrase of the day...) "Do they have killer bees here?"
- "I think so." Rick said, which immediately triggered the fight or flight reaction within us. Since we ain't gonna fight bees, we had one other choice - run! (Video: 0:33)