Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

One would think, after this long string of losses, that Santa Anna would change his tactics and his game plan, but he just keeps doing the same thing every year… and he keeps right on losing.

I couldn’t get anyone to bet on the game at ALL this year, even at ten to one odds.

I picked a spot on the other side of the battle this year. It put me closer to the Texian skirmishers and cavalry, but most of the action was going away from me once the battle started. There were some interesting angles from this side, but much less narrative value.

I won’t do this again.

There’s something to be said for “close to the action,” however. I think the term is “adrenalin rush.”

This is full frame… with a wide normal lens. Ten feet, maybe?

Last thing for tonight…

If you’ve ever heard of “The Fog Of War,” this is what it looks like… and, for perspective, that’s from a single shot from one small 3-pound cannon with about half the normal powder charge. Full battles in major wars frequently had dozens if not hundreds of larger cannon firing as quickly as possible.

No wonder nobody ever knew quite what was going on…

Trying to explain the appeal of the Big Bend…

There’s nothing there, but it’s the biggest patch of nothing you’ll ever see in one place. According to a friend, the old legend is that when the Creator was finished building the world, He took all the parts he hadn’t found a use for and dumped them right here.

I can almost buy that.

No, really. Words. Who would have expected? (Okay, there’s a picture too.)

Going out of the world tomorrow – have a chance to hitch a ride to the Bend to see an old mentor and a group of old, new, and potential friends. Will be back, with (I hope) new stories and a few pictures, in a week or so.

Don’t really know what the photo options are going to be, since I AM just hitching along rather than driving. I’m travelling pretty light, especially for cameras (Pens, ink, and notebooks aplenty, though…).

It’s not my preferred way to travel but it DOES cut the gas bill significantly. Thinking of this as a recon/scouting trip – I’ll be looking around and taking notes, mostly. I haven’t been down there in a while, don’t know what’s still there and what’s gone, and although I THINK I’ll have access to at least the bloggery I can’t say whether I’ll be able to post. Or whether I’ll have anything TO post.

But my luck does run pretty well there…. (That’s Emery Peak in the center; the view is from Pittman’s Point on Long Draw, just west of Terlingua Ghost Town.)