40 SPOKE MOTORCYCLE WHEELS

On nous avait dit que nous ne pourrions pas passer. Personne n'avait pris cette piste depuis la saison des pluies, et bien que la saison seche soit installee depuis plusieurs mois maintenant, les derniers kilometres avant la frontiere etaient certainement impraticables.
Nous aurions du nous en tenir la. Mais, il nous fallait voir pour de bon. Chaque centaine de metres, il fallait s'arreter pour enlever les branches ou pour passer un gue. Plusieurs heures dans le 4x4 ont brise mes reins, et je dois dire que j'en avais plein le dos. Le detour de plusieurs kilometres nous a pris la journee.
Il a fallu trouver un guide pour traverser les zones de chasse. Suivre sa moto jusqu'aux dernieres heures du jour, rouler sans phares, le perdre dans les hautes herbes. Mais il nous a amene a destination.
Le camp de peche etait rudimentaire. Les pecheurs y passent plusieurs mois, durant la saison seche, et le poisson ravitaille Ouagadougou.

La tente montee, le repas du soir etait bienvenu. Les dernieres lueurs du jour avaient disparu depuis bien longtemps, et on ne distinguait les visages qu'aux reflets de la petite lampe.

Soudain, le guide nous dit : "ecoutez !" Le feulement du fauve paraissait proche. Il etait certainement a plus d'un kilometre.
Des frissons sous la lune, ca ne s'oublie pas.



They told us, it was hopeless. We should have listened. Nobody used that track since last wet season, and even if it had finished a few months ago, and no rain had fallen since, the last miles to the border shouldn't be suitable, even for our 4x4 wheel drive.
We should have listened, but we didn't believed it.
Every hundred yards, we had to stop to clear the track or to pass a ford. After several hours I was really exhausted. The large way round took us all day long . We had to hire a guide for crossing the game preserves.
He rode his motor bike. Dust made him stall frequently. We had to follow him through the tall grass, loose him, following him till the last lights of the day. Night was falling and we were not allowed to use our lights.
But he made it, and we made it.
The fishermen camp was rough. The fish was meant to feed Ouagadougou, the capital, and those men spend there all the dry season.

Once our tent was up, we had a welcomed meal. Night was dark, and you only could see faces from the reflection of the single lamp.

All of a sudden, our guid said : "be quiet, listen !". The lion roar seemed so close, but it was quite a mile away.
That's something you can't forget, shudders under the moon...

This weekend we camped at "Scotty Land" a very strange, year-round RV and camping spot on 600 acres near Mill Run, PA. This giant man who wears a flag-covered top hat and holds a sign reading "Welcome Campers" invites you to this *magical* location where an entire 3/4s of the land is covered bumper to bumper, sunsetter to sunsetter, pop-out to pop-out with old 5th wheels and broken down trailers...very shanty-town with all of the odd people that go along with it...living that lifestyle...complete with run-down playgrounds, scary pool, and teens without licenses driving around in golf carts (rented from the 'teen center') everywhere you turn...it was like one big frightening family reunion you were glad NOT to be a part of...despite all of this, we managed to find our best camping site ever---isolated, by the water, babbling brook, fireflies galore---and had an awesome day hiking, exploring, finding waterfalls, making camp meals and camp fires, and not to go unmentioned...my (un)officially becoming the baggo champ of PA---I kicked Rez's ass so many times I lost count and he pretended to...hehehehehe good times good times...if only I can repeat the performance back in O-HI-O where I am normally left pouting with defeat...