DrSCKnowles
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- May 18, 2024
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I was at a location NW of El Paso, TX, called the "Kilbourne Hole" a few weeks ago, not to collect bottles, but what I am about to report would apply to any remote area, perhaps not even near the southern border. This site is in a Federal area called the "Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument", so it wasn't a matter of being on private land. I was there to look for olivine crystals in the volcanic feature. I passed one pickup truck leaving the area on my way in (~15 miles from the nearest paved road), and hiked down into the "crater"; a drop of 150 feet or so. Once down there, I started to walk across to an exposure of the volcanic rock, got a couple hundred yards, and then heard 5? semi-automatic gunfire shots go over my head (a whirring noise I don't recommend experiencing 
). I thought that perhaps it was some people target shooting and didn't know I was in there, so I yelled out, "Hey, I'm down here!". The shots were from higher than me, but I was pretty sure not from the rim, because I think I would have heard them hit the ground behind me if so, and the whirring noise seem to indicate the bullets were travelling far away from me after passing over my head. Five more shots rang out, and then I needed to change my underwear But seriously, I was scared, hit the ground on all fours, and crawled like a commando farther down and away from the direction of the shots. A few more single shots happened as I was crawling away. I got to a point where I felt I was low enough and far enough away to crouch and "run" even farther away, and around the edge of a rise, so that I felt I was reasonably safe. I eventually got back to my car and headed out. I couldn't find my cell phone before I hiked down, so couldn't call from there, and still couldn't find the phone when I got back (turned out it was just in the map pocket in the door, hidden by some maps ). At first I thought, "Oh, it was just some local yokels having fun with the guy in the car with NY plates". But later, thinking more about it, since it seemed pretty certain the shots were from someone in the same crater as me, they were firing warning shots (or they were really bad at shooting, or God was directing their shots over my head!); I don't think local yokels would bother to hike down there to have some fun with a Yankee (I'm from Florida, so maybe I should have yelled that out ). So I guess I'll never know what they were doing down there that would warrant making sure nobody saw what they were doing, but my takeaway is REMOTE LOCATIONS MAY NOT BE WORTH INVESTIGATING IN THIS DAY AND AGE! I was alone, but I doubt if a group would have been any safer.
). I thought that perhaps it was some people target shooting and didn't know I was in there, so I yelled out, "Hey, I'm down here!". The shots were from higher than me, but I was pretty sure not from the rim, because I think I would have heard them hit the ground behind me if so, and the whirring noise seem to indicate the bullets were travelling far away from me after passing over my head. Five more shots rang out, and then I needed to change my underwear But seriously, I was scared, hit the ground on all fours, and crawled like a commando farther down and away from the direction of the shots. A few more single shots happened as I was crawling away. I got to a point where I felt I was low enough and far enough away to crouch and "run" even farther away, and around the edge of a rise, so that I felt I was reasonably safe. I eventually got back to my car and headed out. I couldn't find my cell phone before I hiked down, so couldn't call from there, and still couldn't find the phone when I got back (turned out it was just in the map pocket in the door, hidden by some maps ). At first I thought, "Oh, it was just some local yokels having fun with the guy in the car with NY plates". But later, thinking more about it, since it seemed pretty certain the shots were from someone in the same crater as me, they were firing warning shots (or they were really bad at shooting, or God was directing their shots over my head!); I don't think local yokels would bother to hike down there to have some fun with a Yankee (I'm from Florida, so maybe I should have yelled that out ). So I guess I'll never know what they were doing down there that would warrant making sure nobody saw what they were doing, but my takeaway is REMOTE LOCATIONS MAY NOT BE WORTH INVESTIGATING IN THIS DAY AND AGE! I was alone, but I doubt if a group would have been any safer.
