The fire tower on the Ranch

Vinod reminisces about the four days she spent in the lookout tower with her beloved

A four-day rotation shift at the fire tower above the Ranch was also an opportunity to have a holiday with a good friend, celebrate a honeymoon with a beloved, or submerge oneself into artwork or silence normally not possible in busy everyday Ranch life.

As there were always two people, we could take turns watching and relaxing (or creating).

The task consisted of intense watching over the panorama, 360 degrees of it, from dawn to dusk, with or without binoculars… looking out for plumes of smoke that might indicate a beginning wildfire. It also included watching for incoming low-flying airplanes that were not our own.

There was a huge map on the table, so we could approximately pinpoint the location of any fires, and inform security on the Ranch over the Motorola.

During our four days there, we actually reported six different plumes of smoke located outside the Ranch, and two sightings of airplanes that snuck in very low to observe (or spy on) the Ranch.

The lookout was situated somewhere above the Top of the Ranch. Our commune had built it, on an almost barren hill. It was a unique wooden two-storey structure, with windows on all sides, and a catwalk all around the upper floor. It had magnificent views over a large part of the Ranch, and beyond towards the Three Sisters (volcanoes which tower at an altitude of over 3,000 metres). Lower down there were more junipers, encircling the hill. I remember the intense high-pitched buzz of the cicadas during the heat of the day, and an intoxicating fragrance coming from the sagebrush and the few junipers nearby. But no animals, just a few birds.

Our shift had started with serious ‘shopping’ in Magdalena storage room. We’d loaded up on food and various stuff needed for four days, including drinking water and clean bed linen and towels. It was a real treat that we we would able to cook for ourselves up there. After several years of eating the delicious but communal food in Magdalena, it was fun to play in a little kitchen again.

Someone would drive us up and drop us off, and we would hike up the last stretch with all the stuff.
A nearby stream provided fresh water to wash ourselves. A toilet was on the ground floor.

It was high summer and boiling hot outside. So daytime nudity was the thing! I have a fond memory of my beloved walking around in his birthday suit with his Motorola slung in a hip holster and the binoculars around his neck.

We had a generator to charge the Motorola and for our lighting. Not to forget the toilet: it took a whole hour for the electric toilet to ‘cook’ a turd to ashes! And what a noise! So that was only tried once. After that we marched into the woods like the coyotes!

Google nowadays provides the info that the lookout tower is still standing, although long abandoned. The dates mentioned are not accurate, though.

The welcome break from very busy daily life and the 24/7 Ranch chores, the wild and beautiful setting, the stunning sunsets and silvery moonlight, the deep peace and quiet, the time and intimacy with the beloved, with lots of lovemaking and self-cooked food: an absolute unforgettable gift!

Ma Deva Vinod