Camping with My Pal Jason at The Oasis in The Desert Near Steens…

by | May 29, 2021

The Oasis Campsite
Lily from The Oasis in The Desert near Steens…
Jason with “Ritchie” The Friendly Rattlesnake Snake at the Oasis in The Desert Badlands near Steens…

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Road to the Oasis in the desert badlands near Steens

It’s an adventure hanging with my pal, Jason. He’s the Snake Whisperer, you know…

Early morning about 4am last week, Jason, woke me up with a Zoom call. When I looked at him he started saying something about camping.

Then, he said with a laugh ‘n big shit eatin’ grin, “get over here, dude! We are going campin’ at the Oasis in the desert near Steens!”

I got up, without my boots on, showered, shaved ‘n stuff, got my saddle bags, and jumped on my dirty dirt bike. I was headed to the Oasis in the desert near Steens…

So, over hill ‘n dale, I road fast. My mind was set on a BBQ ‘n beer at the Oasis in the desert near Steens…

Seems we got a sudden invite from “Richie, ” The Friendly Rattlesnake, to go camping overnight. This was big!

Jason is a Snake Whisperer, you know. He can hear and sense Ritchie, from far away, you see…

Once I got there early afternoon ’bout 2 or so, Jason was already in his big rig ready for some fun action at the Oasis in the desert near Steens…

After a long drive to the Oasis in the desert near Steens, it was just before dark when we arrived. I still didn’t know what my pal, Jason, was up to. Maybe he was whispering to Ritchi, then…

While I put up the the pup tent for 2, Jason, sat with a beer visiting with Richie, his Rattlesnake buddy, who keeps a sharp eye on things at the Oasis near Steens…

Camping with Jason always includes his friends in the desert, or anywhere else we go. Richie, The Friendly Rattlesnake, is always there to meet us first. He checks things out so we are safe from other unfriendly critters hanging out at the Oasis at night…

Earlier, we discovered one lone desert Lily on the way at a small green patch in the desert. The Lily grows here in the spring when the desert is still wet and cool during the day…”

Jason loves to cook desert turnips, cactus apples, and his favorite roots as a veggie side, with a touch of his favorite Tiquila, too. For tonight, he cooks up a stir fry with generous pieces of smoked salmon we brought along for our camping adventure at the Oasis near Steens…

While I was cleaning up after dinner, Jason went with Richie looking for other new friends who might want to join us for a marshmellow or 2 by the fire. There’s a whole list of night time desert critters who love marshmallows cooked on a camp fire…

Some potential new friends might include these characters. Coyotes, skunks, bobcats, tarantulas, scorpions, centipedes, peccaries, kangaroo rats, jack rabbits, owls and nightjars are just a few of the many, Jason would entertain… Jason loves them all, as one family in the desert Oasis near Steens…

“Jumpin’ Jack”
The desert Jack Rabbit from The Oasis in the desert near Steens… https://www.facebook.com/morgan.newberry.90

While I waited at the campsite, close to the fire, smoking a peyote pipe, Jason went off in the dark with Richie to keep them safe from bad dudes. I was thinking then, how we would share a desert dessert, of Cactus Apples and whipped honey cream when they return…

Richie, The Friendly Rattlesnake, likes to bite Cactus Apples for practice… He would have his favorite dinner delights later…

Jason, finally came back after being out for awhile. He left Richie behind, he had dinner waiting. Think it was a Jack Rabbit, I believe. He was swallowing it for a late supper near the Oasis swim hole…

Jason was holding something in his arms, as he sat down by the camp fire for a beer and smoked Salmon bits. “Who is your new friend?” I asked Jason while staring at glaring black eyes under his pouch…

“It’s a injured baby bobcat,” Jason whispered sadly as he comforted the little kitty. “What did you name her?” I whispered back at Jason…

“I named her “Baby Betsy Bobcat,” Jason said with a kind smile. “She was almost killed by a huge desert Owl, a sneaky devil sitting top of a tall Joshau Tree near the swim hole close to Richie’s pad…

Jason put Baby Betsy Bobcat in the tent with us for the night to help her heal up until early morn. Then, take her back to her mom, who was waiting anxiously for little Betsie to return…

Jason is a Snake Whisperer and healer too, you know. All the desert wildlife know this when Jason is there, camping nearby at the desert Oasis near Steens.

We couldn’t sleep that night. Baby Betsy Bobcat was getting better after awhile, when we finally fell asleep. Jason got up way before me to take Baby Betsy Bobcat back to her mom near the Oasis swim hole…

Ritchie, The Friendly Rattlesnake, watched out for Jason, while I got everything ready to go. After Jason checked the camp fire to be sure it was out, we jumped into the big rig and raced to the salt flats near Steens.

It was another beautiful day in the desert badlands near Steens. We didn’t say much on the way back. We didn’t need to…

Everything was said or not said. It’s an adventure hanging with my pal, Jason. He’s a Snake Whisperer, you know, a healer too…

I was already thinking about the next adventure to the Oasis in the desert near Steens. It was that way at the desert Oasis near Steens…

Heading across the Salt Flats in the desert near Steens with my pal, Jason…
Steve Sparks, Author, Blogger, Mental Health Advocate…and aspiring artisan…

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About the author

Steve Sparks is a retired information technology sales and marketing executive with over 35 years of industry experience, including a Bachelors’ in Management from St. Mary’s College. His creative outlet is as a non-fiction author, writing about his roots as a post-WWII US Navy military child growing up in the 1950s-1960s.
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