Base Camp and Movie News: Shooting Day One

I haven't seen a ringtail in two weeks. Their time at Base Camp may have come and gone. I had one regular every night but he was extremely shy and if more than one or two people came out he'd run and there were two others that showed up once a week or so. A few foxes have returned out front of the lodge and I still pick up scat every couple days and I've not seen any ringtail or skunk hair in fox scat.

Crickets have returned. They are a great warning indicator. When they stop chirping it means something is coming or on the porch that they don't recognize and I listen carefully for the familiar and non familiar smells, movement, and feeling.

The river has fallen three or four feet the last few days giving me a small sigh of relief. I'm looking at the river flows and snowpack next door in Colorado and the future is still perilous and flooding at the boat house, boat ramp, and former beach is still likely. The movie people are shooting all their river scenes early and today (Saturday) the boat house turned into a rental office for the movie scene of the rafters preparing to head down the river and Chief, Larry, flew in for one day of filming and is being driven to the Grand Junction airport right now for departure.

Michelle left Saturday and took Jax giving up her room to the movie people who are using it for costumes and some make up situations. Jax and I got in one more hike down the creek bed and around the property which is what he lives for. Well, that and squirrels in parking lot cars.

Linny has my room and I'm on the floor in the office. But generally I'm so tired I'm asleep quickly and it's not uncomfortable at all. Production crew has been up for awhile, well before daylight, in the tent preparing for the day. Breakfast is at 6am in the garage next door and the days schedule is discussed with everyone at 7am.

The electrical systems at both sides of the property are being tested. Much of the crew is from Manhattan or L.A. where things like drinking water, septic, and power are taken for granted and not produced by yours truly. The demands for gas for generators for the trailers and vehicles are heavy. Going to town on Tuesday is not the norm anymore. There are people designated just to run back and forth to town. Local people because from what I hear from the city people is there's no way they're going back over Hurrah until the shoot is over.

Some meals all six Base Camp vehicles are in use shuttling people next door for food and to the shoot location. The once a week trash run is a thing of the past. Linny made a special trip yesterday taking 20 or so bags with her. She's turned into housekeeping to include some of the trailers, production assistant working at the desk with the location manager, driver for cash and crew to meals, and her first day of six days of shooting is tomorrow.

The desert has lit up with flowers from all the rain and I saw the first cactus bloom on Saturday.

The mix of city and country is surviving. A lady ask me to walk her to her trailer the other night because there is a big raccoon on the porch who might attack. If the roles were reversed I'd be in Manhattan asking her to hold my hand while I tried to get across 5th Avenue. People are amazed at the amount of the stars in the sky and a little nervous about the number of eyes looking at them from out front of the lodge. White is fox, yellow raccoon, blue deer and or big horn, red coyote, and green mountain lion. Twice last night people ask me for the colors again and a little while later I heard somebody say "remember green". Everyone is fascinated with head lamps versus flashlights so I ordered 30 more.

The food at the garage is amazing. Usually I'm a junk food eater but I have to say I look forward to three meals a day. The catering guys are pretty funny. If only they had some music taste. Two black guys from Las Vegas, Travis and Ronnie. I ask them if they had any country and they played a Kid Rock song.

Best comment I overheard today "I'm the next to last one to get killed. It's in my contract."