Well not really out prospecting, but I've had my share of encounters. Had a black bear decide he wanted to climb the tree I was in. Silly me eating apples and tossing the cores, guess he figured there were more where those came from. Or the time getting some blow boat's line untangled from the prop for the owner. I surfaced right smack dab in the middle of a bunch of hammer heads circling the spot. I had cut the heck out of my hands on the barnacles getting the rope off, and I figure the blood drew them in.
Last one, didn't scare me, more bewildered and still to this day trying to figure out what I saw. At my farm I had a fly in, bunch of friends and r/c planes. One night after the typical campfire and everyone else went to bed, I was not sleepy so I went for a walk. I grew up here, and nothing ever out there that scared me. But anywho, it was probably around 2-3 in the morning, all quiet. Which for the woods was odd. Honestly I think they are noisier at night than during the day.
I'm standing on top of a small rise, looking down in the valley when I notice what looked like airplane landing lights off in the distance. Thinking that's weird, the local airport closes at dusk, and the international one is in the other direction.I then noticed the lights were really low in the sky, and started to think maybe this was a plane in trouble. As the lamps got closer, a cloud or fog started to obscure my view. Now it's really weird, as right before that the sky was as clear as a bell. You haven't seen a sky until you are out in nowhere, where there are no lights to alter the view of the heavens.
These lights are getting closer and closer, and only a couple hundred feet up, just over the tree line on the opposite hill. I'm looking at them and it starts to dawn on me, that's all I can see, and hear. No airplane shape, and not a sound of an engine. The lights stop right over the valley, and just hang in the air.Okay, this is no airplane! The lights, 3 in a row, vertical and horizontal, forming a cross. the horizontal ones start to rotate around, as they do I can see the beams when they are facing away, lighting up the cloud, and I can't see anything supporting the lights. Then they stop and the vertical ones start to rotate, like a wheel spinning. Back and forth the sets of light take turns, and still I can't see what is holding them in the air, and there is not a sound.
This went on for several minutes, and then the lights stopped rotating, and whatever it was started to go vertically up in the sky. I watched it until the lamps blinked out. Right after that the cloud/fog rolled out of the area, and the woods came back to life. I could hear the frogs down at the lake, an owl hooting, and I could hear the stream nearby. Funny I don't remember hearing even the stream when this was going on.
Like said to this day I have no clue what it was, and I was never afraid the whole time, it was more like maybe a mix of shock and awe at what I was seeing.
It's a pure hell living here in this area...?
