Got going early today to drive down to the Stronghold Unit for a hike with Tyler.  Left the truck up at the top of Cuny Table, then hiked down into the badlands via the slide.  When we set out I thought we might manage to find one of the old car bodies, remnants from the bombing range era, that I painted earlier this year.  If we were really lucky it seemed we might make it all the way to the bulldozer that was left out there decades ago.  Well.  We did find a car, then many more.  One I had visited before, the others were new for me.  It seemed like the more we hiked the more blobs of metal we spotted on the distant hillsides.  The two track roads don't go near these, so hiking was definitely the way to go.  Many were reasonably close together, and I think I may have seen these through binoculars from up on Cuny Table last year.  If not, then those cars are still out there waiting to be found.  In the end we never did find the bulldozer, despite climbing many high buttes for a search with binoculars.  I recognized the area it should be in, and we were probably very close.  It was hard to let it go and continue our hike, but happily there were another handful of cars to be discovered before we hiked out.  

Dinner was with a friend of Tyler's from Alaska who by chance was visiting the area.  It was an interesting evening with a late drive home.  All in all, a tremendous day.  Thanks, Tyler!  Today's hike is the highlight of this trip, thus far.

Many, many photos.  Can't resist sharing...

Top of the Slide.

Tyler standing near the eroding surface.  There's at least a foot of material missing since last year.

Walking down the Slide.

Car #1 - this one I had visited previously.

Car #2, in three pieces.

Lovely day for a drive...

Car #3

UXO: unexploded ordinance. Why one must be cautious out here.

Last year's cliff swallow nests.

A casualty of Winter Storm Atlas last October.

Looking north along Battle Creek towards Plenty Star,

This area is where we should have found the bulldozer. Still feeling irritated  that I failed.

Gave up on spotting the bulldozer. Took the quick route back down.

King of the mountain.

Car #4

Old oil drum, painted yellow.  These were targets for the bombardiers.

Car #5

Saw something shiny inside this mangled car, it was this beautifully preserved Pontiac emblem.

Large, dense pieces of metal: shrapnel or bomb casing?

Car #6

Car #7, horses in the distance.

Car #8

Two track leading back to the Slide.

Around the corner to the Slide.

Bottom of the Slide.

Middle of the Slide.

Top of the Slide.

The drive out to Hwy 2.