Mountain Home Air Force Base

The only people I see every day are the ones flying the scary black planes.

Standing in a million square kilometers of sagebrush and cheatgrass, a shadow passes over me. I look up: a huge black triangle flying at what looks like a hundred feet off the ground disappears over the rise followed by the thunderous sound of its engine. I'm trying to count birds here, so the deafening sound makes it hard. I always flip them off as they go. Seems safe to do. 

Scouting a transect, I drove over a hill and saw this: 

A Lot of Life-sized Fake Tanks

And this. 

More Fake Tanks

Around the corner: 

Tiny Fake Houses - so they can practice blowing up neighborhoods? 

While I was surveying, they set off a bomb.

It sounded like the loudest thunder, although the sky was clear. The ground shook, all the swallows flew off the cliff - made me want to dive into a badger hole. Even Western Meadowlarks can't compete with that sound. The people in those planes probably kill a lot of prairie dogs, badgers, and ground squirrels. I need to start keeping better human company.