Monday, August 24, 2020

Wild Horses


The smoke from the wildfires surrounds us. Folks tell us that smoke from the California wildfires have made the air quality even worse. Still we press onward. 


We spent most of the day traveling gravel roads. It is a circuitous route to Spring Creek Basin from Dolores. We arrived at the wild horse management area around three in the afternoon. As soon as we entered the gates, we spied eight horses. They were extremely shy but not as skittish as they were during our last visit. The horses looked better than I expected, considering the drought and limited vegetation.




The Spring Creek herd consists of about 80 horses. The area where they reside is vast and much of it inaccessible by vehicle. We drove deep into the hills but turned around when the road became nearly impassable. We decided to drive down another road that seemed to lead to a greener area. As the road neared its end, I spied several horse heads peeking above the foliage. David backed up, and sure enough, we spied a half dozen or more horses in a draw, nearly 50 yards from us. 



We abandoned the truck and hiked towards the horses. All were at attention, ears perked in our direction. The horse trail we were following appeared to block the horses. Not wanting to spook them, we climbed to the top of the draw, overlooking the horses. They seemed curious but not frightened of our presence. The horses were gathered around a small spring. They would paw the ground, making an indentation that would fill with water so they could drink. As with most wild horses, they took turns drinking.  David counted 18 horses, including foals. While we watched, the first group took to the hills above the draw and opposite us. 




I love observing animals in their natural habitat. After about a half hour, we left the horses to make our way to our camp spot for the night. It was the same one we had used during our first visit and not far from the original eight horses we met earlier. As we connected with the main road, we saw the horses from the watering hole galloping towards us. We stopped the truck and watched them meet up with the other group of horses. After a few minutes, they all began to graze. We left them to set up camp. 




About an hour later, the entire group meandered up the road near our camp. We sat still, hoping they would come closer. No such luck... they took off, splitting into two bands and hightailing it across the plains. A group of five bachelor stallions moseyed behind, taking their time. 


Although the temperature was well in the 90s when we arrived, it began to cool down as the sun set a deep red because of the fires. We had a pleasant night’s sleep. Alas, as we left the basin, the horses were so far in the distance, we could barely make them out in the smoke-filled horizon. 


We left rather early in the morning, hoping to make the Sandwash Basin herd by afternoon. We decided to stop by the visitor centre in Fruita to make certain the way was clear. It was a good thing we did. Our preferred route was closed because of a wildfire. Crews were hoping to use the road as a break to prevent the fire from jumping. So we backtracked to Grand Junction and took I-70 to Highway 13 and on toward Maybell. 


We arrived at Sandwash late afternoon and set up camp on the bluff, overlooking the river. The next morning, we were in the truck early, anxious to find horses.  We tried a different route into the horse management area and soon spied horses. Most were uncooperative, but we found a small band that seemed approachable. As we took photos, a second stallion moved in. We thought there might be some action between the two stallions, but the one leading the band simply turned his rump to the other. Each of their ears cocked and laid flat against their heads, then cocked forward, then back again, but nothing more. When the colt laid down, he seemed to be telling us that this waiting game could go on forever.  We decided to move along. Soon the road became impassable, so we turned around. When we drove by the band again, the two stallions were exactly where we left them. 






Later we spied four bachelor stallions leaving a watering hole. We parked the truck to take a few photos. One of the stallions looked very old and was covered with scars. 



Two new horses came trotting our way. When they were close to the watering hole, they fairly bolted to the water. We watched from a distance to give them their space. There is so little water out here, particularly with the drought. We didn’t want to disturb their drinking. 




We found two other watering holes, both completely dry. The sun was bearing down, and the temperatures soaring once again into the 90s. Cold weather awaits us in Idaho. We made a unanimous decision to leave the smoke and heat and head for higher ground. Hopefully we will have one more wild horse herd to visit before we head for home.  This last photo is our morning sunrise.


Saturday, August 22, 2020

On the Road Again

Sunset over Caprock Canyon

It feels great to be headed west today. Our first stop was Caprock Canyon State Park near Canyon, Texas. Known for its painted hills and wild bison herd, Caprock has become our launching point for many of our trips. We arrived after the park closed and found our reserved site was a walk-in... hardly conducive to our rig. No worries. We camped in our favourite spot, the overflow area. We watched a glorious sunset and enjoyed a cooling breeze. By morning the temperature was in the low sixties. 

As we left the park, we found a portion of the wild bison meandering on the road. We spied several bathed in red dirt and early morning light. 



My navigator David is working overtime this trip. We can’t travel our normal route through New Mexico because the state is under a mandatory 14-day quarantine if we even cross the border or travel through in a single day. The western portion of Colorado is plagued with wildfires. We have chosen a route just north of New Mexico, along the southern edge of Colorado.  Thankfully, the folks at the visitor centre in Trinidad told us the area is free of wildfires. 


Our first several days of travel are always long. It was near 6:30 when we settled into our first campsite in Colorado along the Highway of Legends. We found a dispersed campsite near Cochura at over 10,000 feet in altitude.  The site was along a creek and high in the mountains, surrounded by deep forest. The best part was it was cool enough to don sweatshirts... something we have been longing to do for months. These are the times, however, when being a flatlander has extreme disadvantages.  After we huffed and puffed up the road a short distance, we were in bed by 7:30 between the high altitude and time change. 




We awoke from an eleven-hour sleep refreshed and ready to roll. We took Forest Road 250, a gravel road that runs along the Rio Grande National Forest and the eastern side of the South San Juan Wilderness area. It was an easy day of travel. Tonight we camp in the valley and at the base of  Big Red and Little Red mountains. The view is spectacular. 


Big Red and Little Red Mountains



Tomorrow we hope to head west on 160 through Pagosa Springs and Durango, then turn north of Delores and on to visit old friends... the Spring Creek Basin wild horse herd from our 2016 trip. Hopefully we will still be south of the fires and able to access the BLM land where they reside. We may not see bears this year, but I have my heart set on photographing wild horses. 





Tuesday, August 11, 2020

It's Been Too Long!

Dear Friends, It has been much too long since I've posted. What a year it has been for everyone! We do hope this finds each of you well. 

As for us, our Australia trip ended abruptly last summer when David's mother had a massive stroke. We flew home and spent as much time with her as we could during the next two months. She passed away at the end of September, 2019. Soon after that, David had rotator cuff surgery. He was well on the mend when I was invited to present my new book, The Legend of El Patron: A True Story, at the Tucson Festival of Books and the Texas Library Association conference. Halfway to Tucson, we received word that the festival was cancelled because of the pandemic.  The following week, the Texas Library Association conference also cancelled. I can only imagine your personal stories and how they may be even more dramatic than ours. 

After a bit of a shaky start, Texas is opening up from the lockdown quite well. David and I have been waiting most of the summer to see if Canada will open its borders also.  We so wanted to return to Alaska!  Unfortunately, Canada remains closed.  Not to be deterred, however, we plan to take a trip in our camper to enjoy the wilderness... somewhere.  My, how we have missed it! So we will head towards Idaho and, perhaps, retrace some of the wild horse ranges in Colorado and Utah. Of course, much of this all depends on how various states are open to travelers. 

The housesitter is ready to arrive this weekend. Our hope is to leave either Sunday or Monday. We invite each of you to join us on our somewhat scaled back adventure this year. Who knows what we might find? 

 Blessings to all. 

 P.S.  If you'd like more information about the outlaw Texas bear El Patron in my children's book The Legend of El Patron:  A True Story, you can find it at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Patron-Virginia-Parker-Staat/dp/1644384922) or on my website virginiastaat.com. Also, you can view the book's trailer here:  Legend of El Patron book trailer. Thanks for your interest!