A Bit of Trouble in Tooele

Pahvant Range near Salina, Arizona

It's been a very interesting beginning to our trip.  While in Sierra Vista, we had several days of 90-degree weather.  Now it's cold... really cold for a couple of Texans.  The highs have been in the 40s and the lows hovering around freezing.  The biting wind makes it feel even colder and has left us scrambling for sweatshirts and even parkas.

Our first night after Sierra Vista, we boondocked north of Salina on national forest land.  Clouds covered the surrounding mountains.  Soon after we pitched camp, it began to snow.  SNOW!  While the accumulation was only about a half inch, it was still a surprise to us.  At home, spring began in early March.  Here most trees are just beginning to bud.  The tulips haven't even flowered yet.

Snowing... big flakes!

We easily made it to my wild horse herd the following day.  I admit, however, that it has been frustrating taking photographs.  More and more folks seem to ignore photography ethics and BLM guidelines.  Rather than keeping a 100-foot distance, they walk among the horses, making it difficult for photographers who follow the rules to get a good shot.  Most disturbing, by walking in such close proximity to the horses, they are habituating them more and more to humans, leaving the horses less and less wild.

In addition, I have a new camera and can't seem to get the focus quite right.  I apologize for the lack of quality.  Hopefully I'll figure this out quickly.

This is the earliest we have ever been to the Davis Mountains.  We have been surprised at the number of sheep and cattle we have encountered grazing on this horse management area.  There are literally thousands and thousands of sheep.  We saw at least a half dozen separate flocks, each herded by dogs and led by men on horseback.  Their camps included large water tanks on flatbeds and sheepherder trailers.

Sheepherder camp

Sheep dog takes a break

The cattle seemed to be a surprise to the horses, too.  We visited one of our favorite wild horse herds at their watering hole.  A herd of cattle began moseying toward them.  As one cow approached the horses, the entire herd looked at her as if she were something they had never seen before.  It was too funny.

Wild horses seem surprised when a cow strolls into the herd.

We were pleased to see that the horses had fared well over the winter.  The mares had begun dropping spring foals.  Young stallions were sparing.  Old stallions limped along, showing their battle scars.

A young foal

Young stallions sparing

Battle scars

Hoping that the other photographers would pack up and go home after the weekend, we decided to drive the 50 miles to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, a marshland oasis in the midst of the desert.  Unfortunately, most of the migratory birds had already left for their nesting grounds.  We did spy a few white pelicans and Canada geese.

Pelicans at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge

On our way back to the horses, the truck sputtered and stopped.  The dash showed a variety of lights flashing, indicating an issue.  Hoping it was a fluke, David turned off the engine, restarted, and we began again.  I took the wheel while David looked through the maintenance literature, hoping to find an answer.   The truck lost power again.  Without a doubt, we had an issue.

We limped into Tooele and found a motel near the Ford dealership.  David had the truck in first thing this morning.  We have just received a call from the service manager that the throttle unit has malfunctioned and needs to be replaced.  He has the part in stock and will have the truck fixed by this evening.  We feel blessed... we will be back on the road again tomorrow.  And as an added bonus, we even had hot showers.

Tomorrow morning we'll return to the horses, spending one more night with them before heading to Washington for a short reunion with dear friends.  Life is good!