Sunday Farewell

August 8, 2010
The previous evening the thunderstorm that rolled through was huge, the lightning was close, the thunder loud and the rain poured! It was a fitting conclusion to an incredible day.

It was time to leave the high desert and return home to the woods, but first one last look around.
First stop, the water trough, maybe the White and Chestnut were there or with fresh ground we would at least see the tracks of their herd. When we got there, no horses, just tracks from one lone horse. So we walked to higher ground to see what, if anything, was around.

Then we saw him by himself up the hill. This was not one we had seen before, he looked pretty young. Must be who left his tracks at the trough.

The other direction, toward the main road we saw the lone rider.

He turned up the road we were on and passed by below us.

We decided to take a quick drive up to Shinn Peak.

The 4WD trail as seen through the windshield.

If not prepared for this type of terrain stay on the main roads, it is steep and rough.

The lichen, still damp from the rain, was brightly colored this morning.

It was so bright it reminded us of graffiti.

Looking down toward Shinn Ranch and the big Cottonwood grove (seen here).

But no horses to be seen.

A trail they had passed over sometime during the night. Bent grass remained indicating it had been stepped on while wet but most all tracks had been erased by the rain.

Bird Bath.

So we said good bye.

At the main road heading back to camp we spotted the Bay Stallion (his pic) that we had seen last weekend (seen here), now totally alone.

A bitter sweet day, the desert so fresh and vibrant from the cleansing storm, but upon leaving we knew that none of these horses we had come to know would be here when we returned.

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