Oh Give me a Home...

Today I realized that we are truly in the west. As Josh and his cousin came home with two 17 inch cut-throat trout they had just caught, they were stalled. The road they were coming down was filled with a herd of cattle, being moved by a man with a cowboy hat, on a horse. They had to wait until the cattle were herded down the road and into the corral they were headed to before coming home to show off their catch. It brought back memories. Their Grandpa, Kent, had been on plenty of cattle drives in his day in more rugged territory than this. He also used to ride the bulls in rodeos. He was a real cowboy.

Over 20 years ago I was riding in a pick-up in central Utah, on a road with no houses, and no traffic - except for the herd of sheep (must have been over a thousand). They were in no hurry. We had to go extremely slowly through the herd, as they were not going to run just for a truck. Sheep and cattle herds roam free during certain times of the year on range land, and are herded back to their winter grounds in the fall. Yep, real cattle drives. Just after Blaine and I were married, we were in his Dad's Dodge Ram up on the Parker Mountain in southern Utah. We saw a cloud of dust moving toward us, and kept going. The closer it got, the more excited we got. It was a herd of hundreds of antelope (well, at least 50) and they were headed right for us. We sped up and they kept coming. They weren't veering off, and instead seemed bent on hitting us. When they got really close, as we were still going plenty fast, they simply turned as one and ran next to us. It was sooooo COOL! I opened my window, as they matched our speed. I could see and hear their breathing, the straining of thier muscles and the thunder of their hooves. I could have easily reached out and touched them. It was amazing that they didn't hit the truck. Eventually they went in another direction, and we slowed, in awe of what had just happened. It was so exciting.

Just as the sun goes down, and just before it comes up, is prime wildlife viewing. Yesterday evening, Blaine and I took a ride not more than two miles away where there are fields near some foothills. There were hundreds and hundreds of deer feeding on the green grass. We have seen a few turkeys, though nothing like the number we see in the east. When driving on the Alpine Loop on Mt. Timpanogas a week ago, we saw a HUGE bull elk with a rack of antlers that would make the most avid hunter drool. He was magnificent, and the views were some of the most stunning I have seen. That's saying something here in the Rockies. While I miss the foliage, this corner of the west is still just a little wild.