Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

A hard, brief storm passed through Disappointment Valley and Spring Creek Basin (and the whole local area) Saturday, so you know what that means:

It’s hard to tell in this still image, but that water is moving. It’s flowing toward me along the ditch at left from just another 100 or so yards up the road (this is Road K20E, just east of Road 19Q). In some places, it had already stopped running, but the ditches were still soggy. There was more evidence of it having washed across the road farther along toward the basin (you can see the familiar horizon with the rimrocks, Filly Peak, McKenna Peak, Temple Butte, submarine ridge and Brumley Point rain-darkened (!) in the distance as the storm recedes to the east and southeast.

And of course, I knew what I’d find within Spring Creek Basin:

We had a number of these last year. This year, not so much. … ALWAYS fabulous to see water running across the first (as you come to it) Spring Creek crossing. It was already receding when I reached it in late afternoon, but the water (very muddy) was happily gurgling along.

From downstream a bit from the crossing (you can see it at just-left-of-top-center) looking upstream. There’s a rocky “beach” to the right that’s at least as wide as the creek bed itself, and it doesn’t look as though that flooded this time.

And from the same spot as above, now looking downstream. There’s a big curve straight ahead, and around that a bit is a seep that has water fairly consistently where the horses like to drink.

At most, floods like these last maybe 24 hours. This one probably – maybe – lasted 12? The rain came down pretty hard, but it didn’t last very long. And the rain, as hard as it was, didn’t penetrate very deep into the soil; an inch – maybe? We need a day(s)long rain that just sooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaks in deeply. That’s what the fragile, drought-stressed vegetation needs.

All the mustangs I saw were on the north side of the creek, and I didn’t cross it. 🙂 Can’t wait to see the evidence elsewhere in the basin when I *can* get across the muddy arroyo!