Winona paused for a brief little catnap on a ridge above Spring Creek canyon while moseying/grazing with the band. I just happened to be moseying along with them – happily, gratefully! – and caught her looking beautiful as always.
Pretty as a picture
24 07 2025Comments : 7 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon
Almost friends
23 07 2025
Skywalker might be considered Tenaz’s lieutenant, though I don’t think he would mind my translation that it’s not a title he likes or plans to use for long (!). Tenaz has two young mares, and Skywalker does keep Tenaz on his toes. They’re part of a bigger group of horses that’s basically two separate bands – one mostly happy family. 🙂
Above, the mares have gone ahead (to the right), and they’re waiting for their turn at the water cooler … err, pools of water that gather in the creek bed just above/upstream of Spring Creek canyon. A couple of other bands beat them to it, so they were politely waiting their turn.
The arroyo actually comes from beyond/above where Skywalker and Tenaz are standing, passes by us on the left, makes a big curve behind me as I’m facing them, runs a short distance, then makes another big curve to enter the canyon. Another few curves later, it empties below the rimrock cliff band that forms the basin’s western boundary into lower, wide-open Disappointment Valley on its way to join Disappointment Creek (which also is dry but for pockets of water) … and on to the Dolores River.
The mustangs definitely rely on these seeps in Spring Creek and its tributary arroyos as the summer gets drier and drier before the hoped-and-prayed-for monsoon rains. The forecast is showing an uptick of chances next week, and we’re crossing fingers, toes and hooves (!) that some rain actually pans out for us from those chances!
Comments : 4 Comments »
Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon, Temple Butte
Mustang. Light. Glory.
22 07 2025First, I feel the need to alleviate any fears that the red/orange/golden light in the background of this image might be flames. It’s NOT. It’s sunlight bokeh through just a little bit of still-smoky haze and a low cloudbank at the very end of day.
An extraordinary evening in the back of beyond of Spring Creek Basin (where even I don’t very often go anymore because it’s accessible from only one direction, and that direction is long, rough and, well, rough – and far!).
Glorious.
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Diffused
21 07 2025
Another image of the pink sunset landscape through wildfire smoke, this one of Flash.
Fortunately, we’ve been relatively smoke-free for a coupla-few days, though the fires are still burning.
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte, Wildfire
Four for beauty
20 07 2025
Four braids are better than one, knows every fashion-forward mustang. 🙂 Piedra and Maia.
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Highlights
19 07 2025
Still waiting on the clouds and Mother Nature to bring us any rain, but dramatic, spotlight cloudlight is my faaaaaaaaaaaaaavorite! That’s actually part of McKenna Peak at far left. The lit ramparts far to the right are well beyond and up-valley from Spring Creek Basin.
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Help wanted
18 07 2025
The Deer Creek and Turner Gulch fires both now have burned through more than 15,000 acres. Smoke wasn’t nearly as visible yesterday as previously, and it has been weirdly (eerily?) not very windy. Rain has been in and out of the forecast (mostly out … and it hasn’t rained), but we could sure use some actual “wetting rain” that actually makes landfall and drenches the land and its vegetation AND its fires.
Terra, above, and her band had just come up from a water seep in the Spring Creek arroyo and were grazing their way peacefully toward (potentially) another little water source. They know where to find water, and fortunately the water sources in the basin are holding steady. Any little (or lotta) bit helps.
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon
Copper pink
17 07 2025
Knife Edge (right) and Valentine Mesa (left) and the eastern ridges of Spring Creek Basin (including McKenna Peak and Temple Butte) usually glow a sort of purplish orange at the very end of most days, but the vivid almost-*pink* in this pic was from late sunlight diffused through wildfire-smoke haze.
The smoke wasn’t too bad over us, but plumes from the Deer Creek, Wright Draw and Turner Gulch fires northwest and north of us were clearly visible beyond the horizon of our peaceful little enclave.
Gaia and mares from another band nearby weren’t at all bothered … but those smoky drifts drew my eyes constantly.
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Where there’s smoke
15 07 2025
The Deer Creek Fire, burning at the southeastern base of Utah’s La Sal Mountains, just west of the state line with Colorado, is now at 10,000-plus acres with 0% containment. (Note: As of 10 p.m. Monday, it had grown to more than 11,000 acres.)
That’s the fire closest to us, and fires at Grand Canyon and Black Canyon of the Gunnison national parks have resulted in the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge (and other structures) and evacuations of visitors and National Park Service employees, not to mention people who live in affected areas nearby.
Many other fires are burning across the West’s drought-dry landscapes, as well as in Canada, while floods devastate other regions. My heart has a hard time taking it all in.
*****
I drafted the above post (showing Sancho in a very smoky Spring Creek Basin a few days ago) and scheduled it … and then I went out to Spring Creek Basin last night and saw that smoke from two more fires – Wright Draw and Turner Gulch fires near Gateway (about halfway-ish between Disappointment Valley and Grand Junction or about an hour and a half away as the vehicle motors) – is visible on our northern horizon. Argh.
Vantage point: above Spring Creek (mostly dry but with pockets of water from which at least a few bands of mustangs are drinking) in Spring Creek Basin looking north/northwest. The canyon is not far to my left. The obvious smoke starting at the left side of the image is from Utah’s Deer Creek Fire. Smoke from the Wright Draw and Turner Gulch fires shows as a yellowish line of smoke immediately above the bumpy-hills horizon just right of center.
Post-sunset from outside Spring Creek Basin. Utah’s La Sal Mountains are visible at left, and smoke from the Deer Creek Fire stretches across the entire horizon. … It looked like virga, which was completely wild and surreal.
We need “wetting rain” as I read recently. Hopefully it’s coming Friday/Saturday … along with thunderstorm chances (we do NOT need the lightning!!!). Please keep all those in the paths of the wildfires (everywhere), as well as those battling the blazes, in your prayers. And please, please, please, stay safe.
Comments : 15 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon, Utah, Wildfire
Watchful
14 07 2025
Even napping, he’s aware.
(This was a different day than the pronghorn, as the sunshine hopefully illustrates. :))
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 