Happy birthday to my own strong, fearless, alpha-mare mom, Nancy!
I love you, Mom! 🙂
Fall gloriana
28 10 2025Comments : 7 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Utah
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
Deer Creek Fire
12 07 2025
The Deer Creek Fire started Thursday (cause is as yet unknown) at the base of Utah’s La Sal Mountains.
During the day, smoke settles over all of Disappointment Valley, and the mountains are obscured.
As evening settles, so does the smoke, and the mountains appear against the horizon … along with the smoke plume.
The above link lists the fire at 4,000 acres, but according to app Watch Duty, it has grown to 7,000 acres as of almost 10 p.m. Friday.
Be careful out there, folks, no matter where you live, work and/or recreate.
Comments : 15 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Utah, Wildfire
Seeing the sights
9 05 2025
Skywalker, who has been wandering mostly on his own, sometimes with a couple of bachelor pals, most recently has been back with his former band (still as a bachelor) and buddy (maybe not quite anymore) Sancho.
He seemed fairly grumpy, but I finally caught him looking mildly interested as he looked up from snoozing, saw me sitting nearby … and went back to sleep. Nothing to see here!
But everything to see *there*!
We had rain Sunday and Monday, and we had great storm clouds Tuesday and Wednesday. Unfortunately, we got only a trickle-drip of “rain” from those clouds those days, but the light has been incredible.
Most unfortunately, I had already hiked down from the hill and the band by the time sunset and THIS happened (a couple of hours later):
Those mountains, in all three pix, are southeastern Utah’s La Sal Mountains.
Absolutely, breathtakingly spectacular. Scenery and mustangs brought to you by Mother Nature’s magic. 🙂
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Utah
Bringin’ the sky-magic
12 07 2023For the last very long – days and days and days and weeks and days and weeks – we’ve had solid blue skies. Every. Single. Day.
We finally got some clouds. And when Disappointment Valley does clouds, boy, does it do spectacular clouds.
In order of appearance from around 5:30 or close to 6 p.m. to after sunset:
Looking west.
Mustangs grazing and napping under the relief of clouds.
Silver linings.
Do you see the rainbow?
Rain – or at least virga – to the west.
More mustangs. More napping.
When I left the bands pictured above, I thought I might have a chance at any late surprise light with the bands pictured higher above. But they had moved quite a bit, and the clouds were heavy, and sunset was imminent. But as I left Spring Creek Basin, rain was drifting eastish along the southern ridges of Disappointment Valley. Then I dropped below the rimrocks (the basin’s western boundary), and holy rainbow! You’ll have to take my word for it that it was SUPER intense, and the photo above doesn’t do it justice.
By the time I got to the main road, that “surprise” light was glowing, and the rain had moved away from the southern ridges.
Meanwhile, to the west … this!
Bit closer view of the mountains.
Back to the southeastish, rain was actually falling over the southern/southeastern part of Spring Creek Basin.
And THIS happened. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so glad and grateful to have a cell phone that doubles as a very wide-angle camera.
We ended the day with some post-sunset magic.
And 0.01 inch of rain. 🙂 Enough to make part of the road … actually … WET!
Comments : 16 Comments »
Categories : Brumley Point, Colorado, Disappointment Creek, Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, McKenna Peak, Rain, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon, Temple Butte, Utah
Not a sight we like
6 05 2022
This image is from the evening of May 4. I’m not sure whether it’s in far western Colorado or actually in Utah. Also not sure whether it’s a prescribed burn (I can’t imagine, in these dry, windy conditions …) or nature-caused … or from someone careless with fire in these dry, windy conditions.
People are out and about after winter “confinement” (which isn’t that terrible here in the hinterlands, so close to accessible desert regions!?).
I would have this message for all those I see camping and zooming up and down and around in their side-by-sides and other vehicles: Please be careful of what you leave in your wake. Some people and many more animals live in the places you choose to visit.
Comments : 16 Comments »
Categories : La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Utah, Wildfire
Other views
1 10 2020Readers have seen a lot of pix of La Sal Mountains in my photos of mustangs in Spring Creek Basin. They form a pretty dramatic range on our northwestern horizon.
During a couple of recent aspen-leaf-peeping drives, I had the opportunity to see our landmarks from different perspectives, including from those not-so-far-away La Sals.
Spring Creek Basin, in Disappointment Valley, is a little hazy with smoke in this view southeast from below Mount Peale (the highest La Sal peak), and in this smallish view, maybe hard to pick out. But visible – in the upper, farthest area of the pic – are McKenna Peak, Temple Butte, submarine ridge (my name for it), Brumley Point, Round Top, Flat Top, Filly Peak and the rimrocks on the western edge of the basin.
Autumn-tinged Gambel oak is in the foreground.
This may be the most colorful image I’ll ever get to take of Temple Butte.
It’s taken from a couple of miles east of Groundhog Reservoir, looking northwestish. Spring Creek Basin is on the *other* side of Temple Butte from this perspective.
Happy autumn. I hope you’re all enjoying the colors of the changing season and the cooler temps!
Comments : 10 Comments »
Categories : Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Temple Butte, Utah
Oh! Snow!
19 12 2012Joy. 🙂
The storm that blew over Colorado last night and this morning did NOT miss Disappointment Valley this time. Nor at least part of Utah, based on the above pic of the La Sal Mountains, which actually are northwest of us in the Beehive State. Close enough!
No pony pix (yet). Although it was cold (mid-20s), the snow was wet, and it did create mud of the earth beneath the snow, so I didn’t drive into the basin. After the snowstorm: clear blue beautiful sky. That promises a colllldddd night – and a frozen-road morning on which to (hopefully) access winter mustang paradise!
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Utah
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 