A Sheepish Boss

At the beginning of our ride, we have distant views of the Wasatch Range.  Notice how fresh and alert Daisy looks.  She knows big excitement is coming.

We start riding down into Buffalo Canyon: 

At the lower reaches, we travel along a trail with bike tracks.  We don't see any bikers, but we do see a bow hunter, which makes me glad I am wearing orange. 

I am riding Boss, giving Mischief a rest. 
We encounter a herd of sheep:

Notice how Daisy is crouched down, trying to sneak up on them.  You may be able to see a mounted sheepherder on the left side of the photo.  Steve talks to two of the herders, communicating through his limited Spanish and their limited English.  The herders are from Peru. 

Boss, unfortunately, is terrified of sheep.  Yes, I know this makes no sense.  He's a big strong horse, but the baaa-ing turns him into a nervous wreck.  Or maybe it's the sheep scent that drives him nutty.  Whatever the reason, it is a challenge to ride him through the sheep and on down the trail to Willow Creek: 

This beaver dam appears to be active.  We ride down the creek until we came to some nice pools.

There, Steve wants to fish.  We get off and tie the horses for safekeeping, but about that time a dozen or so sheep appear on the mountainside and begin their baaa-ing routine. 
Boss is not a happy camper.  He pulls hard on his rope and dances around the trees.  When he can't escape, he hides in the brush as well as he can.  The sheep don't attack him.  I don't think they even notice him. 

Steve, undeterred, catches a few cutthroat trout.  This trout and the others in the stream are paler than most cutthroats we see.  Maybe they've evolved that way because the stream bottom is very light-colored in Willow Creek.

The aspens are golden in some places, and green in others:

We will have to wait another week or so for the maximum gold in the mountains.