April 3, 2011

Old Trails and Noisy Burros

Still looking for the historic cow, cowboy, and outlaw trail leading down to the Sand Slide (which eventually leads into the Green River corridor), we rode the length of Goat Park, a huge expanse of grassland.  No goats live there now, but maybe there were some once. (Or maybe "goat" is a misnomer for desert bighorn sheep?)
An abandoned sandy 2-track makes an excellent place for a gallop.
Near the end of the old 2-track, we found what we were looking for.  Long ago, someone had marked the spot with a pile of juniper branches.  This way down was safer than the Dead Donkey Trail ...
but only marginally.
A horse could make it down, and undoubtedly many have, but since a wrong step could mean a long fall followed by an unpleasantly sudden stop, we didn't ride it.  Steve did walk down, of course.  Not me.  I don't like getting too close to anything cliffy.  Anyway, he was convinced it was indeed the way the cowboys and outlaws descended.
On the way back, we found some potholes for the animals.  Boss drank, but Coco wouldn't.  You can't see the water, but it's in a sandstone depression right in front of Coco.  The old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," is only too true.  Daisy patiently waited her turn.
As we made our way back toward camp, we saw some wild burros.  Daisy went up to meet them.  They didn't approve and hee-hawed loudly in protest that anyone would dare invade their "pasture."

18 comments:

  1. Haha...I tried to imagine them hee-hawing....but would have loved to hear it for real. They're pretty cute looking;)
    Such a wide open space. And I'm not one for anything too "cliffy" either!!

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  2. Glad you found it but doesn't look to trailish to me. The burros are So cute and I don't blame them for not wanting to share the awesome landscape. Love the new header!

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  3. love the burros...I bet the can be noisy...

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  4. I guess if I were an outlaw and desperate to get away I MIGHT go down a cliffy trail. I'd have to be very, very desperate.

    I can imagine the racket burros would make, the echoes too!

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  5. "too cliffy", I like that expression. I will refer to it in the future as now that the years are adding up, I find I am not as fond of things too cliffy as I once was in my reckless carefree youth.

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  6. Another fabulous trip, Janie ... love the donkeys getting miffed at the invasion ... chuckle.

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  7. How wonderful to see those burros in the wild!
    I laughed at Coco and the reluctance to drink!!!!

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  8. I'm impressed with Steve's (and your) persistence. I am also glad that the dead donkey was the only dead critter on that trail. It was interesting to see the feral cattle as well as the wild burros. The landscape is as spectacular as ever.

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  9. How exciting (and scary)! That photo of Daisy looking under Coco is great! I liked the former post on dead Donkey Trail, too. Glad you are able to get out and ride. It's snowing hard here in Breck.

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  10. Really cool! And quite a story. I'm glad it had a happy ending and this time finding live burros!

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  11. That is very wild. You guys and your adventures. I'm amazed.

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  12. The burros look so cute and happy in the pretty landscape.

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  13. I didn't realize that wild Burros came in different colors, and was surprised to see buckskin and black. They are cute!!

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  14. Beautiful landscape, complete with wild burros, incredible!

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  15. true about the horses, but a dog will always drink :) loved the burro photo's

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  16. Such a long long trail .... Is that how big Utah is? Oh, I wish I can go on a trail like that. Since I never ride a horse, not once in my life, I can do on foot.

    Very amusing. For once, I am entertained again.

    Janie, I wandered away from my blogging trek. Anyway, I still don't know how to keep in touch with you. I really would like to buy a book from you.

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  17. Hi Janie, I have caught up with your wonderful blog posts... I love going with you when you all are out there on the trail....

    Seeing that dead burro reminded me of a dead deer which we saw that had leaped over a tall waterfall. So sad....

    Back from vacation --trying to catch up a little!!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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