January 8, 2012

Sam's Mesa Spring

On our second day in the San Rafael Desert, we head back to Sam's Mesa for further exploration. 
The views are classic western, worthy of a movie set. 
The Henry Mountains (highest point, 11,500 ft.) loom in the background. 
The yellow party balloons seem a little out of place.  The wind must have carried them a long distance.  The horses think they are scary at first, but our boys calm down when the balloons don't seem to bite.  The strings are hung on a thorny bush.  Good thing we don't hear a sudden loud pop.  That could cause the horses to have permanent balloon phobia! 
This sandstone pinnacle looks like 3 smoke stacks. (Or 3 of something more phallic, but I'm far too genteel to point that out.)
Ten miles down a sandy road, we reach the slope leading to Sam's Mesa Spring.  The hill is too snowy and slippery for the horses. 
Steve and Daisy walk to the bottom of the canyon where cottonwood trees mark the presence of water. 
If you look closely in the above photo, you can see Daisy sniffing around the trunk of the cottonwood tree.  The spring has strong flow for this dry country, but the stream is frozen in the canyon's shadows.   In summer, this must be a haven for birds and wildlife.

19 comments:

  1. Spectacular ride & country out there, for sure. I remember so in awe of these settings when we traveled across country & back several times.

    You so capture the beauty that God has given us to enjoy, Janie. Thank you.

    Have a beautiful week ~
    TTFN ~
    Marydon

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  2. Those balloons! Who could even imagine you'd see them amid the rock! I love the stream photos. And - sometimes it's good to be bad...(or so Lucinda tells me.)

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  3. Beautiful, Janie... I was thinking that the last couple of photos would be a great place to visit during the summer... Neat!!!!!

    Love the 3 smoke stacks!!!!! Looks a little like the Arches area.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. Superb ancient scenery - rather cold in the shade, though.

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  5. Amazing art created by Mother Nature. But it sure does look cold.

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  6. Incredible country ... and amazing photos. Makes me want to break out for the high country and never stop climbing. Looks like an interesting riparian valley. Funny too how in the distance something like those balloons can really mystify (and get the imagination going.)

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  7. The bright balloons certainly look out of place amongst all that sculpted sandstone.

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  8. Reminds one of the Wild West - a lot of wilderness but no gunmen or violence. Great Post.

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  9. This scenery definitely would be worthy of a good western. I love the mountains and the rock formations. The picture of you, Boss(?) and Daisy is wonderful. I think I would be surprised by the party balloons as well.

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  10. As you know, my Husband's brother died at the end of November. We had a memorial service for him at the beginning of December. At the end of the service, we released yellow helium balloons. I'm going to chose to think that the balloons you found were ours! Mike would have loved for them to end up in such a place (even as I cringe at the environmental impact).

    Looks like a lovely, albeit very cold ride!

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  11. Gosh, I just fall more in love with Utah the more I see photos from your rides. Simply stunning landscapes and scenery! You certainly had perfect weather.

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  12. Hi Janie, Beautiful western scenery, except for the balloons.. when they drop into the sea, marine-life eat them, get sick or die.

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  13. What absolutely spectacular countryside to ride in and see!!

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  14. Yer killing me. this is incredible country! more more more!
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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  15. The swell is very massive and very interesting because of all the rock formations. We never tire of visiting it or even driving past it. From Highway 6 heading toward's Green River It always appears to me that a giant dragon is emerging from the ground--it is a fantastic place. I really enjoyed these last two posts.

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  16. It does look like a beautiful movie set. Great photos, Janie. And thanks for the kind thoughts for Mrs. T. She is recovering quickly from the surgery and the oncology conference today was all positive. No chemo required. And a pill for reducing estrogen. Things are looking up around here. :)

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  17. Happy to see you riding again because we get to see all this beautiful scenery again. Also glad you pointed Daisy out in the last photo. She really blends in. Happy New Year!

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  18. This is a beautiful place! That's great you are able to get out for rides like this in the winter.

    We haven't had much snow lately, so I haven't been skiing or blogging, mostly staying in and reading. I'll get back out there soon hopefully.

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  19. Thank you for being genteel...that keeps your blog at a PG rating. :) Me? NOT so much.
    The balloons flip me out a bit....they are so bad for the environment when people just let them go free like that.
    Gorgeous views Janie!

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