February 2, 2012

Twelve Mile Wash

With weather so mild and snowless, we've been riding almost every day.  Twelve Mile Wash is close to home and quite convenient for daily workouts. 
We find interesting rock formations,
and vistas of mountains over sandy canyons and sandstone hills. 
In over 60 miles of riding this week, we haven't met a soul on this huge BLM (Bureau of Land Management) tract. 
A power line passes overhead in one place.  We followed the sandy access road along part of our trek.
When we came up on our first white cow, the horses were terrified.  Apparently they thought it was a giant sheep/ogre, and Boss believes any sheep is out to kill him.  Later, seeing the white ones among the more acceptable black color gave the horses new confidence that these were harmless cows, not scary abominable sheep-creatures. 
I had never seen a "witness post" sign like this before. Someone has used it for target practice, proving their semi-amazing criminal marksmanship.
We located a survey benchmark nearby. 

26 comments:

  1. Fabulous scenery, great shots. Interesting about the horses and their fear of white cows.

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  2. Spectacular ride, Janie. Silly cows scare a horse ... I'd never have known.

    Have a beautiful day ~
    TTFN ~
    Marydon

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  3. Ah, poor Boss - but you can't introduce them to all unknowns . . .
    Beautiful photos as ever.

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  4. Hi Janie, Boss is a smart horse, aren't we all afraid of unknown white creatures.
    Glad your weather is nice enough so you and Steve are able to ride these wonderful trails in February.
    Hugs,
    Pam

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  5. I many times wonder who enjoys these rides more - you and Steve, or Daisy and the horses. ;-) Glad to see you're taking advantage of the beautiful weather!

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  6. Love those rocks, near and far. Has been usually warm this winter. Good for riding but not for the land. Or those cows either. I like to find survey markers. 60 miles in a week, wow.

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  7. Beautiful vistas! Over 60 miles of riding this week...what fun.

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  8. You are very fortunate to have BLM land so close to home as you do. Good you are enjoying it.

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  9. I just love the wide open spaces!

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  10. Very beautiful and rugged country you are going through.

    I remember going out with my brother and Dad while the old man did something that was kind of like surveying but not really. Brother and I would cover up the benchmarks with big rocks. We thought we were being rebels until dad found out and he shrugged it off. He didn't care.

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  11. beautiful scenery Janie.. I love your header...

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  12. Hi Janie, It has been a mild winter for most of our country... I can imagine how much you two are enjoying being out and about this time of year...

    Great pictures... Some of those rock formations remind me of the Arches area.

    Love the white cow story... Cute!!!!

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  13. I love finding those old benchmarks. We don't have any BLM in Florida ... not that I know of anyway.

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  14. that's so funny that he's scared of sheep and white cows. I'm glad you are enjoying the weather.

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  15. Beautiful scenery and rock formations Interesting that the horses were afraid of the white cows at first.

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  16. What a wonderful place for a ride, even if Boss is afraid he might encounter a giant killer sheep. Perhaps seeing a white cow will give him more confidence around other white creatures. I really like the rock formations and the window in the rock in your fourth photo. Thanks for taking us along.

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  17. Hi Janie, I thought maybe you and Steve were out riding the trails. I had to laugh at Boss' fright over the white cows! Those rock formations are spectacular. Did you get any snow from this last storm? It's pounding Denver and the Foothills, but we got only a dusting here in the mountains. Very discouraging!

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  18. The rock formations are so cool looking.
    So, what you are saying is ridding in this area is not a great way to meet people? :)
    Your horses are quite funny!

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  19. All that space and no people. Amazing.

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  20. Not only are they amazing rock formations they are crazy cool. They look almost manmade. What a treat to ride like that...having all that beauty to yourself. Glad you share it with us.

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  21. My horse is afraid of cows ~ in any color. And, she really lost it last autumn when she saw her first buffalo out on Antelope Island. If I had a trailer I'd be out there in a heartbeat. Looks like a lovely spot for a ride. :)

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  22. Those rock formations are amazing!

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  23. Poor Boss - 'any sheep is out to kill him' . . . laughing out loud!

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  24. again, LOVE IT! the trails and seeing no people in 60 miles.
    i named one of our regular training washes 'Blond Cow Wash' because we saw a white cow in there once. everybody knows it by that name now!
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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  25. It's sounds lovely to have so much beauty all to yourselves. I wonder why no one else is out enjoying it!

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  26. The land and sky are pretty, but I just love the name Twelve Mile Wash! With a name like that there's no way it could be bad.

    Thank you for leaving a comment on my "Tampa Bay Hiker" blog. FYI, for some reason the comment did not post to the blog, but I did get the email saying what you wrote.

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