Sheepish in the Sun

We rode to about 8500 feet on Wild Mountain and came to large snowbanks on the north facing slopes. 

Daisy likes snow.

On south facing slopes with plenty of sun, the snow was long gone, and pretty yellow balsamroot bloomed everywhere. 

What's that up there among the flowers? Why, it's Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep!  We saw four of them.  All had big curving horns, indicating they were a bachelor herd. 

They didn't seem too worried about the humans on horseback about 300 yards down the hill.  After watching us with curiosity for awhile, they lay down for a nap in the sun.  These photos were taken with our little 10x zoom camera.  Daisy never saw the sheep, which were pretty small from that distance, and I guess the wind was wrong for smelling them, too.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep are native to this canyon country, and are featured in prehistoric rock art that is thousands of years old. When settlers brought in domestic sheep, the domestics competed for scarce grazing and introduced diseases to which the bighorns were susceptible.  Bighorn numbers declined dramatically and they were absent from the area by about 1950.  They were reintroduced, starting in 1952, along the Green River not far from the location where we saw them.

The Meaning of Life

Just past the Colorado state line, where no one was available to greet us, we looked over the hill and into a valley and spied this old cabin.  Had we reached a welcome center after all?

Apparently not.  No one was home.  It's just a cowboy line cabin.  Maybe it's still used once in a while.  The pipe sticking up through the roof indicates there's a cozy pot-bellied stove within.  Accommodations might be pretty good.

Daisy liked the pond out front.  She took a few moments to cool off

and pond(er) the meaning of life through her reflection.

Traveling Wild

Wild Mountain area's beauty lies in vast rolling hills, lonely trails, and amazing views.  Above, the stitched panorama shot shows the Green River Slopes on either side of the Green River Gorge (the deep cut is part of the well-known rafting destination, the Gates of Lodore).  The highest point on the horizon is the distant triangular mountain, Zenobia Peak, 9000 feet, located in a remote section of Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado.

The above Google Earth view shows our entire route in blue.  We traveled 18 miles and 4500 feet elevation gain and loss.  (There were a lot of ups and downs!)

At our turnaround point, we were near the edge of the Green River Gorge, with the 3000 foot deep Canyon of Lodore below us.

We crossed from Utah into Colorado on this ride.  See the sign "Entering Colorado, State Line." What, no welcome center?  No restrooms?  No free coffee or juice?  I feel cheated!

Blooming in the Wild

The high desert of the Wild Mountain area is in its early spring bloom. The photo above is a panorama taken from 8600 feet, looking down on Diamond Plateau with Split Mountain in the background just to the right of center.

Springbeauty carpeted the ground at 7500 feet.  This flower is one of the first to bloom after the snow melts.

We also saw phlox,

bluebells,

Nuttall's violets,

and balsamroot.

On the hillsides at around 8000 feet, barrel cactus offered unexpected beauty.

Beetles took advantage of its nourishment.

Amost back to our trailhead, we saw this group of young bucks, apparently a bachelor herd.  Their velvety antlers are growing.   The one on the right seems to have only one antler.  I wonder if the lady deer will scorn him for being lopsided...

Walk on the Wild Side

The area around Wild Mountain (northwest of Vernal) features BLM land stretching for miles and miles.  We've ridden the horses here before, but this time we checked out conditions on foot.

We climbed a ridge and looked down on lots of wild territory.

The wind was blowing hard.  From the permanent bent posture of this Douglas fir, I surmise that the gusts were not unusual.

The cliffs were awesome. Daisy took advantage of her lookout point to scan the valley for deer, elk, bunnies, cows, or any other friends she might joyously greet.

She really liked finding a cool patch of snow.

A stock pond was ideal for a swim.

 The real highlight of the trip (for Daisy) was finding this delicious, well-aged deer leg.  She looks a bit guilty, probably because she suspects she wasn't supposed to bring it into the truck.  It was a little smelly, so we stowed it in the pickup bed.  At home, Daisy enjoyed it for her evening backyard treat.