My Journey

[longhorn1]

There is a place called Wild Horses of Sand Wash Basin in that general area. Hundreds of Wild Horses. Several people have followed these horses, photos, names, calendars, etc. Then the BLM claimed no water no food, and with helicopters rounded up large numbers and shipped them off to inhumane pens to await adoption. The horses did have water and food. Now herds of sheep have shown up. Still a lot of horses but one has to drive. No reason to do what BLM did.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

pkripper.....last winter I spent a considerable amount of time in Bears Ears National Monument and I fell in love with the place. I have plans to return soon enough. If you're interested starting at page 230 you can see my past trip report.....

JD.....yea, I'm aware of the controversy.....



Dispersed campsites were easily found along this stretch of highway.....the stillness of the nights here were what most men dream of.....the stars were bright.....the night air was cool.....



.....and wonderful rock formations beckoned me back into the canyons during the daylight hours.....



As we hiked into yet another canyon we spotted three more wild horses along a ridgeline.....



They cautiously watched us as we moved along below.....



And then they bolted and quickly disappeared over the ridgeline.....



There's just something about the wild horses roaming along the rocky walls that's simply magical.....





It's something I'm unable to explain.....but I do know that there is a special magic that lives up there in the rocky slopes.....



I was extremely fortunate during my stay in Canyon Pintado.....I saw seven wild horses* during our stay.....and what a special treat they were for me.....



.....as were the works of the Ancient Ones that lined the walls of Canyon Pintado.....




*A week after my visit to Canyon Pintado I had a conversation with a field biologist that worked for Fish & Game and I told her about my sightings of the wild horses and she said that she was surprised to hear that I had seen seven wild horses because the BLM had been working right in that area several weeks prior eradicating the area of the wild horses.....I guess I really was extremely fortunate.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Not near as interesting were the remains of the line shack built along a rocky cliff.....



But it's a part of the history of the area.....well worth the effort and time to see.....





We continued south along Highway 139 stopping at every exhibit as we passed by.....







It was simply amazing the sheer volume of the Ancient Ones artistic work.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

One of the many rewards of travel is being able to escape the many distractions of life.....hours & hours of downtime.....and so it was that I just completed my second book of the trip.....

David Roberts.....well respected and accomplished mountaineer & explorer.....the author of 32 books.....he's always been one of my favorites. I'd only read his big mountain books.....but in his later years he caught the bug and discovered the southwest.....the same one that seems to have got me.....



Slowly we drove south.....







Our days in Canyon Pintado had finally come to an end.....maybe a bit too soon.....







It almost seems appropriate to end my Canyon Pintado posts with my favorite work of the Ancient Ones.....the Waving Hands.....

 

[longhorn1]

Beautiful Photos. I follow the Facebook Post of "Wild Horses of Sand Wash Basin". Such dedication by several of these people.

 

[ghostdancer]

We’ll, now you’ve gone and did it to me. I just downloaded Lost World of the Old Ones. Down the rabbit hole I go!

 

[chet6.7]

*A week after my visit to Canyon Pintado I had a conversation with a field biologist that worked for Fish & Game and I told her about my sightings of the wild horses and she said that she was surprised to hear that I had seen seven wild horses because the BLM had been working right in that area several weeks prior eradicating the area of the wild horses.....I guess I really was extremely fortunate.....

I hope she didn't call the BLM.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....thanks.....

Ghostdancer.....you've probably figured out by now that you'll also need to get a copy of "In Search of the Old Ones" also authored by David Roberts. I lucked out and found a used copy for $8 in Cortez, Colorado just a few days ago.....

chet6.7.....I don't think that she was a fan of that program.....I spent better than half an hour with her as she was a wealth of local information.....



Continuing south down Highway 139 the road climbed upwards and eventually we reached Douglas Pass (8,268').....here we parked the rig and hiked high up a forest service road for far better views.....both to the north & to the south.....





It was cold up there.....I was thinking let's go south.....





Once we reached the "summit", I'd had enough.....portions of the road up there were covered in ice & snow.....





Somewhere south of that pass we pulled over onto a BLM road and found ourselves a quiet spot for the night next to an abandoned corral.....



We set out for an evening hike just to see what we could see.....





I just love heading out into the barren lands that are unknown to me.....where even something as small as a stand of Cottonwoods & a clump of Sagebrush in a draw can be seen as a tiny miracle.....I just simply want to see what I can see.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The following day we pulled into Grand Junction, Colorado (2019 population 62,062).....I think that this is one of those "found towns" and I did not like it here.....



We stocked up on food and fuel and drove southeast down Highway 50. I loved this drive between Grand Junction, Colorado and Delta, Colorado.....



More amazing views of the mountains to the east forced us to pull over & have a hike.....





Eventually the road took us to Delta, Colorado (2019 population 8,829).....I liked it here.....



We stayed here in this town for two nights as I had a day trip planned to the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.....we walked the city streets.....





.....and I fell in love with this used car lot.....





They even had a custum truck camper for sale.....

 

[flyboyaviator]

Jerry, I do love the nature pictures, but these pictures of all these beautiful old cars just brings a billion memories, love them. Good luck in all your travels.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

flyboyaviator.....thanks so much.....I think I have an individual picture of every car, truck & tractor that was on that man's lot (I have no idea why). I struggled to choose which pictures I would post here. First I settled on twenty (again.....I have no idea why) and then I whittled it down to five.....it sure was a struggle for me cause I have the same feelings about those cars, trucks & tractors.....



Colorado.....possibly America's most beautiful state (the lower 48 anyhow).....home to fifty three mountain peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation (although that number is often / always debated).....is probably my least visited state in the west. I've always felt that Colorado was just too crowded for me. And then the same goes with national parks.....probably some of the most beautiful land that we Americans own.....but they're also just too crowded for me.....

So next up for us was a national park in Colorado.....a choice that seemed unlikely for us but it was a choice that we indeed did make.....we chose the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park as I'd heard from locals that it would be much less crowded than the south rim.....it was on a Sunday that we went so it seemed like a wise choice.....

A dirt track road brought us to the entrance of the park....and a sign not worthy of a national park was all that announced it's boundary line.....



It was early when we arrived and absolutely nobody was there.....this place was looking pretty good so far.....



But unfortunately this turned out to be more of a park which was designed for drivers.....I much prefer a hike or two.....





The dirt track road simply paralleled the cliffs edge and with thick brush along the entireity of the rim, you had very few options to walk along that rim.....





Each viewpoint had a small parking area marked with a sign.....





The dogs & I ended up walking nearly the entire length of that road along the cliffs rim.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Dogs are allowed on the short access trails here but I saw no sense in bringing two dogs on leash to the edge of a nearly 3,000 foot drop off.....they waited each time in the truck.....







Sometimes at the end of a day I find myself thinking was it worth it.....nearly a half day of driving nearly one hundred miles to spend half a day walking along a dirt track road & peering over a cliff at times.....







At least I knew what was there.....





The return trip to Delta, Colorado was a beauty.....and ending the day in the city's hot tub followed up with a hot shower.....well, that was just superb.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We continued south on Highway 50 and our next stop would be at the BLM office in Montrose, Colorado. I had two questions (or is it three ?) for these guys.....where is the Cottonwood Cave & the Tabeguache Cave and what's the best route to get there ? The guys behind the counter said they'd never heard of those caves but after a few minutes of them searching on the internet, they suggested I go to Nucla, Colorado and ask someone there.....and for a route they suggested I try County Road 90.....also known as the Rim Rocker Trail.....

I headed up County Road 90 onto the Uncomphagre Plateau.....met a muddy dude on a very muddy dirt bike somewhere along that road that said to me "turn around cause you'll never make it down the west side". I took his advice, backtracked to Montrose, Colorado & had a cup of coffee with Ace Brown and shortly thereafter we continued south on Highway 550.....stopped in Ridgway, Colorado for a quick lunch and a walk around town.....



The mountain views here are simply the best.....thought about returning to Ouray, Colorado to sit in that hidden hot spring, thought twice about that and.....







.....took Highway 62 instead towards Placerville, Colorado.....and wow, what a beautiful drive that was & is.....







Made a stop at the Dallas Divide (8,970') along the way.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

In Placerville, Colorado we took a right at the intersection and headed back in a northwesterly direction driving along Highway 141.....we made a stop in Norwood, Colorado and this is where I met the aforementioned field biologist.....she was a wealth of fantastic information.....told me where to find the sheep & the elk, and told me of lots of other interesting stuff as well....but the Cottonwood Cave & Tabeguache Cave.....nope.....never heard of them.....

We spent the night outside of Nuturita, Colorado along the right-of-way of Highway 141.....



The following morning we pulled into Nucla, Colorado (2019 population 644) to find out what we could find.....

The streets were mostly empty at this time of day (probably are always empty) but I did see two women walking into a hair salon. I followed them in and picked their brains.....yes they said that they knew of the Tabeguache Cave and gave me directions but they seemed unsure.....



So I headed over to the Trading Post, which by the way is where you purchase your Rim Rocker Trail souvenirs, to find out what I could find. It was a "nope, never heard of those caves".....



Next up was the Co-Op where I was able to question at least a half dozen people.....and finally one guy says "yep, I know them". He said Cottonwood Cave was too difficult to find but he gave me directions to Tabeguache Cave (which of course were different from the salon owners directions).....



The road passed through beautiful ranches and wide open range land.....







Eventually the road dropped down into a canyon.....



.....and crossed over a bridge (oddly a bridge was never mentioned in either's directions).....



Beyond the bridge we came to a hairpin turn..... both of my sources said to park at the hairpin turn.....but was this the hairpin turn that they spoke of ? Soon enough I would know the answer.....

 

[tgil]

How did you like Ridgway? I've stayed in both Ouray and Silverton, but have heard Ridgway is a good choice also? Supposed to be some good eats there, maybe?