All Kinds Of Beautiful

Just over a week ago we drove 25 miles outside of Cody and onto BLM land.

McCullough Peaks is a very well known area around Cody because it is home to several herds of wild horses.

During the summer small buses filled with tourists from around the world venture out to this area, with everyone eager to see the horses.

We ventured out there very often the last time we were in Cody because these horses are wonderful to see.

They are hardy creatures - able to survive the hottest and driest summers as well the the snowiest and coldest of winters.

Somehow these beautiful animals manage to survive and even thrive solely on minimal water and various types of desert grasses and bushes.

Disappointingly we have not had a lot of luck finding them since we came back to Cody.

We have caught occasional sight of stallions traveling together (that have been pushed out of the herd by younger and stronger males).

A couple of times we found the herd but did not want to venture too far off the main trails in winter, so couldn't get close to them.

But so far (more times than not) we have not been able to find them.

On this day we again could not find the horses but we DID find a huge herd of antelope not far from the highway and only a few minutes after we eagerly turned onto snow-covered BLM land.

They are difficult to see in some of the pictures so click on any picture and it will enlarge..................

There has been a couple of times out the Northfork when we have seen wild animals and pulled over, only to be greeted by other nature lovers who have also stopped to enjoy the sight before them.

These people always have amazing cameras - the kind with extraordinarily large lenses.  

The kind of cameras that take 10 pictures every second with one push of the button.

The kind that I covet when I see them (knowing how wonderful the pictures must turn out) but also the kind that I know I would destroy within weeks or months.

LC has asked me a few times over the years if I want a big, fancy schmancy camera and I always tell him no.

Too expensive. 
Too big to carelessly shove into the side pocket of a pair of shorts or long pants.  Too high maintenance for a woman with no patience for high maintenance ANYTHING....................

We found the antelope so quickly and I power snapped pictures so quickly that I didn't even notice until I downloaded these pictures just how great the light was...................

Zooming in and zooming out, trying to keep track of the herd as they ran in one direction and then changed direction, and then crossed over the snow-covered trail.

They ran from right side to left side of the road, ran 100 yards onto BLM land and then finally came to a halt...................

Tracks in the snow made by some small desert critter...............

By the time we had driven from Cody, driven on BLM land, watched a large herd of antelope running to and fro and across from one side of the road to the other, it was time for a puppy to run.

Parking in the middle of the snowy trail I reached for the back door, opened it and watched as an overeager pup jumped gleefully down to the ground.

Within seconds she was running with joy in the snow...............

The desert in winter.....................

More little tracks from one more little creature................

This picture was taken after LC and I climbed up a small hill so that we could overlook the mountains.

From our elevated position I looked back in the direction from which we had come, and unexpectedly saw the antelope herd one more time..............

Puppy running to catch up with us..................

We had planned on going only as far as the fence in the pictures above, but on the spur of the moment decided that we would stay on this same road all the way to Willwood (only a couple of miles from Powell).

It would be a long and slow drive, but the day was beautiful, the scenery was beautiful and we were alone out there.

In the quiet and isolation of a winter day we make the quick decision that we would wander further and further into the solitary landscape of BLM.............

Vast emptiness.....................

I had forgotten about this place.

The first time we were here was five years ago.

It was the middle of summer and the sweeping badlands in front of us were brown and beige and barren.

We reached this point on the trail, stopped the vehicle in the middle of the narrow trail and climbed out.

It was a recon stop - at the top of the trail and we had no idea what was over the other side, so we stopped and walked to the edge of what looked like a drop off, just so we could scope out what lay ahead of us.

On the back side of the drop off was more trail - steep for a short way but doable, and the steep drop off quickly evened out to more flat and winding trail that appeared to go on forever.................

We stopped at this same spot five years later.

Only this time it was to walk and wander again before "going further and seeing more".............

She is a sled dog.

She doesn't love to chase balls or fetch sticks or jump into the water over and over again.

Her greatest joy is to run......................

Four hours after we turned off the Greybull Highway and pulled onto BLM land we found ourselves back in the "civilization" of the small community of Willwood (4 miles from Powell).

It was the long and slow way to get to Powell, but the time was worth it.

It wasn't about the destination.

It was all about the journey.

In all that time we only saw antelope on the Greybull Highway end, and cows on the Willwood end.

Not one person in all that time.

But all kinds of beautiful..............

In January in Northern Russia, everything vanishes beneath a deep blanket of whiteness. Rivers, fields, trees, roads, and houses disappear, and the landscape becomes a white sea of mounds and hollows. On days when the sky is gray, it is hard to see where earth merges with air. On brilliant days when the sky is a rich blue, the sunlight is blinding, as if millions of diamonds were scattered on the snow, refracting light.............Rober K Massie, Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman