Just the Two of Us

While most of our rides in the Pryors are group affairs, this particular outing found us by ourselves. One buddy was hunting, another was out of town, and a third cited his honey-do list. But that's okay, once in a while anyway. It means we can spend as long as we want taking pictures!

Friday afternoon, we set up the camper on the east side of the Pryors and rode partway up Burnt Timber Road. It was warm and sunny, and we found some horses to photograph. But Saturday dawned cloudy (which did make for a gorgeous sunrise). The mountain top was hidden in the clouds, but we "mounted up" anyway. A rainbow promised a good day. We did get some scattered showers, but mostly it was just misty. When we reached the arch and the area where we have seen sheep, we didn't even stop. With the mist, we could barely see the spires where they like to hang out. (For the usual views from this point, check out A Dry and Dusty Day) Just before we reached the plateau where the horses congregate, the rain came more heavily, then turned to snow. 

At least Friday was nice! 

I was hoping to eat our lunch in Penn's Cabin, but it was already occupied. So we drove on to the next group of trees. Dan spread a tarp over the two machines, and our little shelter was surprisingly warm. After we ate, we tucked our chins and sprinted the rest of the way across the meadow. The wind blew the snow directly into my face with painful force. It was a relief to turn onto Burnt Timber and get out of the headwind. 

As we followed the road down, we encountered a small family band of horses also making their way down to warmer elevations. Obviously, the road was the easiest walking for them, and we followed them for quite a ways. It was slow going since we didn't want to pressure them, but it was fun to watch them, especially a little grey foal. Because of the damp atmosphere, though, we only got out one camera, one time. 

Eventually, we dropped below the clouds and snow. In a meadow, we once again spotted horses. (For the "name-droppers" among my readers, this band was led by Pride, son of Cloud. Yes, we ran into someone who knows the horses well and was glad to "introduce" us.) The rain had stopped, so even though it was still misty and cool, we got out the cameras and spent some time watching and photographing the horses. I was particularly taken with a mare and a colt named Sirius. After a while, we continued on down to the camper. Since there really aren't any side trails and we had a two-hour drive to get home, we packed up and called it a day. Of course, NOW the sun comes out! LOL

Pride 

***Bonus Pics***

So you know THE tractor? Look closely, and you will spot it! 

Seems like there is an old saying...
Red sky in the morning...

I'm pretty sure that it was snowing on that side of the mountains, too!