Come what may...
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| This might be the end of the line... for today, anyway! |
A week or so ago, I re-shared a past blog post. I was simply doing something -- ANYTHING -- to keep our Facebook photography page (Photography by Dan & Tammi Capron) relevant and active. The post that I shared was Life's a Beach in Weatherman Draw, and unbeknownst to me, it got Dan thinking.
Dan has been working hard at getting some maintenance done on my atv. He is feeling a bit of pressure, since we have a big week of riding less than a month away. However, it has also been way too long since we have been out with the cameras! So I told him over breakfast that I was going to drive down to the Pryors to look for bluebirds, and he was welcome to join me. It didn't take too much arm-twisting to convince him that he wanted to come along.
As we neared the Pryors, Dan asked if I really had my heart set on "Bluebird Wash" (see A Bluebird Bonanza), or if maybe we ought to go back to Weatherman Draw. That was okay with me, so we turned away from the Pryors onto Cottonwood Draw Road. As we crested a small rise where we could see the parking lot at the trailhead, I was dismayed to count eight vehicles! This was NOT what I had in mind! I wanted to avoid people, not join a hiking club!
We turned around in the parking lot and drove back to Bobcat Pass. Having ridden over this road on our 4-wheelers, we knew we wouldn't get far in the Subaru. After just a couple of miles, we parked the car and started walking. The meadowlarks were quite vocal, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a photogenic one! When it finally took flight, we resumed our walk.
I wanted to get to the top of the hill, but Dan's preference was to get down into the rocks and look for petroglyphs. (That's a switch!) We did something we rarely do ~ we went our separate ways. After a bit, we spotted each other, met up, and compared pictures. (I had a chipmunk and he had a bunny.) We walked together for a bit, ogling the strange shapes that wind and water have left in the soft sandstone. Oddly enough, we again drifted off in our own different directions, each drawn by different intriguing rock formations. Eventually, we reunited once more and returned to the car. Dan was ready to call it a day and head home.
The Weatherman Draw trailhead had cleared considerably by the time we drove back by, but it was too late in the day to start that hike. (It is about a mile to get to where the petroglyphs are.) Continuing toward home, I was watching the landscape roll by when I noticed a deep gash in the far hillside. I pointed it out to Dan, and his interest was piqued. This time I stuck close to him as we followed a dry wash to the base of the hill.
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| We rounded a curve in the wash and came face-to-face with Mud Man! |
The canyon that I had spotted from the road looked like an ideal spot for petroglyphs, but unlike Weatherman Draw, this was NOT an easy hike! We scrambled up steep, sandy banks, squeezed between trees and the high rock walls, and even crawled under some fallen trees! We contemplated turning around a time or two, but we had come too far to give up! The area definitely felt like prime mountain lion territory, but despite evidence of occupation, obviously Kitty wasn't at home. (We didn't find any ancient art on the rock walls, either.) Having reached the end of the trail, we carefully made our way back out of the canyon. But we left much to be explored, so another trip is definitely in order!
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| It's a LOT deeper and steeper than it looks! |
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| This entire are is pitted with these cavities! |
*** Bonus Pics***
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| I did find a solitary bluebird. |
