The High Plains, Some Drifters and a Few Wild Ponies...

We set off from Green River, Wyoming with a brochure survival guide, a rudimentary map and a "Fistful of Dollars" (well, not really but you can sense a theme here, I'm sure).  We were determined to follow the Wildhorse Trail, described as the habitat of the West's wild horse population.  With just  "A Few  Dollars More.." (not really, but again: Theme!) we trekked into the wilderness trak in our trusty "PaintedWagon - (get it?  Painted Wagon? get it?) and quickly started referring to our transportation as "Dirty Harry" (Ha!) due to the incredible clouds of dust on this road to nowhere.

It was one of those endeavors that made you pretty sure that it would take an act of Congress to meet the objective of seeing Wild Horses (and we all can see how effective Congress is just now...) there were just miles and miles of high desert and we were just a lonely group of "Pale Riders" (c'mon, I'm on a role now and just can't let it go...) trekking where "2 Mules" (downright clever now...) would have served better. 

We did luck out pretty quickly and get to see Pronghorn Antelope (the only American antelope and the star of the famous cowboy tune...."where the deer and the antelope plaaayy")

Antelope: "Playing"

We used "Magnum Force" with our eyeballs and finally spotted definitive proof that we were on the trail of Wild Horses - what Wick refers to as 'Road Apples' - lots and lots of road apples.

Barry became committed to the search and in an "Any which Way You Can" manuever careened off road and onto some kind of pioneer trail out into the sagebrush.  I'm telling you this road was so bad it turned us....you got it, now...."Every Which Way But Loose...."  (I'm just killing myself here....)  Running this particular "Gauntlet" did have a BIG payoff however when we were able to watch an entire herd of wild horses from across a steep canyon.

Rather than facing "Heartbreak Ridge" (I'm just brilliant now...) we were rewarded with an unanticipated sighting of a herd of elk:

I promise - it is Elk - 6 of them.

Although reluctant to make like "Bronco Billy" again "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" (I'll leave it to you to decide who is who) turned for the campground feeling we had had an extraordinary experience with an American Icon. 

And lest anyone have any doubt at all we were even treated to scenes straight out of "Rawhide" as we made our way:



Yeehaw!  We are having a grand old time here in the Old West.