I use the term "work" loosely. At least for today.
We arrived at the Sanctuary a little early today so we took the dirt road past the Welcome center to the natural amphitheater we had driven by yesterday. We parked and walked up a small hill which opened to a large grassy area bounded on the back side by a huge, stone cove. I'll show you some pictures in a minute, but I want you to know that these pictures can't possibly show the enormity of this place. As I said, it is a natural amphitheater that BF uses for meetings, social gatherings and fund raisers. At the back of the overhang is a flowing stream with trees and bushes growing along it.
We spent more time than planned listening to our voices echo off the curved walls, then the absolute silence, then and following the clear stream along the walls. We hurried back to Horse Haven to report for our work shift.
We met our fellow volunteers, got a quick safety talk and all got into the 5 person Polaris Ranger ATV thingy along with 5 manure forks. Guess what we were going to do... Our volunteer coordinator, Diane, drove around and into the various paddocks where we all got out, grabbed a fork, and commenced scooping manure! Yesterday, on the tour, I was impressed with how immaculate the corrals were. Now I know why.
"fruits" of our labors |
best friends snoozing in the sun (note the immaculate paddock) |
our clean up crew meeting Missy, the miniature horse. Missy came to BF with a broken leg, which has completely healed. She was being taken on a walkabout for strengthening. |
River |
Cowboy you met Cowboy yesterday, he is the horse with the terribly swayed back he was born that way |
Chuck was found wandering down the road, no one claimed him |
Next to Horse Haven, is Piggy Paradise, so we strolled over for a quick look.
meet Penelope, she has dementia |
all are welcome at Best Friends |
nice shady wallow for the piggys |
see the restaurant up top? |
interesting marks on the rocks below |
Inside the mouth of this cave is a large, clear, lake! The temperature outside was 80+ and once we entered the darkness, it dropped immediately, probably only around 50 degrees.
On our way back, Diane had a few more surprises to show us. These treasures were just hidden away in plain site. No tourists, no tour buses, only the 5 of us. Incredible, absolutely incredible.
Next, we got out and scrambled up a hill and through a copse of bushes that revealed a tiny, red rock dwelling. Its ceiling was blacked by years of fires.
a tiny hidden Hobbitt house |
A few more miles of dusty riding, talking about what we saw, who we were, where we came from and how we felt about this experience.
One last time, Diane stopped and we got out and followed her to an ancient Anasazi grain storage under another overhanging amphitheater like formation.
long ago a rancher put up this makeshift fence to keep his cattle out |
one of a few pictographs we saw on the grain storage's walls |
Some first day of "work" eh? Tomorrow we go to the dogs.
Those rock formations take my breath away!
ReplyDeleteYou two are in a little bit of heaven. What a wonderful time you are going to have "working" this summer. We will enjoy following along.
ReplyDeleteNot bad for a days "work." Beautiful animals and amazing rocks with hidden gems! Now that's the good life! How do they know the Penelope has dementia?
ReplyDeleteHee, hee...I'm reading about 5 days of your posts backwards :-) And enjoying every minute!
ReplyDeleteThat's great you got a personal tour after shoveling! BF really has a spectacular canyon.