Bigger is Better

From North Platte, we traveled some 145 miles down the road to Grand Island, arriving on October 6. There we stayed in one of our favorite destinations, Hall County Park. It was a short stop...just two nights this time, but we enjoyed the park and took some lovely long walks.

On Thursday, Nickie and I drove an hour south and east to Clay Center for a herding lesson with John Holman, a friend of our Leander Herding Coach, Sheryl McDonald. Nickie still remembers what herding sheep is all about, but was too excited to pay much attention to my commands. That's just as well, because I had forgotten more than she had. John (Holman) said we both had a lot to learn, and that I should try not to "micro-manage" my dog. He said as a Border Collie, she is very smart and should be encouraged to think for herself. As he said, we both have a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to getting back into our herding lessons when we get home.  While we were having our lesson, corn was being harvested in an adjacent field.  A big harvester like this one with a "12-row header" was harvesting 12 rows at a time.  The corn was going into a big hopper, and the stalks and leaves were being ground up and distributed out the back as mulch.  It's farming on a scale we don't see in Hamilton County!

We arrived in Hutchinson, Kansas, on Friday, October 8, and were thrilled to find a number of our RV friends already in camp. The HDT (Heavy Duty Truck) Rally started on Sunday and continued through the week, with seminars every day, as well as plenty of socializing. For folks new to this blog, the HDT group is made up primarily of people who pull their RVs (mostly fifth wheels) with big trucks that normally haul heavy cargo on the highways. These HDTs have been modified for personal use, and are a very safe way to pull the heavier RVs. (Not only can they pull them effortlessly, more important, they can stop them!)



Henry and Davena Szmyt



All during the week, the guys poured over each others' HDTs, examining everything from hitches to beds to stuff under the hoods. Several times each day, I would hear the deep rumble of one of the big trucks (Volvos, Peterbilts, Kenworths, Freightliners and a Western Star) starting up. It's different from the sound a Harley Hog makes, but just a compelling, comforting even.

Photos from the Rally, and some of our other activities follow.




The RDBE (Rigs Driven By Estrogen) Women at Yoder, Kansas



Line Dancing with Danielle Mayer and Pat McFall



Potlucks are always popular!

   As usual, there were plenty of pets in attendance, including

Poppy Mayer




Marty Dixon



The Rally ended officially on Saturday morning, but quite a few participants stayed over for a couple of days. On Saturday night, the rumble of the big trucks gave way to the deep-throated roar of race cars. A large group of us attended the Auto and School Bus Races at the Kansas State Fair Raceway. We were told that auto races have been held there for 100 years, and that 2010 marks the 100th Anniversary for the Raceway.

Our Group in the Grandstand

We watched races for "Semis,"

as well as for "Sprint Cars."

Between heats, we were entertained by School Bus Races. Here are a few of the school buses warming up the croud before the races, as well as shots of their "competition." I'll have to say that the semis and sprint cars are a lot more exciting!

The races were exhiliarating, but it was also fun to visit the pits. Sweaty mechanics and drivers worked feverishly to ready their cars for the next heat, or to repair damage from the previous one. The smell of hot rubber tires, fuel and exhaust filled the air, and you couldn't help but be energized by what was going on around you.



John Checks Out the Pits

It was a fantastic week, and we look forward to more fun and fellowship next year!

Another Doggone Good Time!

We said a reluctant goodbye to South Dakota and headed south back into Nebraska. Evening on October 2nd found us at Holiday RV Park just off Interstate 80 in North Platte. The sites are narrow, but shady, and the park is very convenient to the local WalMart, and more important, to Waggin' Tails Dog Park! It's a great two-acre fenced park with grass, water, shade, seating, and lots of dog friends. There is also a nice walking trail adjacent to the park if humans want to stretch their legs as well.

Nickie and Lucky Dog enjoyed their first off-leash time since leaving Custer, and Dakota enjoyed her first romp with the Bagley Pack! As you can tell from the following photos, it certainly gets their stamp of approval!

 

We had a doggone good time!  Wish you could have been here!

Big Doin's

While in the area, we spent a couple of hours in Hot Springs at the Mammoth Site. Discovered in the 1970s during a construction project, the site preserves the fossil remains of Columbian and woolly mammoths, as well as camels, wolves and giant bears. The animals became trapped in a sinkhold some 26,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. The indoor excavation features the remains of some 58 mammoths, and describes how the bones are being preserved and studied.
　
Here are several photos from the actual excavation, as well as full-size mammoth replicas and a replica of a bone shelter made from their remains.

Hold Your Horses!

Just a few miles down the road from Custer, just south of Hot Springs, is the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. Founded by Dayton O. Hyde in the late 1980s, the sanctuary covers some 11,000 acres in the far south tip of the Black Hills of South Dakota, along the Cheyenne River. It is home to some 500 wild horses captured by the Federal government from overpopulated western ranges.

　

　

There is a children's lullaby that promises,

"When you wake, you shall have

All the pretty little horses,

Blacks and bays, dapples and grays,

All the pretty little horses."

It could have been talking about the wild horses we saw. They come in every color you can imagine, in addition to the blacks and bays, dapples and grays, there are paints, grullas, buckskins, roans, palominos and almost any other color horses come in.

　

　

John and I took a photo tour on October 1st with Guide Monte Matheson, and had the opportunity to get up close and personal with a number of the wild horses. In addition to photo tours, the Sanctuary offers a number of different tours throughout the year. If you're in the vicinity, be sure to pay a visit.



I named her Prairie Lightning

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees the wild horse herds. Because there are few natural predators to control their numbers, the wild horses frequently increase in number to more than the land can support. The BLM captures them and tries to find homes for the extra horses. However, many are too old, too wild, or in some other way not suitable for adoption or sale. Some of those are lucky enough to find a home at the Sanctuary.

　

Initially, only mares were introduced to the Sanctuary, but they have since been joined by several stallions, and a limited number of foals are born each year. This gives the bands a more natural makeup, and a sense of normalcy, and provides some mustang foals for sale to the public.



Prairie Dot



The Sanctuary is a non-profit, and depends on donations and income from tours to fund its operations. The horses are "wild" in the sense that most come from BLM lands and have never been haltered or ridden. They are, however, fed as needed since the range sometimes cannot support all the horses that live there. There is also a program to breed registered quarter horses and paints so that the sale of those foals can help fund the support of the wild ones.

We especially enjoyed seeing the Spanish Mustangs.  They are kept separate from the other wild horses to preserve their bloodlines. One way you can tell Spanish Mustangs is by their markings. Often they are a color called "grulla," (pronounced "grew-ya") a smokey gray or gray-brown that is supposedly the rarest of horse colors. Other characteristics include a dorsal stripe and barring on the legs. Don Juan, the resident stallion of the Spanish Sulphur Mustang herd, is a bay, but he does have the dorsal stripe and barring on his legs. Several of the mares in his group also have the characteristic grulla coat.

Don Juan

When we visited, Don Juan was busy courting one of his mares. There was a lot of kissing and "horse-play" (sorry, I couldn't help myself) going on, but ultimately the lady played hard to get for too long, and Don Juan lost interest.



Please, Oh Please!





Say "Pretty Please!"



BMOC of the other wild horses is Painted Desert. He has a rare coat color/pattern called a Medicine Hat Paint. In Medicine Hats the ears and top of the head are reddish, the face is white and the chest has a "shield" of the red coat color. We were told that the Plains Indians especially valued Medicine Hats, and felt that they had special powers or protection.  A brave was especially fortunate if he had a Medicine Hat to ride into battle.



 

And here are some of the other wild horses we met. 



Who cares if beauty is only skin-deep!



Boss Mare of Don Juan's Band



Don Juan Enforcing His Rules




Mustang Mom and Foal




Stallions Painted Desert and Red Roanie Settle a Disagreement



Tico, the Spanish Mustang Who Could Not Be Ridden



Beautiful Buckskin/Grulla




Prairie Lonesome





Painted Desert with Guide Monte Matheson



Black Hills Recap-2

And here are a few more images that wouldn't fit in the first post.

Some of Custer State Park's Bighorn Rams



Playtime for Dakota




Nickie says Prairie Dogs are harder to catch than they look!



It's Fun Being a Dog!



A Pronghorn Buck hurries his family out of harm's way