Mountain Update, Afternoon of Day Two, June 18, 2012

The afternoon was just as wonderful as the morning.  What made it more special was that my good friend Lori was going to join us for a few hours and along with her was a new friend Chris.   They met us shortly after I had seen Lakota.

The four of us were the only ones on the mountain so far that day. As we headed up the road after checking on Lakota I saw two horses to my left napping in the sun.  It was Santa Fe and Judith!  If you don’t remember Santa Fe and Judith, you can read about them by clicking; SANTA FE.  I had seen them in May and at that time Santa Fe was having a hard time keeping Judith around.  It seemed like she had finally settled in to being with him.

As I followed the road towards Penn’s Cabin, I was able to get closer to them.

The next band that we encountered was Cloud’s band again.  But this time Mica saw me.  I only stayed for a few minutes and moved on.  He was getting way to close to me and I did not want it to become a habit.

Mica is the only foal that I have ever met that deliberately walks right towards me.  It does make me feel pretty special, but I do not encourage it in any way.

I left and went down the road and parked.  I walked over and peered over the cliff above Mystic Pond.  This is what I saw:

Jackson’s band had a new member since I last saw them.  Kaycee had a beautiful little filly.

The snow above Mystic was a fraction of what it was a month ago when I saw it last.  It was also much smaller than last year, when I saw it the end of July.  I am sure it will be gone in the next week.

We spent a long time watching all of the bands.  It was really interesting to see some of the interaction.  It was not as quiet and peaceful as it had been when I was watching everyone nap a few hours ago.  If you missed that post, click HORSES, and it will take you to that post.

I am going to share several photos with you of what I saw.

Judith and Santa Fe had come down to join the bands.

Garay came walking up and caused some commotion.  Nothing too bad, but very interesting to watch.  Garay was a lone.  I wondered where London was.  I would see London the next day.

Garay and Grijala used to hang out together before Grijala got his band last summer.  I was interested to see how this meeting would go.

The meeting went just fine.  There was even a little mutual grooming.

There were so many horses around, it was hard to watch everything.  I looked up over to the left and saw Galaxy moving his band down to the water.

I looked to the right and saw Duke’s band heading for water.

I then turned and saw Grijala and Santa Fe having a discussion.  Each time I turned my head I saw something happening some where.  It was an amazing sight to witness!

Grijala then realized that Santa Fe meant business and left to return to his band.  Only to encounter a very grumby Jackson who did not allow anyone to step over an imaginary line that he had drawn in the snow.  When they crossed that line, he would let them know!

I wasn’t prepared for how many photos I took down here.  My camera chip was down to my last 20 shots and I had to hike back to the ATV to get more.  On my way up I saw Coronado and his band.

And then my chip was full.  I did see this band again the next day, so you will see more photos of them when I do that post.

I was then told by my hungry visitors that I would have to stop and eat lunch.  I reluctantly agreed.  We went up to Penn’s and ate.

On our way back up the road I saw two black horses coming my way.  It was Two Boots and Jasper.  Two Boots looked great!  I can’t believe he is 24 this year.  I thought it was great that the young Jasper was with him.  He was learning from one of the best.

I then saw Tecumseh.  He headed up to greet them.  It wasn’t long before Two Boots decided he would rather not continue this greeting.

After saying good bye to Lori and Chis we went to check on Lakota.  Then headed back towards Penn’s cabin.  The first horse I saw was on of Jackson’s mares, Kiowa.

I was hoping to spend some up close time with Jackson’s band and I would not be disappointed.

I like to sit and watch the horses.  I find it really interesting to watch how they each interact with each other.  I never get tired of it.

I turned and saw Baja’s band.

We decided to head back to the campsite for a while.  I saw a car driving towards us.  It was Shawn Ivie and his daughter.  It was really great to finally meet him.  He mentioned that he thought he saw Prince on his way up.  I had not seen Prince up close for some time.  The last time I had seen him was in May and it was from a long way.  I hurried down Burnt Timber road to find him.

It was Prince and he did not look good.  Very thin.  Prince is 19 this year.

We checked on Lakota one more time.  It looked like a storm was coming, so we headed back to our campsite and called it a day.  A good day!

All photos are available for purchase.  Contact me at: viento3@aol.com for more information.

Sandy