We drive through open range country on the way home, and this time of year, I am very aware of why there's a cattle guard at the top of Ross Creek Canyon.
Red Rock Road is a windy road. However you want to pronounce windy - it's both. Every year someone hits and kills a cow. How'd you like to come around a bend see this bossy in the middle of the road.
From the cattle guard on, the turns are sharper and there's also a drop off. Don't want to meet no stinkin' cattle here. People drive off the road and kill themselves without the help of bovines.
The creek is dammed into three ponds at the bottom. You really don't want to drive off the road into one them, but that's happened too. The ponds attract all kinds of fowl, including white pelicans. That vista is the eastern part of Red Rock Valley. I never tire of coming around the bend and seeing it. I fell in love with this view the first time I came out seven years ago and I love it still.
This is the beginning of my drive on Red Rock Road, after leaving the freeway. The mountain in the back-ground is Peterson Mountain and it's what we see from our living room window.
After driving for twenty miles, this is my dirt road. Peterson Mountain is on the left, the Sierras are straight ahead and Porcupine Mountain in the right - we live on the west face of it. Thanks for riding along.
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7 comments:
Beautiful! What a gorgeous, rugged landscape, especially in contrast to the blue skies.
Breath taking desert views. Do you think that Porcupine Mountain got its name because of its appearance, or do you have porcupines in the desert?
I'm with you re: the cattle...I remember when my father lived in rural eastern AZ....he had cattle flatten his "yard" a few times then found out in AZ he had to fence in his place to keep the cattle out. They had more rights than the property owner. It's still the "Open Range Western Mentality" that reigns around these parts.
And I'll bet those hitting a cow have to pay the rancher for the cow, don't they?
Beautiful area where you live! I do miss the "scablands" of E. Washington where I grew up - yours are very similar.
Thanks for stopping by to say goodbye to Neelix. Appreciate your support. T.
I always enjoy your photographs because your scenery is so much different than ours. Very different!
Beryl, (answering for Sharon here :) yes, we do have porcupines in the desert, but I think they tend to stay fairly close to ground water. And yes we do have to pay the rancher if we hit one of his cattle, we also have to fence our property if we dont want to share our hay with them. The ranchers where I live (in Battle Mountain) have gotten really good about keeping the cattle in another part of the range, a few years ago it was the range wars all over again over cattle in peoples gardens... but I figure it this way; I knew it was open range when I moved onto it.
I sure wouldnt want to hit one though (knocking on wood)
You really have the best kind of desert living! Thanks for the great photos.
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