Great American Horse Drive AAR

Preparing for weather in May, plan on 75° or snow, or something between. We had clouds and some sprinkles but overall weather wasn’t a problem.

The far Northwest Corner of Colorado is Browns Park, or Browns Hole to some old timers, that is open range and has more temperate winters than the surround area. The Sombrero Ranch is a big dude operation with 500+ horses that they winter in Browns Park. In May, they round up the horses and move them to a ranch west of Craig, CO where they prepare them for the summer season at their various locations, principally Estes Park at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park and Trail Ridge Road. The route takes the horses through Maybell, CO (population 60-80).

Maybell is a sort of epicenter for four to five generations on my father’s side.

On the day of the horse drive, the population probably exceeds 1,000.

Some relatives had good seats.

Maybell has a nice park, about 5 acres, with RV parking and restrooms. Vendors can set up for free during the horse drive so long as they clean up after themselves.

Labor problems are everywhere. This year only about 100 horses  were in the drive as the horses must be shod and there is a shortage of farriers.

After the horses come the dudes.

https://www.sombrerohorses.com/horse-drive/

The old homesteads of the brothers Leonard and Frank White are still in family hands. The land is no longer worked but a portion is now a private cemetery and is some twelve miles west of Maybell across from Cross Mountain. Due to COVID the horse drive was cancelled for two years. Usually, there is a family gathering (we are way too disorganized to call it a reunion) Saturday at the cemetery. This year two cremains were interred or scattered.

Every male is an “ace” mechanic so when cousin Danny’s starter didn’t work, many hands were available to check every wire and to display vast knowledge. One bright idea was to finally check fuses. Yep, the 30 amp to the starter was blown. A 30 amp fuse from a Jeep was used, the truck started and left running as the fuse was returned to the Jeep.

Later, the wipers on my car jammed. As we all contemplated the task of removing cowlings, cousin Dorland gave one arm a sharp tug. The wipers now work. All it took was a Wyoming truck driver’s finesse.

Craig, CO is a coal mining town, a ranch supply town, and an oilfield town. The town’s way of life is under assault by the trust fund snots who want to close coal fired power plants and end strip mining.

There is much irony in these pictures. One wonders what the ROI is on those charging stations. A clerk inside says they get about one customer every other day.

Banner and I stopped by the Ed Johnson house. He and his wife came to Colorado for their health. Both were suffering from consumption, as it was called in those days. My grandmother nursed both and helped them adapt to the then wild west. They became lifelong friends.

Going to the event I drove to Laramie then on I-80 to Creston Junction. From there via Baggs, WY to Craig. I wanted to pass by Fortification Creek.

Along the route were many Pronghorn herds, and numerous dead deer and elk. There was one small herd of feral horses.

One amusing site was a ranch with interesting “stuff”. Please, I don’t know anything about the owners.

 

I returned via Walden,CO where I stopped to pay my respects to my maternal relatives.

At the south city limits was a dead moose alongside the  road.

Looking for a retirement location? Built in 1895, the Victory Hotel in Maybell is for sale.

It comes with a detached two car garage.

While I enjoyed catching up with everyone, Banner had a splendid time being petted, fed behind my back, and sleeping with me on the motel king sized bed. Lucky I brought ear plugs.

A dead elk Banner did not get to investigate (or roll in).