Today I had spent a wonderful day in the Dryhead with Kim Michels and her friend, Bobbie. It was a picture perfect day with the amazing scenery of the Canyon area all around us and the big, blue sky above. One of my main reasons for the day’s return trip was to see is Seneca and Hightail had returned to Hickok. It didn’t take long at all to drive into the Range and see the three of them standing in one of their favored spots just north of the highway. I have been experimenting with my camera a bit, and unfortunately didn’t get many decent pictures of the three of them. But we can rest assured that the three of them are safe.
Hightail and Hickok
Seneca
Just as we approached the turnoff to Devil’s Canyon we had a wonderful opportunity to see a pair of Big Horn Sheep. It is really a treat to see Big Horns.
Big Horn Ram
The trip continued through the winding road between the Overlook and Mustang Flats. Just as we were heading up the hill before the Flats, we came upon Blizzard and his band moving in the same direction. Even though I had spent time with them yesterday, it was very special seeing the young one again today.
Bakken, Cascade, and La Niña,
A bicycle rider was heading up the highway at this time. This caught the attention of the horses and gave us a good glimpse of the “flight” mechanism of the wild horses when danger is present…real or perceived.
Cascade watches.
Blizzard watches.
Bakken quickly took La Niña up the hill.
Bakken and La Niña
At the top of the hill, she paused and seemed to check out the situation. She positioned herself between the foal the the bicyclist. Note how her eyes and ears stay fixed on her surroundings.
Bakken shielding La Niña.
The mares and the fillies disappeared into the next draw. Blizzard followed behind and stayed alert as if to ensure safety for the band.
Blizzard
We left Blizzard and continued to the Mustang Flats kiosk. The familiar black horses were spotted in the same vicinity of yesterday. A nice hike brought us to the band of brothers. Seattle definitely has a strong legacy on the Dryhead with these four.
Issaquah and Chief Joseph were resting side by side near a juniper bush. They show a nearly identical resting pattern. Issaquah and Chief Joseph are both the offspring of Bakken.
Issaquah and Chief Joseph
Johnston and Hawk were a short distance from their brothers. These two are the offspring of Cascade.
Johnston and Hawk
They both had a curiosity about us and provided some good opportunities for photos.
A Portrait of Johnston
Hawk
Johnston and Big Horn Canyon
The day’s journey continued…a short distance down the road brought us to Fiero and his mares.
Fiero’s Band
Fiero
Strawberry
Sacajawea noticed something to the west of the band. She is an alert mare and doesn’t miss much.
Sacajawea
Off to our left we found out what had caught Sacajawea’s attention. A beautiful mule deer buck emerged from the nearby juniper bushes.
Mule deer buck
The day in the Dryhead was coming to an end. But as we neared the State Line we had a bonus of seeing a band of Big Horn Sheep near the side of the road. This could be the same ram we had seen earlier in the day. Now there were several ewes and lambs with him.
Band of Big Horns
A very special day…filled with the beauty of the land and the animals that live there.
Love the update. Thank you!
What a day! 🙂 Love the photos — beautiful views and great photos of the horses. I have never seen all four sons of Seattle together — fantastic. Thank you!
Beautiful, Nancy—all beautiful! What a treat to wake up to today! Once again, THANK YOU for sharing. I have only seen Johnston once when I was there, and that was from a quite a distance, going away from me. It’s a special treat to see these close ups of him. He is a very beautiful guy, too, like all his brothers. ❤
I woke up smiling and beaming after yesterday’s trip to the Dry Head with you!! I can’t wait until we get together again. Thanks Nancy 😀
All of us at the Mustang Center would like to thank both of you, Joy and Linda, for your support of both the wild horses and the Center. It was great for both of you to recognize the special occasion of seeing all four of Seattle’s sons together. When I showed this post to Matthew for review, his comment was, “It is great! I love the pictures of the brothers! Seattle has quite a legacy.” Thanks again!
It IS great to see siblings together, and they are much easier to identify when you can see the subtle differences all at once. I have one I really like of Hernando, Inali and Grijala from on the mountaintop that really helped me keep them straight in my mind. 🙂 The only thing that would be better with the Dryhead guys, is if we could see them with Seattle, as well—wouldn’t THAT be something?! It’s indeed cool to see these posts on here, but it’s great to see them on FB, too, where the pics are larger, but not larger than full screen—and you are very welcome for my support.
So Beautiful! Thanks for the updates!
Thanks for sharing Nancy! You had a wonderful day out on the range and I also love to see the “brother’s” together! I will be heading out there this week to see who I can find. It is always a surprise. Since the weather has been so mild I believe the horses are staying around the Dry Head a bit longer this year! Thanks again, beautiful photo’s. Since I don’t do FB it is a real treat to read your post’s on the blog. I appreciate your efforts.
Thanks so much Lori! I will be anxious to hear about your trip to the range this week. I do appreciate your thoughts on FB and the blog. We’ve been discussing this very thing to determine the best use for both. I think the goal will be to continue to use them both.
🙂 🙂 🙂
I am happy to hear that Nancy. I do believe that some people just don’t want to do FB for whatever reasons and so they keep up with the Center and the horses by reading your blog. Thank you!
I made a trip to the Dry Head today and again saw Hickok, Hightail and Seneca together, so it seems they are a “family” once again, at least for this week. 🙂 It would be so cool if Seneca had a foal by Hickok next year! What a treat for the visitors. I spent a few hours out there today and the whole time not one single car came through! I just love this time of year. I also saw the four boys, Johnston, Hawk, Issaquah & Chief Joseph. Near the end of the range I saw Seattle again too.
It would be cool, as you say Linda, to see Seattle with his “boys”. Maybe one of these trips!?