July 8, 2012

July 8, 2012

From Greybull, WY we drove to Big Horn National Recreation Area. This National Park site is a man-made lake sitting in a picturesque canyon. It is similar to the better-known versions at Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge. We first stop at the Visitor Center to get oriented and learn about the geology of the canyon.

Our next stop is Devil Canyon Overlook to listen to a Ranger talk on Wild Horses. Adjacent to the park is the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, the first established in our nation. Because the herd is so prolific, it needs to be thinned almost every year. Unfortunately it is a political minefield. The excess used to be sold for dogfood. No longer. Now there is an expensive bureaucratic process to adopt a wild horse. A BLM employee has to inspect your property to make sure you don’t sell the horse to a Mexican food company.

After the talk we walk around the overlook. The canyon is impressive, looking like a miniature Grand Canyon. This would be a nice place to have a houseboat. We next drive the short scenic loop mostly looking for Big Horn sheep and wild mustangs. We spot no sheep but do see several horses. Since they look just like the domesticated version, it is anticlimactic. We spend the night at a campground in the park watching the weekend boaters pack up and leave.