Warm before Storm

With a storm in the forecast, we took advantage of a beautiful Saturday to ride Antelope Island.
We started at White Rocks Bay and rode a 27 mile loop around the island, with 3100 feet of altitude gain and loss.

We saw a small herd of bighorn sheep.  We knew the sheep live on the island, but we had not seen them before.

Salsa was on high alert, looking at those sheep. She was convinced that they were about to attack at any moment.

On the east side of the island, we passed rock formations that have been shaped and smoothed by thousands of years of erosion caused by wind, sand, and perhaps wave action from the lake. The rocks are at least 100 yards from the shoreline now.

The lake level has been as much as 20 feet higher in the records kept since the Mormon pioneers arrived in 1847.  The Great Salt Lake volume is down about 50% over 180 years.  Today, 50% of the water that used to feed the lake is now diverted for agricultural irrigation, of which about 10% is used for watering lawns and other human use. Some of the decrease may be due to global warming and less rainfall. In any case, one wonders what will be left in another 100 years.

The Sentry is the name of the mountain behind Steve and Salsa.  It does seem to be standing guard.  The snow-capped peaks in the distance are the Oquirrh Range, which runs N-S on the western side of the Salt Lake valley.

As we completed the loop on the other side of the island, we saw quite a few buffalo in small groups, grazing on the winter grass. When we were within sight of our trailer, 2 buffalo crossed the parking lot, weaving through cars and trailers.  They acted like the owned the place -- and they can feel pretty confident that no horse or human will challenge their rights.
It was a great day for all critters everywhere.

We chose a good day, because the next morning, this was the view out the kitchen window!

Bison Roundup

On Saturday; we joined about 200 riders in the 30th Annual Bison Roundup on Antelope Island.
Bison are not like cattle.  For one thing, they're a lot bigger and stronger.  For another, they're a lot more likely to turn back on the rounder-uppers if they don't like where they're headed.

Yee Haw!

The riders in red vests were our "shooters"  They're armed with pellet guns, aiming to head off any crazy bulls who go after an unlucky rider with insufficient room to escape a charge. Those in blue vests are team leaders.  We were supposed to stay in teams, but the groups got mixed up pretty quickly, and most folks lost track of their leaders.  We just listened for the shouted instructions from those in blue who had radios and knew when and where to go.

Bull whip cracker on left

The rider coming behind the herd at full gallop is swinging a bull whip.  There were a half dozen or so of these guys, all excellent riders.  Whips snapping.  Riders shouting, whistling, waving arms and hats.  Bison grunting. Horse and bison hooves thundering.  Horses whinnying, We felt like we were living in a "Rawhide" episode, except with bigger and noisier animals to herd.

restless bulls

We witnessed several bulls sparring with each other, sometimes looking back at us with disdain and perhaps more than a hint of threat. We all kept an eye out for bulls that got huffy and turned with angry snorts.

Well, most of us kept an eye out.   Others got a little carried away taking photos...
Some entertained themselves by chasing the half dozen coyotes that roamed beside the herd.  A group of antelope raced ahead, trying to escape the confusion.
We herded for a couple of hours, covering close to 8 miles and joining several small herds together as we went.

When we had about 400 head gathered in a grass-covered valley, the trail bosses called for a lunch break.

I ate a sandwich, sharing my PBJ with Mischief.

Steve and Coco took a nap.

A neighboring rider took our photo just before we mounted up for the last big push to the corrals.
We rode hard up the last hill.  Some of the bison broke away and ran off onto the salt flats.  Just as the rest of the herd was reaching the top of a hill, we looked back to see about 75 bison thundering up the hill toward us!  Fortunately, we had enough time to escape.

Steve surveyed the corrals after the animals were all penned.  A few minutes later, a couple of accidentally penned antelope came running back to the gate.  The gate-keeper opened up and let them out to run free once more.

Not all of the bison were captured.  Many of the larger lone bulls keep to themselves and will continue to graze, unharrassed.  The penned animals will be vaccinated and examined next weekend.  About 200 will be sold.  The island could easily become overgrazed if the herd grew unchecked.  A yearly thinning is necessary for the health of the animals and the ecological health of the island.

If you look carefully, you can see a long chain of vehicles along the road.  Many people came to observe the excitement and semi-chaos as we pushed the herd over the hills.  At the end of the line, near the pens, more observers waited to snap photos and cheer us on.  Before the ride even started, a couple of Chinese ladies asked Steve and Coco to pose for a photo with them.  They claimed the Bison Roundup is "world famous."  Maybe.  It's certainly unique and an amazing adrenaline high.

Luckily, we didn't get stampeded, gored, or thrown off our excited mounts, who danced and pranced most of the way.  Of all the experiences we've had riding horses in Utah, this has to be at the top of the list.
We're already looking forward to next year's roundup.
The "Rawhide" song was a childhood favorite.  I finally lived the dream!

Spring on Antelope Island

Lupine with the rock formation known as Elephant Head in the background

Antelope Island is a Utah State Park surrounded by the Great Salt Lake and reached via a causeway.  The first week of May, Antelope Island has turned green

Wildflowers are in bloom.

Indian Paintbrush

Sweet Fennel

Fleabane

Balsam Root

Cryptanth

 tiny, delicate Claytonia perfoliata

Claytonia perfoliata is also known as Miner's lettuce.  The leaves are edible and provide vitamin C.  Western gold miners ate it to prevent scurvy. 

Gooseberry bushes

Gooseberry branch with buds

Globemallow

Globemallow hill

Boss eating thistle buds VERY carefully.

Boss enjoying the plentiful grass

We saw antelope, buffalo, raptors and chukars.  Meadowlarks sang everywhere.  Spring has arrived on the island.  Biting flies and gnats have arrived, too, so it's a good idea to wipe down yourself and your horses with insect repellent!

Antelope Island Endurance Ride

We arrived on Thursday for a the Antelope Island 55 endurance mile event on Friday morning.  Ride camp was already a busy place, with 30 to 40 trailers parked near the Garr Ranch.

By the next morning, the count was at least 50 trailers.  Over 40 riders were signed up for the 55 mile ride, and probably about as many for the 30 mile.

This black stallion caught our eye.  He was a beauty and reminded me of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, which I read numerous times as a child.

The ride manager checked off the riders. Horses milled about, whinnying and dancing.

And they're off.  The black stallion led us out for a "controlled start."  Control is relative at one of these events, since all the horses know they're out for an adventure, and they're eager to get going.  Every horse there would take off at a gallop if it were up to them.

The scenery was beautiful.  We rode across the island on a trail that isn't usually open this time of year because of bison calving.  Island management decided to make an exception for the endurance ride.  Hopefully we didn't cause any undue problems.

A bison herd grazed along the shore on the west side of the island.  They seemed unperturbed by our presence, if they even noticed.  In a few places, we left the trail to go around groups of bison.  Many of the cows already had calves at their sides.  We also saw antelope, deer, and one lonely coyote trotting along the beach.  Chukkar and meadowlarks are abundant, as well as plenty of seabirds.  As we headed for the homestretch, the sun was getting low and gulls were flying and shrieking above us.  By that time, we were getting a bit fatigued, but we could still appreciate the beautiful scene.

We clocked in at 7PM, having traveled a little over 60 miles, with 4500 feet of elevation gain and loss. We arrived about the middle of the pack.  Riders continued to trickle in for the next couple of hours.

It was quite a day.  The horses looked good and the vet gave them a thumbs up. All was well - another fine (albeit very long) day in the saddle.   

Exploring Antelope Island

Antelope Island is located in the Great Salt Lake.  It's a state park, accessible by a causeway.  Artifacts show that the island was occupied by native people as long as 6000 years ago.

In 1845, John Fremont and Kit Carson, the first non-native explorers, reported seeing "antelope" - technically pronghorn - grazing on the island range.

Garr Ranch house - dates from 1848

In 1848, a year after the Mormon settlers arrived in the valley, Fielding Garr moved to the island and built a ranch. His first house, updated and expanded over the years, still remains on its original foundation.

Garr ranch buildings

The ranch raised sheep at first, and later had a cattle herd.  It continued operating under a series of owners until 1981.

Buffalo grazing near Garr Ranch, with Wasatch range in background

In 1893, 12 bison were brought to the island.  At that time, less than 1000 bison remained of the vast herds that once roamed the plains.  Although Today, bison on the island number from 500 to 700, with an annual bison roundup held each fall.

The island is 28,000 acres, with about 30 miles of non-motorized trails. Beautiful scenery and plenty of open space make it a great place to horseback ride, bike ride, or hike.

Chukkar

We heard the calls of meadowlarks, canyon wrens, and chukkars.

The banded and contorted rock shown in the photo above is gneiss, said to be about 1.7 billion years old. This is the oldest rock found in Utah, and is the same age as rocks found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.