Sunday, December 11, 2011

Medicine Wheel and Crested Saguaro

K's Crested Saguaro

Brenda and I in front of the Crested Saguaro, thanks K

This weekend we joined a bunch of friends for a ride out of the Wickenburg Rodeo grounds. We headed up there Friday night and got settled in about mid-day.

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That gave me time to take a spin around the area and check things out as well as scout out a water source across the road in the rodeo grounds. Once we had the lay of the land figured out Brenda went to work and cooked us up some of that great Taco Soup and we had a few folks over to help us make sure there was only enough leftovers for one meal. Perfect, and we got to enjoy a little conversation as well as good food around the campfire as the moon rose over Constellation Park.

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Saturday was time to ride and Dave and Frank led us on a merry chase through the ravines and up and down a few washes,

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and across the desert until we came upon this Crested Saquaro.

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and after a few minutes to take a few photo’s we headed on over the hill and dale until we wound up at this Medicine Wheel.

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Whether you are a believer or not it is not hard to imagine a person or persons doing all this work without gaining some insight into at least his own bodies workings, that is a lot of rocks to move and place in that pattern. Although I rested on the centre spot here unlike Dave I was unable to levitate anywhere but did feel that same peace that the desert always brings to my soul.

Then it was on to our lunch spot near a set of corrals and a windmill complete with stock watering facilities.

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Gathered around the windmill are Theresa on the left, Randy at the centre and Diana on the right, and up at the top is our friend “K”. At work I am sure he has used spurs to climb power poles but just in case you didn’t know “K” those spurs are not for climbing. But if you just can’t resist or are looking for more windmills to scale sometime in the next year or so I need someone to climb up and oil mine at Dogpound North.

Then it was time to head back towards camp.

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Coming right along is Gus and Linda, and the rest of the group winding down the trail behind them. Once back in camp Linda took her Mini’s, Madeline on the right and Reba for a walk before we all sat down to a wonderful Christmas dinner complete with turkey, ham and a potluck dinner.

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Now the rest of the group rode out on Sunday and saw a little more country but Brenda and I packed up camp and headed back to Dogpound South about mid-morning. In the afternoon Blue and I went over and had another go at cattle sorting, and although we still have a few issues to work through we sure had fun and managed to take a few photo’s of some old time buckaroo’s working in the next pen.

That looks like an interesting sport with a lot of art and steady horses involved in it.

To have a look at all the photo’s of the Wickenburg ride follow this link,

and just click on Ranch Roping to see more of that.

12 comments:

  1. That is one amazing picture of you both with the crested saguero catus. Another great find of nature's beauty.

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  2. Great picture of the two of you and the saguero. How cool to see that!

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  3. Those minis are adorable..
    Great western pictures.....You guys fit right in....Kelly

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  4. Looks like fun again--it's even making Janna wonder if she might want to ride again!

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  5. Wow! That looked like a lot of fun even for a guy who doesn't know much about horses. Great pictures!

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  6. What a great day you all had... Loved the photos!!!
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  7. Very nice ride, no doubt! That crested saguaro cactus is stunning. I wonder how old it is.

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  8. those mini's are adorable...awesome picture of you both with the saguero cactus. You are having so much fun....have a super week...

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  9. Enjoyed the pictures what a great area to ride in. Never saw a medicine wheel before.

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  10. I love the pictures. Feeling a need to go to the desert for a week or so.

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  11. We are presently staying in Tucson and I am on a hunt for crested saguaros. In searching the internet for clues, I came across a picture you had posted. Luckily, it came with a website! So, I had to do a little reading on this post. What a coincidence! We are headed to Wickensburg to boondock on our way to Valley of Fire. My husband found this "park" online. Looked like a good place for a night. Can you give me any specific directions to finding this crested saguaro and the medicine wheel? About how far would it be they be from the park? We would be hiking unless the wash is Jeep friendly. I would really appreciate any help.

    Thanks! What a great life!!

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    1. If you give me an email address I will send you a Google Earth placemark and that will show you the nearest roads. The trail we took is very hikeable but not Jeep friendly but there are closer roads and trails that will allow you to get there without a horse. You can see them all on Google Earth.

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