Sometimes... Melancholy Just Sneaks Up On You.

and thoughts of long gone times... Lucky for me, there's a cure just outside... Far and Open Country...

We took an Easter Drive up an Arizona dirt road. Turns out it's part of the Great Western Trail...

From our camp it runs out through these canyons and valleys until it hooks back around to cut I-17 after some twenty miles.

All along the way are the remains of boondock camps... and some that are not yet remains...

*An RV Boondocking Group on the Prescott National Forest*

Camps were scattered all through the area over the weekend... Those poor buggers had to turn around and go home... and were streaming out of this good land and back to the Settlements yesterday afternoon.

Unlike the fortunate few ... who have carved out the situation that lets them LIVE here! ;)

Up several miles we turned off on a side trail and parked the truck for a short walk... maybe a 1/2 mile or so, up to Cottonwood tank...

... and not a Cottonwood to be seen. But... look close... see him? Standing on the back side of the tank?

The dogs ran down to the bank on our side for a drink... With the tank twixt him and us he didn't seem to mind.

But then he did finally lift off to get to a lil' better point to survey his turf.

Kind of like a feathered B52 takin' to the air...

*Great Blue Heron in Arizona*>

He didn't fly very far. Just up onto one of the trees around the tank. Guess he wanted a better portrait taken.
I tried to oblige him... but... I've got some room for improvement on some of my bird pictures... They don't make a camera yet with enough image stabilizers in it to overcome my wiggly nature! :)

I'm thinkin' Me and that Heron have a lot in common these days. We fly where we want... pretty much when we want. ;)

Over behind where he's perched, on the back side of the tank is a small workin' pen for the ranch that holds this permit.

They set a post over to one side to snub up cows that need some doctorin' when you ain't got a squeeze chute available...

... or a heeler ridin' with you to stretch 'em...

From the look of things... Some cowboy's burnt a rope or two around that post...

... and some cows have done a lil' resisting his efforts to doctor their pink eye or wounds... or whatever...

Singin' ropes and burning hair... Lots of memories... Lots of good times gone by... :)

There's no Cottonwoods left at Cottonwood tank... Though there might be some farther up in the canyon above the tank... Just lacked the ambition to walk up in there to find out! :)

There was one other lil' critter hangin' 'round the tank... Kind of a nervous, tricky to photograph lil' zoomie...

Not hard to follow though, bright as he is...

*Dragon Fly hunting on a cattle tank in Arizona*

The Fireweed is bloomin' all over the desert, A few other flowers as well..... Kinda nice when you can see 'em glowing out across the hillsides as you roll along...

But then, as you roll along a single lane, going-too-fast-if-you're-going-15 mph, dirt track... Ten miles back... another fifteen or better in front of you... You come to this... Yes sirree! Efficient use of Tax Dollars! :)

*Seriously?*

:)) I mean... Really? Took some highway guy three hours to drive out here... ten minutes to set the sign... and three hours to get back out... and they really needed the sign... HERE? Why not one of the 897 other TURNS he had to drive through to get to THIS one!

There's a growing list of things in this world I just don't understand! :)

*Arizona Ranch Country*

But that's OK... 'cause there's plenty I do.

Living Like the Heron...
Where and When I Please
Brian