Yellowtail Swiming Hole

A few years back I learned of a beach in Wyoming.  In the past I never associated swimming with Wyoming.  Horses, ranches, cowboys and cowgirls, even hiking, came to mind but not a day at the beach.

This particular trip to Wyoming I found a desire to spend time with wild mustang herds.  In my mind, that would be awesome to simple be in their presence and observe their behavior.  I learned that sometimes one might see wild mustangs from this swimming hole.  That, along with the desire to spend time with family, motivated me to make the trip, despite feeling rather poorly that day.

We were greeted with a warm sun, red dirt, and cool water that one needed to gradually aculamte to.  Oh the site was lovely! Gorgeous! These pictures hardly do justice to the beauty.

A small party store allowed a place to purchase snacks and ice cream.  For the price of $50 per person one could take a trip up the canyon on board a ferry.  We chose not to that day.

A few of us did look down on that river and tall canyon walls a bit later in the day.  Oh what splendor!  One day I hope to see the canyon looking up.

We packed on our lunches and snacks and spent the day relaxing.  I do remember the air turned chilly when the sun went behind a cloud.

The Yellowtail Swimming hole, near the bottom of the Pryor mustang horse range had me looking above the campground for horses all day.  Not sure if expressed my disappointment out loud, but when every one else left, 4 including myself took a short drive to cross through a small part of the Pryor mustang range.

It was easy to know when we were in the range. Cattle guards lined the roads on each boundary.

Passing through the mustang range we came to a look out point over the river.  Amazing hardly describes the view. If you do not like heights, I suggest you refrain from looking down.

A lone sheep made an appearance.

There was more to explore, but the day was fading.  We decided to begin the drive back through the Pryor mustang range to our overnight accommodation.

We stopped a couple times to look for mustangs from the road.  We seen evidence, trails and horse droppings, but no horses.  At one stop, a thought welled up in my heart that the Lord would have a special encounter for me with the mustangs. That it would be for me and I would know it.  I envisioned a mare and foal beautiful, innocent sweetness.  My passion for foaling out mares burned despite no longer working at the foaling barn. My disappointment of not seeing any mustangs left me. I trusted that, in time, I had a special moment coming for me alone.  With that belief in my heart, I informed the others I was with I was ready to head back when they were. Oh little did I know….  to be continued.

To read more about my experiences on the Pryor Horse Range check out these blog posts:

Pryor Mountain Horse Range ~ part 1

Pryor Mountain Horse Range ~ part 2