Water Tanks

 At the height of the drought there was no water within the forest by us for a good ten square miles.  The only water available was water troughs set up by ranchers for their cattle grazing in the forest.  The wild horses weren't close to most of those tanks so a group of horse lovers were hauling water to tanks they set up for the horses.  The owner of our RV park was filling the tank in the top picture which holds 500 gallons and hauling it into the forest to several troughs like the one in the bottom picture almost everyday for several weeks.   He was one of many doing this as part of the Equine Well Being Rescue.   They pay for the water and drive their own vehicles to get the water into the forest.  They don't get any kind of reimbursement.

We rode out there one time just to see how many horses were enjoying the water.  There were several big herds not too far from the water.  The effort saved them and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the monsoons started.  The rain filled up all the catch basins, creeks and any other low spots that would hold water.  Now the forest is green with flowers of every kind blooming.  

  

Wild Horses

 We see lots of wild horses out here in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.  We have seen small family groups like this one.  We have also seen as many as two dozen or more hanging out together.  Sometimes they are even mixed with cattle.  The forest is full of cattle because the ranchers are awarded grazing rights.  It doesn't seem to bother the horses or even the elk that the cattle are in the same area.   The horses all look healthy and the little ones are very cute.

Now that it has rained and rained and rained there is green grass everywhere for all the animals to graze.  There is also water in ponds and puddles and catch basins all over the forest.  It is so good to see everything green and growing with plenty of water for all the critters to drink.

We have been living with rental cars all summer because our truck has been in the shop waiting on parts.  We will finally get it back this week but it has been frustrating to not be able to get something fixed because everything is on back order.  Even if we wanted to buy a new truck we have looked and there is nothing new available.  I guess we should be grateful that we are getting our truck back at all.