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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, December 30, 2011

The last roundup

As I gazed out the window above my bench table this morning,

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I was surprised to see a cowboy in the field rounding up the doggies.  That could only mean one thing.  It was time for a cattle drive.  I was hoping I would get to see another drive before I leave.

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About an hour later, three mounted cowboys trotted past the rigs, and not far behind…

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came the herd.  My estimate was about 300 head were being moved to greener pastures.

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Since Emma was going berserk, I put her inside the rig and went out to the fence to watch the parade go by.

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As the cows flooded the road, I could have reached out and touched them.  There were upturned horns, and downturned horns, and no horns at all. 

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And last, but not least, was the rear guard cowboy making sure no cattle wandered where they weren’t supposed to.

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A cow herd of this size doesn’t move very fast, and they certainly pave the road with lots of cow pies in their passing.  Smile with tongue out

I waited another hour before I got into the car and headed to town.  I couldn’t avoid the pies as I listened to the blatt blatt blatt as my tires squished them and sprayed them on the underside of the car.  Yuck!  I was on my way to what turned out to be the worst Chinese buffet that I’ve ever eaten.  My two recommendations are don’t eat Chinese in Winnie, TX, and don’t drive a road after a cattle drive! 

As you may have figured out, I decided to stay at Anahuac NWR until New Year’s Day.  Then on Sunday, I have reservations for four nights at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park in Louisiana.  I’ve been slowly getting ready to blow this popsicle stand.

I thought the cattle would be in their new pasture by the time I left for lunch, but it was not to be.  That herd was moving over four miles down the road, so I caught up with them.  I leave you tonight with a picture out the front windshield of my car as I was directed by the cowboys to push through the herd.  Easier said than done…

_MG_5358                                                                                THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Posted by Travels with Emma at 6:46:00 PM

30 comments:

  1. Alan and Marilyn McMillanDecember 30, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    LOL -- what a hoot!

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  2. Rubye JackDecember 30, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Hmmmm, smells good.

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  3. Rick and Kathy RousseauDecember 30, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Thinking what you had just driven over might just have been playing on your mind, and influenced your mind on the taste of the food. They say you eat first with your eyes, second with your smell, then with your mind, and finally the actual taste. Guessing by the time you went through the first three you taste buds didn't have a chance.

    It's about time.

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  4. TeriDecember 30, 2011 at 7:16 PM

    Sorry but I was laughing as I read the description of your drive. I have never eaten at a Chinese Buffet and avoid most buffets, I like my food to be cooked right before I eat it.
    Great pictures.

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  5. Dennis and DonnaDecember 30, 2011 at 7:20 PM

    The movie "City Slickers" comes to mind..I love Cowboys,though, and a real cattle drive would thrill me to no end...Movin' on is a part of a cattle drive..and a part of RV'in! Looking forward to your posts from the next point of landing..

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  6. Sue MaloneDecember 30, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    another rule. My daughter says never eat Chinese in a town with a population less than 50 thousand,

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  7. Gene and JudiDecember 30, 2011 at 7:40 PM

    Don't you just love a cattle drive? Exciting day.

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  8. GypsyDecember 30, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    I sometimes used to come up behind a herd of dairy cattle walking up the narrow road to the milking barn. The farmer would tell people to go ahead around them, but I never did. There was one crazy cow that was all over the road sometimes and I wasn't taking any chances.

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  9. NanDecember 30, 2011 at 8:12 PM

    I bet you are not in the mood for chocolate pie either....

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  10. John HedgesDecember 30, 2011 at 8:19 PM

    Judy, the view from the back of the herd is never that good. I'm surprised we aren't making the cowboys carry little plastic bags.

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  11. UnknownDecember 30, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    There's never a dull moment with you. A cattle drive - how cool.

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  12. Joe and Nancy ConradDecember 30, 2011 at 8:37 PM

    How! Brings back memories of a couple of cattle drives I participated on in my younger years, I always had a good time, but that's because I had a great horse.

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  13. Texas Yellow RoseDecember 30, 2011 at 8:39 PM

    I agree, how special and cool is seeing a for-real cattle drive! I'm not a fan of Chinese buffets, so I probably just would have stayed and watched the herd fade into the distance . . . :)

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  14. what'supwithsusanandcompanyDecember 30, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    An interesting day.

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  15. Paul and Marti DahlDecember 30, 2011 at 9:41 PM

    Pushing along in the herd with your car, they should have put you on the payroll.

    That would cover the extended car wash to "de-pie" your car!

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  16. TexCynDecember 30, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    When Roxanne (The Good LUck Duck) put up the longhorn steer on her blog, it didn't quite look long horn to me. Then I thought, well maybe a very young one. But very few of those cattle have true longhorns, so I'm wondering if they might be a mix of hereford & longhorn maybe? In fact, I thought Roxanne's was a hereford, but their horns are classic towards pointing downwards. Interesting. Emma would have loved the cow patties!! ;-)

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  17. Carol KDecember 30, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    Excellent "the end" picture to wrap up the end of your stay at Anahuac!

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  18. Karyn-LeeDecember 30, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    LOL! Awesome post, love THE END!!!

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  19. TravelingLongdogsDecember 30, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    Get along little doggies, get along. I remember my Dad singing that song. I agree that those can't be full breed longhorns but very interesting anyway.

    http://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com/

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  20. Sue and DougDecember 30, 2011 at 10:23 PM

    great day for a cattle drive and some 'cowpies'!!..maybe you should head to a car wash?

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  21. ErinDecember 31, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    Sue stole my comment :-))) I'd get a good underwash for the car :-)))

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  22. Al BossenceDecember 31, 2011 at 6:40 AM

    I ate my last mess of salt infested Chinese food a very long time ago.

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  23. squawmamaDecember 31, 2011 at 8:36 AM

    So you could say your were part of a Cattle drive... lol Great photos and it looked like a lot of fun to watch! Chinese it is either horrible or great...
    Happy New Year!
    Donna

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  24. Jerry and SuzyDecember 31, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    Here i9 Benson, pop 24000, we have a pretty good Chinese buffet. They keep the trays small and frequently refill them with freshly cooked, not terribly salt infested food. Still, it ain't haute cuisine!

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  25. JODecember 31, 2011 at 10:59 AM

    You sure had a better view of the cattle drive than I did. Right up close and in your face. I don't think I would have wanted to be driving that close to the end results.
    Be safe on the road and Happy New Year!

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  26. KarenInTheWoodsDecember 31, 2011 at 11:30 AM

    Do your local car washes have an "underbody" wash device? Up here in Wisconsin we do because of wanting the salt off the undersides.



    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  27. AnonymousDecember 31, 2011 at 12:05 PM

    I agree: great experience but now for the underbody car wash. That's not a load I would want to haul around very long.

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  28. PageDecember 31, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    Too funny!

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  29. Catherine, Jo Beth and GraceJanuary 1, 2012 at 8:11 AM

    That is a good looking herd.

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  30. meowmommaJanuary 1, 2012 at 11:02 AM

    I tried to help round up the cows from the back of a horse once at the ranch of some relatives in western KS... the horse knew though that I was a city slicker and took me a ways, turn sharply and began a rapid gallop back to the barn.... yup, dumping me in the pasture! I don't remember hitting any "meadow muffins" for cushioning... that was the beginning of my back issues! =/

    ReplyDelete

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