4 Days in Wells, NV – Day 1

Aaron and I, Dallas, left California Tuesday night at about 11:30 PM heading to Wells, Nevada 10 hours away.  We were going to Wells to observe and document the BLMs Wild Horse round up at the Antelope complex in Northeastern Nevada.

We thought that we would start by seeing what we could observe on our own without the BLMs provided “Public Viewing”.  Well were we in for a BIG surprise.

Day 1, Wednesday.

We arrived in Wells around 9:00 AM and fueled the rental vehicle and got some food after the long drive.  As it would turn out we should have been more selective in food choices but it did provide the catalyst for what was to become a chain of events we had not expected.

We had received an email that the holding pen for the horses being rounded up that morning (the BLM calls the operation a “Gather”) was about 75 miles south of Wells so we headed down the highway looking up navigation to that location.  Along the way Aaron saw on the map the old highway and a road leading in to BLM land.  Since we had some time we headed out for some exploration.  We found fresh truck tire tracks in the snow and mud and followed them to their abrupt end.  We had a walk about after hearing what sounded like the banging of stock trailers but could never locate the location so we headed back out towards the highway and on to the holding pens.  On the way we found a developed well that had been fenced off but had lots of cattle droppings and hoof prints.

Once back on the highway Aaron’s food choice proved to be a wrong one and we made a quick stop off the side of the highway.  We then proceeded towards the facility and saw some foothills behind it that looked like they could provide a good vantage point for unfettered viewing and photography of the pens and horses.  After making a couple of stops to check the viewing, we determined that the facility was too far off, and we had received another email that a Sorel horse had bang it’s head pretty badly during the round up and was coming in to the holding pens with 11 other horses.  So if we could, check and photograph it as it was unloaded.  We decided to head on down to the facility.

Since we were behind the facility we came across a power line maintenance road that would take us right behind the pens so we headed down it.  As we got closer we came to a spot that we thought might be close enough to get some good pictures without being noticed so we stopped to check it out but again it was too far away so we continued to the pens.

There was a road off of the power line road that led down to the pens which were located at a Highway maintenance yard so we followed it in.  There were some orange cones in the road that at one time had tape tied around them, but there weren’t any signs of any kind so we continued with Aaron taking pictures of what we could see.  We were met by a BLM Ranger in his 4WD truck.  We told him we had seen all of the horses in the pens and wanted to come take a look to see if they were for sale.  He let us know they were “Gathered” wild horses and we could view them from a designated area in the front and could park in a separate designated area up front as well.  We followed him, parked the car, got out and proceeded to take some pictures and talk with the Ranger.  Aaron was still not feeling to good so he stayed with the car.

I noticed that the horses of concern had already been offloaded and were being held in a “Sorting” pen.  There was a pen that had some beautiful horses right in front of the designated viewing area about 150 – 200 feet away. This pen was the only one, of about six that we could make out, that did not have snow fence on the outside so we had a clear view.  I took pictures and we picked out a couple that we thought were the best looking.  After about 10 – 15 minutes the workers pulled a semi loaded with rolls of hay right in front of the one pen with a clear view so I stepped aside from the viewing area to try and still see the horse but was abruptly told by a ranger that I needed to return to the designated area even though I could not see the horse.  I could not clearly see the “Sorting” pen but I tried to count the horses and came up with about 12 so I figured these were the ones that might have the injured Sorel mustang.

I waited until the contractors started sorting those 12 so I could try and get a better view as they were passed through a “Squeeze” shoot and pushed into one of the other pens that could not be clearly viewed.  I took pictures and when I thought I saw the Sorel, I focused on it as it went through but it didn’t look like it was injured in the face.  During this Aaron had tried a couple of times to get rid of his bad burger and stayed by the car.  I went back and talked with the Ranger who gave me the phone number of the “Gather” hotline for further information.  We then headed back to Wells to check in to the hotel so we could get some badly need rest for the both of us.  On the way Aaron needed one more attempt to rid the Bad burger off the side of the highway so we pulled off and then drove to the hotel.  As we were checking in and gathering our stuff from the car Aaron couldn’t find his cell phone.  We dug through the car but could not find it and thought maybe it fell out when we made that last stop to rid the evil burger.  After Aaron got to his room I decided to make a trip back down the highway to see if I could find the spot we had pulled off and look for his phone.  The forecast indicated that there could be snow overnight and I thought I might have a better chance of finding it that night before a potential snow storm.  Unfortunately I could not find the phone or the spot we had pulled off so I went back to the hotel, called the hotline number to get some information and found out that the BLM would meet with interested public observers at 6:30 AM the next day at a local Truck stop.  Then I went to bed around 9:30 PM to try and get some rest for the next day.

Some highlights of Day 2, Thursday:

• Evil burger is gone!
• Roundup (Gather) called off due to high winds.  6 horses captured.
• Leaving Roundup had to drive through hundreds maybe a thousand pregnant cows just unloaded onto BLM land.
• Searched for Aaron’s cell phone and received warning from BLM cub scout Ranger for driving around orange cones. And was “Profiled” by BLM PR person, told “they knew my opinion of the BLM” during the “Lecture” from a Google search on me.
• Found Aaron’s phone.

Note: Aaron and Dallas took off time from their work and were not reimbursed by any individual, group or organization.  All of the costs they incurred and efforts given were for the sole purpose of becoming personally informed and supporting the plight of our American Wild Horses and Burros and those who spend their time, efforts and money doing the same.