This is a picture of George Kirchner and shows how we protected our horses legs
George was my lead electrican and also owner the local saddle shop - George was a Good Man
This picture was taken at Main Camp
As a Father/Grandfather I'm writing some of this stuff down for the kids (By Request) I'm not a writer as you can see - Here's a sample:
Saline Valley, is an old Volcano is about 35 to 40 miles long and 30 miles wide – The remaines of Old Talcum Power Mines are on the west side – the Talc washes down to the valley floor to that is in part a dry lake bed with about 6" of Talc. In the center/west side of Dry Lake was a Hot/Mild Artisan Spring (warm like you'd wash your face in) this formed a small lake. (Water for Camp and Horses) On one of our past trip we had driven part of a 12" irrigation pipe into the spring so the water came out about bathroom sink level and we made a rock path to the pipe. This was Burro Camp!
The
Hot Spring
A road runs East/West off the Main north/south Valley Road to the Hot Springs located on the east side of the Valley. The water coming out of the Hot Spring was Boiling Hot. At different spots along the creek there were Old Crows Foot tubes someone had built (cemented) into the creek – the last tub was where you first washed then you could soak in a tub with the heat of you liking.
Hippies ruled at the Hot Springs and there were always naked bathers there and drugs everywhere. In the early and mid 60's Cowboy though Hippies were Slim so naked women or not we tended to avoid the Hot Spring.
Burro Camp was about a mile off the main road on the east west road that ran to the Hot Spring. This little Lake about 6" deep may be a acer was Main Camp
Buckey, his brothers and Dad had been Burro Hunters for some years.
Note: (Hunters – I use the word loosely - We were Ropers – Never hurt the Burro's) [There were SOB's that would drive through the valley and Shoot Burro's and just let them lie] That's why the Government Stopped our fun.
Buckey's family took me on my first Burro Hunt. Buckey was the Ring Leader, my second year there were 5 cowboy beside me – the next year 10 – then … - our last year there were 45 (in and out) plus a Film Crew – We could run out of bacon, eggs, etc. but we had to come out when THEY ran out of smokes. My last trip Buckey and I were there 10 days, came home for 2 days on business and went back for 5 more days.
Wild Horses will normally stay out at the end of your rope and fight it.
Bucky was the CCA Calf Ropin Champion (CCA= California Cowboy Assocition)
As a Calf Roper he would set his loop on a burro - go down the line - flip and Hog-Tie (2 or 3) burro's in one bunch.
My frst catch I watched Bucky and thought "H-e-l-l I can do that
We spotted Burro's off about a mile - unloaded our horses and off we'd go - 3 miles latter (from where we started) we caught up to them - I went after this one Jenny that was headed up hill - Soon she was winded but so was my horse and there we stood looking at each other just out of rope range.
I spurred my horse on - reaching out I caught Jenny #1 - being tied "Hard-N-Fast" I bailed off and headed down my line - About this time Jenny #1 laid her ears back, Baired Her Teeth, and headed up the line after me - thinking that this was NO Places for this "Want-to-Be" :cboy: I turned to my horse - The trouble was that she had the same Idea - There I was both hands on my rope and my horse pulling me down the hill and a rampaging Burro trying to eat my @$$
Down the hill about the length of a football field my horse turned and started working the rope in style - I Caught-Up-and-On then turned to see Bucky sitting on a Hog-Tied jenny spliting-a-gut laughing.
Well I guess ya know that stories made the rounds :!:
I have never had anything get into my blood like Burro Hunting and the horses loved it also – they would back out of the trailer with their heads up, looking around – and you best have you chinch pull-up because they were gone after Burro's with you doing a Pony Express Mount.
The Desert could look as flat as a tabletop but there were Washes 6' to 8' deep every 40' to 60'. The best way to travel would be to find a Burro trail that headed in the general direction you wanted to head
I was in one of these washes trying to head off a small band of burros Buckey was running. Sitting horse back I could just see out of the wash to my left when my horse started to Scotch ta da left – I put a spur in her left side to straighten her out but… it was then that I looked to my right and there running out of a wash on my right was a Jenny right along side of us. I put my loop down on her and as I started to stop when I saw that she was foaling.
I made the Burro Hunters Record Books "Two Burros in One Loop"
ops Where really is the picture taken?Just figured out a burrow is a donkey 
Dumb girl!And I'm not even blond !
