So, you found out that there are wild horses, and now you want to visit wild lands and you want to see those wild horses - but - where and how can you do that!?!

As many of you already know, I have written a couple of blogs with some general maps and discussion of wild horse lands, mostly of the Red Desert because that is where my soul is most alive, but I have also been lucky enough to visit all of the officially recognized - and few no longer recognized - wild horse lands in WY, along with wild horses in Montana and Colorado.

I have only visited Sand Wash Basin in CO once - a story that is short but still amusing (at least as I look back on the memory) - and as I type this I realize that maybe it is just the right HMA to start this series.....

I was lucky enough to visit Sand Wash Basin several years ago - it is a very well known place loved by many that hardly need my two cents on where or how to find the wild horses there, but as it is an HMA that I have visited and that I have fond memories of from that visit, and maybe there is someone out there that does not know about this place, so here goes....

I had wanted to go to Sand Wash Basin [SWB] for a while.... I had been wandering around wild horse lands in Wyoming since 2011, and had heard of SWB and the beautiful wild horses there, especially of the famously stunning stallion, Picasso.

But it was going to have to be a planned overnight trip as it was quite a ways from home for me, and I was nervous about trying to find the wild horses of SWB as I was used to the sprawling expanse of the Wyoming desert where horses were found one day, and then not seen again for weeks, or sometimes even months.

I had become friendly with someone that had been to SWB and offered to show me around, so we made plans to meet up and travel to the area, we got hotel rooms, and went out to SWB to see wild horses!

And that is where the adventure began....

Remember, I knew nothing about SWB, and the person who did know the area - well - they did not know it as well as I thought! They took us out in March when there was still snow, and frozen at night roads, that became melty muddy sloppy mud as soon as the sun touched them - and the mud there is really quite special!

Later, other friends that were locals, told me I was lucky I got in and out of the basin that weekend without sliding off into one of the washes or burying my rig deep in axle grease mud! Lesson? Whenever possible, and especially if going when weather is a little bit uncertain - ALWAYS - try and find a local to talk to about visiting wild horses lands, they can and usually will help you plan and avoid some risky situations!

I somehow kept us on those slimy muddy roads, with my tracks looking like I was drunk driving as we often slid sideways - thank heavens for A-trac control!!!

Somewhere on one of those dirt roads I backed up too far too fast, while trying to turn around in the mud, and hit my muffler so hard it had to be replaced when I got home, that was a fun little extra expense!

Just another one of those things that can happen out there on dirt roads and 2-trac trails of wild horse lands.....

When we finally did find those SWB wild horses I was amazed....

My first surprise was that they did not care about us getting out of our rigs and photographing them.... they did not pick up and gallop off across the distant horizon, they just kind of glanced over at us, and then went back to their day!

And then, as I studied them I really was just in awe of their beauty - the gorgeously unique pintos, many with unique primitive leg barring, along with lovely sorrels, roans, and greys wandering across the hills.

I did not get to meet the world-famous Picasso.... I sure wish I could have, so many stories of him and his presence, he has always stood out to all that knew him and all that have heard of him, but it was not meant to be for me.

I did meet many other wild horses though.... and each of them were so incredible and unique that it is easy to see why so many love them so deeply!

So while I am most certainly not the best of people to ask for details on visiting Sand Wash Basin, I do encourage you to visit if you get the chance, there are many people who know this place and have shared so much about the horses and their lands, there are maps that can be obtained from BLM offices or online, and you can also reach out to the local BLM wild horse specialist for information about the horses and their territory - it is a part of their job to share information with us and often they enjoy talking to us about the horses.

And then simply enjoy..... remember that the journey to find the wild ones is part of the experience, their land is sacred, and if we take our time the secrets of the land and the horses will reveal themselves to us.