April 24, 2012
Another day in the
South Unit. Started on Cuny Table, and met a tribal park employee
who brought along a Rhino (think ATV but bigger with a small bed in
back). He and Steven sat in front, and I rode in the back. We
started at the top of the slide, a “road” I wrote about in an
earlier blog. Crazy insane, but fun! We then drove all around,
mostly on roads I had been on with Ryan the last time, only the
weather was much nicer. After our first stop, our guide told me that
a lot of people will stand in the back, and lean on the roll bars to
take photos. He said I should do that, and that he'd drive slow so I
don't fall. Well, I took him up on that, and spent the entire day
standing on the back of this rhino, holding onto the bar with one
hand, taking copious amounts of photographs with the other hand. It
was just like being on safari. Surfing safari, since I had to
balance my weight like on a surfboard to avoid falling off as we
drove on all the bumpy roads and down through the creeks. There were
a few times that I just about fell off, losing one leg to the air and
hanging on for dear life. It was a great day. While out driving, I
twice saw the foal that Ryan and I rescued from the hole. He was
running with his herd, leading the way. Awesome. The rhino kept
overheating, so we took several breaks in the shade of trees near
Battle Creek. Our guide would fill a water bottle with the silty
water and spray it over the radiator to cool it down. The
temperature was in the 90s, and we were out for many hours, so it was
definitely a tough day for that machine. Through the day, I saw: a
lush area created by a natural spring at the base of Cuny Table, more
old cars, the bulldozer, two herds of horses, lots of cattle, and so
much more. Probably the most adventurous moment of the day was on
our way back. The slope up out of one of the creek beds was a bit
too angled, and I could feel the rhino hit the point where it was
tipping over into the creek. Since I was standing, I quickly flung
myself to the other side and pulled it back from tipping, but it was
still at a very precarious balance with one wheel in the air. I
slowly climbed over the side while hanging on, and was able to pull
the rhino down while our guide backed it up and got that other wheel
back on the ground. He then backed up and took a different approach
up the creek while I waited. After, he said, “that was scary.”
We got back to the quad about dinner time, and I made chili and fries
for everyone. A few of us then hiked out behind the quad as the sun
set, and Amanda and I took of for a run through the buttes, circling
back to meet the rest. We made a trip over to the Wagon Wheel where
I got a phone call to say Kieran broke his arm while outside playing,
racing around the house with the neighbor. Poor guy. Amanda, Ed,
and I then went to Ryan's to have snacks and play a little ping pong.
