Big Horn Symposium - Riverton, Wyoming

There I was, bombing along northbound on I-25 and Kim Fuka, the world-famous quiller (see July 4, 2014 post), had just rung me up. Suddenly, I looked down and noticed the temperature gauge was in the red! I pulled over and settled into the conversation while Eggbert regained his cool. Back in town, the mechanic said he'd get right on it, but he doesn't work weekends. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll be a one-day job.  

The unusual Time-is-of-the-Essence circumstances are due to having discovered, AND REGiSTEReD FOR, the (FREE) Big Horn River Symposium in Riverton, Wyoming, Sept 10-12. Below was lifted from the symposium's main page...

Logo used with permission

The Big Horn River general stream adjudication was initiated by the Wyoming legislature in January 1977 in response to an assertion of water rights in the Wind-Big Horn River system by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes.  The adjudication is currently poised to reach its conclusion later this year.  The Wyoming District Court is expected to enter a final decree in the adjudication, which reviewed water claims held by over 20,000 parties within the Big Horn Basin.  This complex and often contentious proceeding has now spanned thirty-seven years.  It has been visible regionally and nationally, prompting two seminal opinions by the Wyoming Supreme Court as well as one closely watched decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, all of which involved water rights held by the two tribes located on the Wind River Reservation in the southwest corner of the basin.  Constituting a landmark in the fields of western water law and American Indian law, the University of Wyoming (UW) College of Law is proud and excited to be hosting a symposium focusing on the Big Horn River general stream adjudication from September 10-12, 2014, at the Wind River Hotel and Casino in Riverton, Wyoming. 


Other obligations had me ambivalent about attending until I spoke with Professor Debra Donahue, author of The Western Range Revisited: Removing Livestock from Public Lands to Conserve Biodiversity. Her enthusiasm for the speakers and the fact that she too will be there convinced me to go. You should too!

Westward Ho to The Gallery In Williams...Arizona, that is.

I was on the east side of The Rez when my intuition grabbed me by the shirt-front, slammed me against the wall, and whispered, "Get thee hence to the The Gallery in Williams."...Williams, Arizona that is. It's a two-day trek from Albuquerque and I often camp on Buffalo Range Rd.

As many times as I've been here (30 miles east of Flagstaff) this was the first I was in the mood to pilgrimage the 14 miles to the famed Yeager Canyon Trail. Supposedly accessible from this side, the information at the Raymond Ranch sign-in kiosk about a mile before "headquarters" touts it as easy. There's also a varied and interesting (interesting what might be if they hadn't been removed in the name of cattle-ranching) list of animals that can be seen on the reserve; I saw an (one!!) antelope. 

My one (and only) principal is: dawdle. So by the time I arrived at headquarters it was past 6:00 pm. The roads beyond headquarters were rougher than anticipated; top speed maaaaybe, 5mph. If it'd been earlier I'd have continued the last four miles, but there's a notice at the aforementioned kiosk that stipulates: Camping only allowed in the designated spot...300 ft N of headquarters. The "campspot" is a weed-covered area recognizable only by the presence of the picnic table & barbecue grill. There are no "facilities." 

I do all I can to avoid formal campsites and with still four miles to the trailhead at an estimated four-miles-per hour, I couldn't make it before sunset. And I've reached the age where I don't like to drive after dark.

I returned north of the kiosk and spent a peaceful night on the campable lands (photo above).