because my friends are wildlife averse
or, maybe I need some beast-loving peeps
This year, for my birthday, I went to the Sierra Grande Lodge in Truth or Consequences to soak in hot springs and go on a Ted Turner Expedition at Ladder Ranch.
“Nobody wanted to go in on this expedition with you?” my tour guide, Heidi, asked.
“Are you kidding? I told my friend about the time I went to the Key West Butterfly Conservatory, and she said, ‘But Moreau, butterflies are scary. They attack people. They attacked me.'”
I’m not exaggerating.
Heidi, like me, could not believe that anybody could be unmoved by the splendor of the open range and wild bison herds. I mean, I was humming Thin Lizzy’s Cowboy Song out there (partly to distract me from the cold winds) but also because the line
Roll me over and let me go, running free with the buffalo
felt totally apt.
“Even if they got out here on the ranch and saw the bison, you don’t think they’d change their minds?” Heidi asked.
“No. They’d be huddled in the back of this open air vehicle, wailing like babies.”
Case in point: Just a few days ago I posted on Facebook that I’m taking a field trip in January to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge where the sandhill cranes and other birds migrate. Another of my friends commented, “What are you doing? Birds are evil! You’re going to die.”
I’m only exaggerating a little.
It’s all good. For my birthday, I got to zip around in the bracing fresh air on miles and miles of beautiful, restored, open lands and see the bison. Check out some of the photos below!
Shannon Yvonne Moreau 