North America / Pic of the Week / Western Canada

“Pic of the Week”, September 18, 2015: Desert Bighorn Sheep

Valley of The Fire StateP Park  (139)

There are few climates harsher to survive in than the desert of the Southwestern USA.  Extreme heat in the summer, freezing winters, little rainfall, few watering holes, and limited grazing prove very challenging.  Few animals can make a go of it here and those that do have a low population density and are hard to find.

It’s a treat when you see some of  these animals, and we were lucky on our last visit to Las Vegas.  During a day trip to Valley of Fire State Park (about an hour northeast of Las Vegas) we spent our time hiking and sightseeing, enjoying the unusual, colorful eroded rocks.  As the sun was starting to set, we drove around a tight corner and nearly ran into two beautiful male desert bighorns.  Fortunately we stopped in time and they slowly moved off the road and began grazing right beside us.  I’d never seen desert bighorn sheep in the wild before.  We stopped and enjoyed them for about 10 minutes.  A special travel moment!

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