2015 Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour
Once again, it is that time of the year for the Santa Cruz Open Studios Tour! I believe this is my twelfth year. Instead of needing to purchase a $20 calendar as in past years, this year there is a free magazine insert in the Santa Cruz Good Times distributed all over Santa Cruz County, which lists the over 300 participating artists. The tour is held the next three weekends starting tomorrow, October 3 in North County. I will be participating with the South County artists on Oct. 10 & 11. Here is my address. I will feature new images from Venice, the Santa Cruz area coast, the Palouse area of Washington, and the wild mustangs, as well as my older all time favorites.
Pryor Mountain Wild Mustangs
My wife and I recently visited the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustangs in Montana. The lead image in the slideshow above shows Jasper and his band. The best way to view these horses is with PryorWild Tours. Our gracious tour guide, Steve, drove us in his 4-wheel drive Jeep Rubicon for the two-hour, 12-mile ride up the mountain. At times, it felt like we were rock climbing in the Jeep. We were fortunate to see 109 of these graceful, majestic animals! Steve knew all the horses by name, and shared interesting information on wild horse behavior as we watched. Although the BLM requires that people maintain a certain distance from the horses, the mustangs were not shy, but rather curious of us. It was an awesome experience to be surrounded by the horses as they grazed. As the sun lowered, the horses traveled in groups down to the watering hole provided by the BLM. The horses will stay at the top of the mountain until the beginning of winter, when they will make their way down to lower areas of the mountain.
"This tough little horse, derived from the horses of Portugal and Spain, has been present in this rugged mountain area for nearly 200 years. If lost, the herd cannot be restored; and so its biological viability, together with its history, must be preserved." - Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center