DONKEYS!

Sometimes I decide to give Chef Shaman a break and we go out for dinner. Our favorite place is this old roadhouse at the west end of San Timotao Canyon. I love this place, the food is not great but it's good and inexpensive. Things I love about this bar, built around 1935, is no beer on tap, no blenders, barely two TVs and cash only. It's like stepping back in time.

Anyway, to get to the topic of this story, when you leave this fine establishment there is, the drive home through the dark canyon. Besides no shoulder along side the road and the idiot drivers, you have to watch out for the donkeys. Yes donkeys, burros whatever you want to call them.

For some reason a local yokel in the 1950's decided to go north of Death Valley and capture a herd of donkeys and deposit them in this canyon and  the adjoining canyon named Reche, Well, the herd is alive and thriving to this day. I think some of the estimates say there is over a hundred now. 

The donkeys spend most of their time wandering the hills of Reche but when it is hot and dry they come to San Timotao because there is a creek that runs pretty much all year long. 

So after a filling dinner and adult beverages the drive home can be precarious. It seems the donkeys like to move at night and and like deer, can freeze in the coming headlights, So you have to be careful.

There are a few casualties but not has many as you would think, considering the size of the herd. 

I think they are fascinating and always enjoy seeing them, much to the chagrin of some of the canyon residents. The wild donkeys have a great fondness for modern landscape and garden plants.
They will clean out a rose bed faster than a terrorist chicken can take out a vegetable garden. (see last post).

I love our donkeys and happy they are left alone to range free and live a good life.

actual picture of the Reche Canyon donkeys