I shared with you last week how we visited our dear friends in Nevada over Memorial Day weekend.

I knew one thing I wanted to do was to go treasure hunting with Debby, and we did, and it was great.

But there was another thing I REALLY wanted to do and Debby felt a lot of pressure about it.

Once or twice she had seen wild horses in the area and knew they were around. She had shown me a picture of her right next to them and I was mesmerized.

She kept saying, “We'll try, but I can’t guarantee horses!”

On the first day, we were driving through the general area so everyone had their eyes open – and I found them in the distance.

We pulled over, pulled in as far as we could and I walked ran as close as we could get.

There were across the river, but they were magnificent.

Do you see the babies lying down and how many of them are looking right at us?

Breathtaking.

 There was one problem, hubby wasn’t with us.

So a few days later we went down to the river walk where she had seen them before in hopes of finding them again.

 

We took one step on the path – and amazingly the same group was right there.

I had said to my husband that morning how much I really wanted to see their eyes.

 

I have to say it was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.

It was a spiritual experience.

I could never put into words how full my heart was.

 

I was so at peace and felt no concern being close to them.

 

At one point this fellow let me know I was too close, and I respected his wishes and backed off. but I never felt fear.

 

We went around the path at the river walk and came back upon them again in another area.

This time I was a little more brave and moved closer to them.

Partially because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and…

because this guy was already there and was standing closer! He was there to photograph birds. Those are some big birds!

 

I got there just as Mama began rolling herself in the dirt.

 

This is certainly of my favorite images of the day.

 

Right after she did it, they all started.

This huge beast playing in the dirt, unbelievable.

 

I was mostly drawn to the images where I did capture their eyes, but something about this image struck me as well.

They are just such beautiful creatures.

 

I was very close for this image and it was worth it.

These two were always at each others side.

Their coats, manes and tails were so beautiful.

 

I was so mesmerized by this Mama. There were only a few moments where her baby wasn’t right at her side – kind of like us I guess.

 

I was so thankful that everyone was extremely patient with me taking a million pictures, I never felt rushed.

 

This picture shows where they were in relation to our group – when I took photos I was about half as close.

 

When I was editing the photos from the first day (when we saw them from the other side of the river) I found this fellow in several of them.

Obviously out there working and stumbled upon them. Just taking a moment to enjoy the beauty. Made me realize how lucky we really were to see them up close.

 

I could never properly thank Mick and Deb for making it such a priority to do this.

 

And Mick, it truly was the best day ever!!!

June 05, 2012 — Laura Putnam