Sunday, October 9, 2016

A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE


 

The first On the Wild Road excursion is now in the past. And the next ones are in the works.

I can honestly say that in spite of all the anxiety and doubts, the first excursion has been a success. For more than one reason.

Let me begin with the people who participated. At first looking at each other with curiosity and suspense, we soon became buddies, happy to be sharing a new experience. 
And the experiences were many and diverse: surprise, fatigue, relaxation, laughter and most of all, curiosity.
What a pleasure  meeting them all and debating our respective points of view.


Then there were the people we met with at each location. We learned a lot from “our guys on the ground” who had an incredible amount of  knowledge based on experience accumulated over the years. We talked, took a lot of pictures, had dinners together where we kept on talking.
Their different perspectives and scenarios they shared show how dedicated these activists are to the cause of preserving (and releasing when possible) any wild things they come across. 
 
And then there is The land. Gorgeous! Never a moment of "meh"!  Of course we knew that.  But seeing this landscape in person is never disappointing.

 on the wild road with Seven Directions



And...the animals! OMG, from big cats to raptors, all sadly in danger or saved but not free anymore, except in a few circumstances. The dedication and care they receive is quite amazing. Some sanctuary has more money than others, some groups are more or less active. Everybody shows a tremendous dedication.

We saw a couple of camels! Okay, not native...just abused. We saw great tigers. No kidding. There are 6,000 in the USA. All bought as pets and then "given away" or abused in the horrible zoos along the street or in the even worse circuses. We need education here!
My favorite is the bison, king of the West. The American Mammal.
Wolves, mountain goats, wolf dogs, eagles, wild horses and on and on. Gorgeous and loved.
People must learn that we are all sentient beings with feelings, families, health needs. And that we all suffer when isolated and beaten to teach us how to entertain the "public".








We also visited a couple of lovely farms run like families, providing amazing food to restaurants, looking like a place where you want to spend a long vacation, maybe volunteering. 



At Chef Seidel farm that provides fresh food to his restaurants in Denver, Mercantile and Fruition.

 


The Living Farm in Paonia, CO. A spontaneous art work.
 
I learned a lot at every step of the road, which spurred on my passion to continue this journey. These  trips into the wildlife of the American West might become a tool to help those on the ground and ultimately the cause of wildlife survival. And eventually lead to respect.

Lessons learned: shorter days (everyone was dead tired after 8 hours on the road, (including our driver!) but the West is notoriously huge! Then since everybody's taste is different, more freedom when it comes to meals allowing to make personal choices, including not to eat.
 
We were happy to bring some monetary help to everyone, the cost of running a sanctuary being enormous. Most people working on the ground are volunteers, or poorly compensated. And they work in difficult conditions or too far away from home.

I, however, was surprised by so many happy people living away from everything, attending to animals all the time and when not doing that, fixing or cutting or cooking or whatever is needed. And happy, very happy. I can't stop feeling huge admiration for all of them. 

I am strongly motivated to bring the message to more people, a message of respect, love, and understanding for those who were on this land before.

I am learning every day about this world of wildlife care, I'm trying to understand what makes some structures better than others, whether operating on the ground or through specific organizations, what can be done to help, what is the future of wildlife in a world looking at exploiting every possible inch of land for personal benefits. The people on the ground and their ideas, their perseverance against all odds (the odds are huge and many!), their smiles and kindness when talking to the animals have taught me that will power and love is (almost) everything one needs.

For a short time it has been like living in a different world where we all stood for the same kind of ideal life, and although in the outside world it is very different, it is that attitude of togetherness and sharing that helps to win the battles, one animal at a time.

Life is complicated, so the same applies to the animal world and to the interaction with us humans. I hope it will get better. 

In the offices of High Country News. A sketch of the building dedicated to the founder, Tom Bell, journalist, educator, rancher, who just left this planet.