Weather in Sand Wash Basin

The weather tends to be dry and hot most of the time during the summer in Sand Wash. The winds can be incredibly forceful, but most of the time it is hot and dry. We watch the skies carefully. The weather changes rapidly, and without warning; we check the radar frequently.

Today dawned clear and bright blue. As the day progressed, it became more and more clouded. First happy little cumulus clouds formed ,which progressed to taller, darker, and angrier looking cumulonimbus clouds. Soon we began to see rain falling over distant areas. Looking East, the sky is blue and fair weather cloud float by. Look west, and it looks like meteorological Armageddon is forming.

At one point we saw clouds rotating in the distance and a small funnel appeared to form beneath the spinning clouds. I’ve been through one tornado, it’s an experience I prefer never to repeat. Thankfully, nothing else happened (aside from ferocious winds, lightning, pelting rain, and thunder).

We stayed in after a brief trip this morning to the solar pump (provides water for the horses) to assist Cindy from the Wild Horse Warriors for Sand Wash Basin. She kindly asked us transfer the pump from generator to solar- in spite of the storms, there was a lot of strong sunshine. After that we came back to camp. I spent some much needed time on patient charts and Karen did chores around camp. We did manage to make some yummy Red Lobster biscuits in the GoSun Solar Cooker before the rain clouds rolled in.

We park the truck perpendicular to the wind which acts as a wind break. We are camped in a small valley which can either block the wind, or funnel it into a powerful force as it did today.

Koko, the blind pug makes for an excellent weather vane. One ear is moderate winds, double-ears are gale force winds. Today, we had gale force winds as evidenced by Koko’s double-ear alert…

Life is incredibly rugged in the Basin. You can never let your guard down, and never lose respect for the forces of Nature. It’s challenging enough to find horses, sometime hiking miles in extreme heat. Mother Nature provides even more challenges, but we have learned over the past decade to respect the forces and never, ever take anything for granted. The raw beauty, juxtaposed with the inherent dangers make the photographs we take in the Basin, all the more precious.