If you are my age, one of the first things that comes to your mind when you think of a stampede is the stampede of Wildebeests scene in The Lion King. Unfortunately, I do not live in an area with herds of Wildebeests but we do have herds of cattle.
Gravel country roads are my favorite for running because it is easier on my joints, the scenery is better, air is fresher, and there are less distractions. One of the gravel country roads that I run on has pastures for cattle on each side of it. If I am lucky, the cattle are close to the road and I can look at them as I run past. It is always interesting to see their reaction as I run past, most of the time they just stand and stare.
However, this last evening I ran by cattle that were on the west side of the road. At first they stood and stared at me. Then one cow decided he did not like my presence so he run away. The rest of the herd followed by running off to the west down into a valley. Eventually I lost sight of them. My run continued down the road.
As it came time to turn around and head back to town, I looked to the pasture on the east side of the road and saw calves standing near the fence by the road. Any opportunity that I get to interact with farm animals I take because I grew up on a farm and miss it. I walked up the fence and watched the calves. A full grown cow may not be all that cute but calves defiantly are. The calves did not know what to think of me and kept their distance. As I waited, a few would come close but then back away. I stood there for about 10 minutes. With the calves showing no interest by that time I decided to get back to my run. (Side Note: I know the rancher that owns the land and cows so I was not trespassing on a random ranchers property.)
I turned back to the west and what I saw in the distance made me stop in my tracks. The sun was setting creating a beautiful orange glow over the pastures. In the distance there was that herd of cattle that had ran away from me. The herd was running over the top of rolling hills creating dust all around them. It reminded me of a classic stampede but it was much more beautiful.
Gravel country roads are my favorite for running because it is easier on my joints, the scenery is better, air is fresher, and there are less distractions. One of the gravel country roads that I run on has pastures for cattle on each side of it. If I am lucky, the cattle are close to the road and I can look at them as I run past. It is always interesting to see their reaction as I run past, most of the time they just stand and stare.
However, this last evening I ran by cattle that were on the west side of the road. At first they stood and stared at me. Then one cow decided he did not like my presence so he run away. The rest of the herd followed by running off to the west down into a valley. Eventually I lost sight of them. My run continued down the road.
As it came time to turn around and head back to town, I looked to the pasture on the east side of the road and saw calves standing near the fence by the road. Any opportunity that I get to interact with farm animals I take because I grew up on a farm and miss it. I walked up the fence and watched the calves. A full grown cow may not be all that cute but calves defiantly are. The calves did not know what to think of me and kept their distance. As I waited, a few would come close but then back away. I stood there for about 10 minutes. With the calves showing no interest by that time I decided to get back to my run. (Side Note: I know the rancher that owns the land and cows so I was not trespassing on a random ranchers property.)
I turned back to the west and what I saw in the distance made me stop in my tracks. The sun was setting creating a beautiful orange glow over the pastures. In the distance there was that herd of cattle that had ran away from me. The herd was running over the top of rolling hills creating dust all around them. It reminded me of a classic stampede but it was much more beautiful.