While conducting the research for one of our previous blog entries (Conspiracies), we came upon some strange and other worldly markings on the hard packed dirt roads the fabulous Toyota FJ were taking us.
For hours the questions were thus:
Who had created such markings?
Where did they come from?
What did they mean?
How could they be there and no one has mentioned them?
Baffling to say the least.
space aliens that allowed them to have directions from the heavens above so they could land safely in their fire ships?
Conversations occurred. Answers pooh-pooed. More conversations happened and more answers that didn't pan out.
Nothing.
And one had to remember this was in range of Area 51. Anything was possible. What is the government hiding beneath our noses or at least our tire treads?
Suddenly the world awoke and there in front of us was the resolution of our verbal quest.
Yes, these wild burros like to follow each other nose to the other end of the head leaving a solid and distinctive path no matter the surface they traverse.These trails are followed religiously, though we're not sure what religion burros follow, day in and day out, leaving discernible markings.
What a let down for us wanna-be conspiracy hunters. But anyway - the truth was out there.
The burro (the Spanish word for donkey) did not come over from Europe until 1495 when Christopher Columbus brought a handful (rather large hand) to Hispaniola from whence they were transported here and there across the ever expanding empire until finally these beasts of burden ended up crossing the Rio Grande in 1598 with explorer Juan de Onate. They were then used for many purposes and some escaped (like all enslaved animals ultimately do) and bred in the wild. Thus populations of wild burros (and horses too) roaming the deserts of Nevada and other states in the southwest is not uncommon.
Really - that was the solution to another possible conspiracy? Sadly yes, and that's no manure.
