Wild Horse Scenic Loop and a minor mystery

Green River, Wyoming

Once we left Rocky Mountain NP and headed back toward the Oregon coast, our trip had begun to take on a real feeling of wandering off the beaten track, consisting of daily searches for sights in the states we were navigating. As soon as I spotted “Wild Horse Scenic Loop” on a Google search of “things to do in Western Wyoming,” I wanted to go. I am a lifelong horse lover, and watching mustangs in their natural habitat is a thrill I never tire of. 

The campground we pulled into in Green River, Wyoming, was one of the type we generally try to avoid: a stretch of hot asphalt featuring a slot to park in, squashed between a busy train track and a freeway, 

Still, the location was only ten minutes from where the Wild Horse Scenic Loop began, so we pulled in and hooked up, took a rest, and then headed out to the nearby mesa around sunset, our binocula…