assateague island

ive always wanted to see the 'wild horses' on assateague island in MD. so, bijou and i packed up the buggy and drove off monday morning to check it out. just the idea of getting on the road on a beautiful fall day to see something new was exciting. the sunroof was open, the sun shining above and the drive quite scenic:

while at the visitors center getting the usual bit of education, i spied this sign:


yikes! not the romantic looking creature, galloping down the beach, splashing water everywhere, that i'd imagined. im a bit frightened! as we drove over the bridge to the island, this deer, clearly disobeying the road sign, gave us an additional taste of what was to come...
this place REALLY IS WILD!!!

( click on pics to make them bigger)

so we drove for a while in search of these mystical horses. we pulled over and walked into the woods looking for them:


eek. feels very 'blair witchy and/or 'deliverance' -like in here. so, we decided to head out to the beach to look for them:


but all we found were surfers:
(what they were even attempting to surf is unclear)


so, we decided to take one of the nature trails out to the wetlands where the ranger said they would most likely be:


and we sat and watched the sunset,
taking in the beauty of the day:


no horses to be seen here, but we did see this 'bird' perched overhead. he was eyeing up bijou like he hadnt eaten in days, so we left.


feeling fulfilled by a lovely day spent exploring, but defeated by the absence of wild horses, we hopped back into the truck and started home. on the way back out of the park we came 'round a bend in the road and there they FINALLY were!!! the WILD HORSES!!! YES!
it was magical, it was beautiful, it was...
ridiculously tame.


there they stood, in the middle of the road - not moving. they were so tame that i actually had to drive around them to keep going. it was a sad and sudden realization that people like me had made these 'wild horses' well, not so wild. and so, bijou and i drove off into the sunset and left these horses behind us. yep, there they are.
still not moving...


WILD.