Arizona Cowboy: How the Grand Canyon was Formed

Prologue

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Horses and Cows,

Come on in and grab a seat by the campfire. It’s a stressful world out there filled with traffic, pollution, and concerns about everything the human mind can imagine. So take a few minutes and relax, smell the smoke, ride the range, and enjoy the work (or more accurately “the play”) of cowboy poet J. Douglas Hinds.

Arizona Cowboy is the name of this column, and every month we’re proud to publish at least one poem from a collection that Hinds has written over the years. Editor

 

How the Grand Canyon Was FormedHorse Stampede

By J. Douglas Hinds

 

His old bed roll felt mighty good
As he laid on a grassy spot

 

He watched the embers from the fire
Beneath the coffee pot

 

His horse was tired and so was he
They both had done their best

 

He’d found a dozen lonely strays
And they all were need’n rest

 

Another six miles to look out point
He’d push them there by noon

 

Better get some shut eye now
Tomorrow will be here soon

 

And somewhere in the dark of night
A distant coyote was heard

 

And he slowly drifted off to sleep
Without a discouragjn word

 

And layin’ there a sawin’ logs
He had a cowboy dream

 

He dreamt he had ten thousand head
More than he’d ever seen

 

And a thousand riders ridin’ hard
Strung out for a hundred miles

 

And ever man was mounted up
In all the latest styles

 

He overlooked the cattle drive
From high upon a hill

 

And every cow and every calf
Worth a thousand dollar bill

 

And then a storm began to boil
And lightening began to crack

 

And then the herd just broke and ran
They couldn’t hold them back

 

But the trail they left can still be seen
In the Arizona sand

 

It runs for miles wide and deep
It’s called the Canyon Grand

 

And then he woke to twelve ole cows
And knew he’d had a dream

 

It seemed so real at the time
But it’s never what it seems

 

He saddled up at first daylight
And mounted his trusty steed

 

Well actually she’s just an old gray mare
But that was a real stampede

 

grand canyon

***

Author: John Hinds

John Douglas Hinds, who was raised on a ranch, is the retired senior partner with J.D. Hinds Professional Painting LLC. As a licensed residential and commercial painting contractor, he has painted “thousands of homes and businesses” in the Valley over the past 33 years. Hinds is a resident of Cave Creek and a frequent contributor to The Peak.

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