One Heck Of A Ride

174 at that elevation, and had to stop and catch my breath after taking just nine or ten steps, then repeating the process. All the way to the ram, my guides were signaling me with their thumbs up. When I reached them, I could see why. The ram was even larger than I thought it would be. Its gold-medal horns were 26 inches long with 11- inch bases, and would rank number six in the SCI record book at the time. The guides and I shook hands, hugged each other, and even yelled! This great sheep was our reward for the hard work we all had done. China’s High Mountain Blues Author’s second hard-won blue sheep rated gold-medal class. Smaller photo shows two local children in traditional dress with the ram’s horns (My first blue sheep also would have made the SCI record book, but after taking this great animal I didn’t have it officially measured.) When we returned to camp that evening, we learned everyone had taken rams in the two days we hunted. When someone suggested we return to Xining early and do some sightseeing, we all agreed. Xining, a 2,000-year-old city on China’s historic Northern Silk Road, is a modern city with a population of more than two million people. We shopped at an open-air market, visited a coal mine, toured the 500-year-old Ta’er Buddhist lamasery, and had lunch with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and his staff. Lunch consisted of one dish after another (including caramelized camel toes and fried pork wrapped with some type of Two sisters holding up my Blue Sheep horns