Monk Maxwell has been a working cowboy nearly all his life. Now in his early 80's he's still punchin' cows full time. As a young man he was introduced to the traditional California Vaquero style of horse training by the great cowboys he worked with and for. He has had a passion for these traditions throughout his life's work.
After hauling the horses for over an hour on rough mountain roads from the ranch HQ to this corral where Monk had gathered a bunch of cattle the day before, we moved them about 2 miles up the mountain to a different pasture. The rest of the crew rode on to where the other truck and trailer was parked and Monk and I rode back to the corral, checking for remnants along the way.
In exchange for a gourmet lunch of peanut butter and jelly burritos, a can of sardines, and a Hostess Twinkie, Monk asked if I would shoot this video for a silversmith friend of his down around Wilcox.
I had no choice but to agree to it. It was either that or go hungry.
Throughout the video you hear a cow bellowing in the background. We thought she may have lost her calf to a mountain lion. After making this video we rode out to look for that calf...
The silversmith friend of Monk's, mentioned above is Tom Paul Schneider. Here is a link to his website:
http://finestcowboyengraving.com/
I was impressed. You will be too.