The ConversationWe had driven the land cruiser for half a day across the seemingly endless reaches of the Great Basin, the vast, near-waterless region of valleys and plains that stretches out from Nevada in the western U.S. and into neighboring states. A mile away on the side of a mountain I spotted through binoculars the object of my quest: a small band of wild horses ambling slowly downhill, the alpha mare in the lead with her brood stallion bringing up the rear.Locating wild horses in the Great Basin has occupied me for years.