Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - Work/Rest Day

I drove up the road today to find a cell phone signal, took about 14 miles, still took me hours to get my half hour of work to get done. Hubby stayed home and read. Nothing much else happened today. Not enough rain to wash the vehicles :-).

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - First Ride Day in Platte River Wilderness

We both slept late this morning, which is very easy to do when you're in the middle of nowhere (honestly, I don't know how people sleep with all the noise of the city or suburbs-I have to wear earplugs whenever we are in a populated area), so by the time breakfast was done and we had saddled up, we were heading out about 10:30, under clear skies and perfect temps. We started off on what looked to be an ATV road right across from the corral, because we wanted something fairly easy our first time out. Well, that road quickly narrowed, got covered in water, almost disappeared, and had trees falling all over it. After half an hour, we decided to be wise and head back. We came past the corrals to the trail around the campground, which is the real trailhead for the area anyway. We headed through the pine forest, which is mostly dead because of the pine beetle infestation that is everywhere here (thanks to some zealous environmentalists who apparently sue the forest service every time they want to do anything to manage the forest, like prescribed burning - not allowed - or clear cutting breaks to prevent the spread of the pine beetle - not allowed - , etc.), picking up the Platte Ridge Trail a short ways up the trail. After crossing the creek, most of the trail was quite open, lots of grass, dandelions and clover (perhaps the weed-free certified hay scheme came in a little late?) and seemed relatively flat, or just a little grade upwards. We only wanted to take a short ride today, so we just followed the trail maybe a mile or two, just after we came out of the clearings and into the forest, which apparently was just before the peak of the ridge. We turned around, happy that our three hour jaunt was just what we wanted. We had done some trotting, and on the way back, on the road from the campground to the shortcut trail up to the corrals, we got a good canter in as well. Once the horses were settled in, we did a water run, both to the campground to fill up our numerous one-gallon bottles, and down to the creek to try out our new drill pump. At the campground, we spoke to Bob the host about trail maps, which apparently they had just restocked in anticipation of the big weekend coming up, and he showed us some of the idiosyncrasies of the map from the reality they tried to capture. We then headed to creek, where our attempts to get the drill pump to work were unsuccessful, and we ended up using the old fashioned method (one small portable bucket at a time, into three much larger tubs). It's only a little battery operated drill, so Hubby thinks we need more power, so next time we'll try his electric impact wrench with a generator, to see if that works better. Might be more effort than it's worth, but then again, if it works, it should be easier in the long run, especially if we stay in more horse camps as primitive as this (and it seems as though we might from the research I did on the computer yesterday.) Despite that minor setback, it was a lovely day, a lovely ride, and looks to be a beautiful evening, though there are a few clouds building that look like we might have a thunderstorm, in which case I might just jump out and throw some soap on a sponge and wash down the pickup, which is well and truly filthy at this point!

Monday, June 28, 2010 - Drive to Walden, CO

Had to pick up some groceries and check my email, so I drove to the nearest town, Walden, CO, about 30 miles away. An easy drive into a town with a Main Street and little else. I think I saw a courthouse just off the main drag, pretty small to be the county seat, but then again, so is our little town at home in Tennessee. Drove from one end to the other to see what was there before deciding my agenda. First to the hardware store to try to solve a pump problem. As there is no water by the horse corrals except a creek about 200 feet away, and filling buckets was a pretty strenuous task, we thought we might be able to find something that would at least draw water from the creek up to the road so we could fill them up in the back of the pickup. I found a cute little "drill" pump, a small impeller that you put a drill into that theoretically could pump uphill for at least 20 feet. I thought it would be more practical than buying a big heavy electric pump that would need the generator to run, and it was much more affordable, so I gave that a try. Next, I found a handy little cafe in the middle of town with a wi-fi signal (the reason for the drive-by), so I went in, found the perfect booth in the back corner with an electrical outlet, ordered an ice tea, and later lunch, and went to work. Stayed there until about 4:00, then headed to the gas station (one of two, side by side, same prices) to fill up the small tanks for the generator, then off to the supermarket (appropriately called Supers). Surprisingly, I found everything on the list, despite being the only game in town. Headed back out to the campground, got there just after 5:30, then settled down for the evening. Hubby's feeling better after having rested for most of the day, though he did do a couple of things on the honey-do list. We also decided to stay here until after the 4th of July weekend. Though we're having to conserve big-time on water, at least we know what we face here, and we hate to move to a new location just before the biggest weekend of the year without knowing what we might be up against. Chances are, no matter where we go, it'll be packed, and at least here, there's a limit to how many neighbors we can have, though we've heard rumors we'll be joined by a rather large group coming up from Leavenworth, KS. No matter, we're settled in ow, and we're looking forward to our first ride here tomorrow, now that Hubby seems to have acclimated and we've recovered from our first few days.

Sunday, June 27, 2010 - Crash Day II

Slept late, and Hubby had a rough night, woke up coughing on many occasions, probably because dinner was a little salty and we're at over 9000 feet, both of which constrict his breathing. We decided to stay in bed and rest, then later in the morning I sat outside in the sun, really luxuriating, can't remember the last time I did that! Started a new book and really got into it, unlike I usually do, when I'm reading three sleepy pages before dropping off to sleep. Hubby stayed in bed, then went back to bed in the afternoon for another nap. By dinner he was feeling MUCH better, though still a bit tired with the thin air. We're trying to decided whether we want to stay here through the July 4th weekend or to find someplace at a lower altitude. Problem is, there really is a shortage of horse camps along the southern tier of Wyoming, and we really don't want to go north yet, it's only going to be more crowded in the Yellowstone/Teton area. Still want to go to Antelope Island in Salt Lake, but not for the whole weekend. We'll see how Hubby feels tomorrow, if he thinks he can tolerate the thin are for another week. We've been very scrimpy with water in order to make it last as long as possible, and we think we can make it until next Monday if necessary. To bed early, hoping that Hubby is even more fit tomorrow.

Saturday, June 26, 2010 - Crash Day

Slept pretty soundly, awakened at 8:30 by someone knocking at our door! (not what you'd usually expect out here in the middle of nowhere!) Threw on a shift and went to the door. By then, the knocker had gone on to the corral. I called out good morning, and noted that all of the horses the club had brought in were gone, apparently already off to do their thing. It amazed me that we slept through their entire preparation and departure. The man came back, asking if we knew which trail the group had gone out on, and of course, I had to explain we slept through it. He said he was part of that group but couldn't make it last night. I suggested he speak to Bob at the campground, I was pretty sure that the trails that led out of the campground were the ones they were going to clear, but Bob would surely know if they passed him. As he prepared his horse, I fed and watered ours, then went back inside, debating whether to go back to bed or not. Yes, after nearly 12 hours of sleep, I still felt like I needed more! After a bit, Hubby and I decided to get up, but just to relax as much as possible today, so we had breakfast and spent the day reading (outside in the sun for a while, before thunderstorms rolled in nearby), then watching the World Cup as the United States to Ghana 2-1. Still feel terribly tired from all of yesterday's activities, hoping to feel better by tomorrow so we can go riding.

Friday, June 25, 2010 - A Roller Coaster Change of Plans Day

Woke up an hour before the alarm, decided to get moving early. Packed up, stopped at the dump, then headed out before 8:00. Stopped in Laramie to pick up some fly spray and another saddle bag. Meanwhile, I called the BLM to find out about potable water at Encampment River. I had left a message more than a week ago and had never had the call returned. I had gotten the voicemail of the same man when I had called earlier, still no return call, so finally I had to insist on talking to someone who knew something. I wasn't about to drive all the way there only to discover we needed to pick up water. Finally spoke to a woman who, after several minutes of conversation, determined that our rig wouldn't fit into any of the sites at Encampment River, wasn't sure about potable water, and thought the corrals were a long way from campground, all negatives, I realized based on that information, I just couldn't see us spending the weekend there either. I spent another half hour on the phone trying to find alternatives, and finally decided on Pelton Creek Horse Camp. It was the only one within striking distance that seemed suitable, so after a discussion with Hubby, we set out to Pelton Creek, just about an hour away, which would get us in good and early, which we wanted to do as Friday are the day it becomes hard to find a decent spot. So off we went! Traveled on mostly flat prairie until just before we headed into the forest, then started slowing climbing. Had to stop at one point as the van approached overheating, than proceeded on after a few minutes of cooling. Finally reached the top, then started descending until we hit the Colorado border. Almost immediately after that we saw a hand painted sign that said Pelton Creek, so we turned down a dirt road, and soon saw real signs that indicated we were in the right place. We traveled the near 10 miles to the last campground on the road. Once again, Hubby went in to reconnoiter, he had a long discussion with Bob the campground host, then finally came out to fill me in. Apparently, horses weren't allowed in the campground (despite many lodgepole pines that would have been perfect for a highline), only at the corrals, a sign for which we had passed about a half mile up the road. The only water was a hand pump (yes, a pump!), and that was in the campground, there was no water at the corrals, but it was near the creek so we figured we could get water there. Most of the sites at the campground were pretty small, but Bob said we could camp up at the corrals, for no fee at all. We decided that's what we'd do. We spent the next hour at the hand pump filling up our tank, using a clever device consisting of a plastic soda bottle with the bottom cut out hooked to a hose that went into the tank. The pump was higher than our tank, so gravity worked. I must have pumped about 1500 times to get the tank full! It was coming out only in a pretty small dribble. Once done, we headed out to the corrals. The road was quite steep, and it was at an angle better for coming in the other direction, so I had a few scary moments trying to turn around using a trail next to the road. Finally managed it. Then I headed up the road to the corrals, giving it gas to try to make a run at it. I think I might have just dragged bottom on a high spot on the road, because I slowed to the point of not being able to go any further. The van just didn't have the power. Maybe the extra weight of the water didn't help either :-). Anyway, I radioed Hubby, who had gone up ahead of me and was chatting with another fellow who was preparing to leave, and he put the horses in their corrals, dropped the horse trailer, and backed down the road to me. I hooked up a tow strap (which doubles as our highline tree saver), and with the help of his pickup, we managed to get up to the top with no more problems. We got the horses settled, and the RV situated (with levels, because I was sick of being lopsided as we had been for weeks now), then decided to do a water run. We gathered every tub we had, loaded them in the back of the horse trailer, which was now reconnected to the pickup, and headed down to the creek below. Once again using the nylon strap, we looped in around the handles of one of the smaller tubs, threw it into the creek, pulled it out, carried it up to trailer and dumped it into one of the larger tubs. After a dozen or so throws we had two large tubs, two small tubs and a cooler full of water, which we brought back up to the horses. Once they were situated with water and hay, Hubby and I started getting the RV opened and settled in. It was a really good thing we got here early, by 11:00 or so, because it seemed to take the whole darn day to get settled. By 4:00 we were in, everything ready including the generator, but exhausted from all of the physical effort. We finally settled down to cocktail hour and dinner, settled in for the evening. When we put the horses to bed, we also put the tarp over the new hay (which the horses LOVED, by the way), because it looked like rain was coming in, which in fact it did later. In the evening, we were joined by a cadre of folks, who we learned were a horse club coming up to clear up the trails. Then, just before it got dark, we saw something neither of us had ever seen before, a (practically) night rainbow. The sun was almost down, the sky was mostly dark with a few streaks of red on the clouds, when we saw a beautiful dark rainbow off in the east, truly spectacular, more than the picture shows. Really gorgeous, seemed a darker shade of hues than a typical rainbow. We have to say, we LOVE our new back yard, it's one of the prettiest we've had in a very long time. We're considering staying longer than the weekend, but we'll have to wait and see. Obviously no cell phone signal here, so it will require trips to the nearest town occasionally. Meanwhile, we went to bed just after 9:00, exhausted from our long and eventful day!

Thursday, June 24, 2010 - Drive to Curt Gowdy State Park, WY-Another Disappointment!

Packed up and got out early again, anxious to get to our next location. We had arranged to stop near Loveland and get some fresh Weed-free hay that had just been baled, for $7/bale (vs. At the feed store at $9.50/bale for last year's cut). Took 15 bales and left a check for Denny as instructed. Continued through Ft. Collins, a quick stop at Wal-mart and Lowes for a few things, then headed up to Curt Gowdy State Park west of Cheyenne, WY. Arrived at the park, which is next to a reservoir, and discovered that a lot of what was on the website wasn't exacty true. The fee for non-residents was $17/night, but not per campsite, PER VEHICLE! No senior discount at all, no reduced second vehicle fee, nothing so we ended up paying $34 for the night. No water at the campground except one spigot and hose to water the horses (though the water already in the tank was so dirty and rusty looking, I dumped it out before we put the horses in the corral and used our own tubs to be safe. Hubby had to mess with the spigot for 10 minutes before he could get it to work. The horse "camp" was nothing more than a parking lot with a couple of picnic tables and fire rings, no water, no electricity, nothing at all to justify the exorbitant rates. We had planned to spend the weekend, but at these prices and with such poor facilities, not to mention the trails seemed to be overwhelmed by cyclists, we just couldn't see ourselves doing it. So we decided to pack up in the morning and move on to our next stop, Encampment River Campground on the other side of the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - Ride Day in Pike National Forest

Drove over to the non-equestrian campground to look for a kiosk with a trail map, didn't find one, but did find a camp host who provided me with a map. We saddled up and headed out, planning on taking the shortest loop, about 7-8 miles, just to get back into the swing of things. The trail was mostly dirt, but had some sections of stones and rocks. Some areas were very narrow, with new spring growth practically overtaking the trail, while others were forest roads. One section was more like a creek bed, with water flowing down it almost the entire way, and some sections were pretty steep. A beautiful view at the top just before heading back down to the campground. A very pleasant 3-hour ride, trails were pretty well-marked, and we all enjoyed it very much. No crashes, no problems, always a good day when that happens! After we got back, we had a visit from the two girls, asking if we could spare some dog food for their puppy's dinner. Apparently some critter had gotten into their stash and ate it all, so we gladly gave them a container full, which they returned, with leftovers, after dinner was done. Sweet girls, I hope they realize how lucky they are to be around horses and dogs in their young lives!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - Departure Day-Drive to Indian Creek Horse Camp

Contrary to our original plan, we didn't go for a ride on Saturday, we just had too much to do in preparing for our departure today. Got up early, said good-bye to our client, and headed out before 9:00. We had many stops to make, starting with going to the vet so our dogs could get boosters for their flu vaccines, which the vet required before we could board them. Very unhappy with the final bill, charged the same for the booster as they did for the original vaccine, plus an (brief) office charge that's more than my regular vet charges for a regular visit, especially considering that canine flu is isolate to just a few places in the country, Colorado being one of them. Most money I've ever had to pay just to board two dogs in the same cage for two nights! Next stop was at the RV store, which had promised to get us a door handle for our patio door, but once again, disappointment when they didn't have it in, didn't know where it was, didn't know if it had been back-ordered, didn't know if it was going to be arriving at all. Not a lot of enthusiasm to serve customers there. Next we drove to Pueblo, with stops at the gas station, the liquor store and Wal-Mart, then west 20 miles to Penrose to pick up some certified weed free hay, required in most Western National Forests and State Parks. After the feed store, we headed north again, along a lovely road toward I-25, then north to Sedalia where we headed west again to the Indian Creek Horse Camp (not to be confused with the Indian Creek Trailhead in the San Isabel National Forest near LaVeta where we went riding before). Started climbing about 3-4 miles from the campground, slow going but made it with no trouble. The campground is right off the state highway, so no dirt roads except the one into the campground. Hubby went into the campground first to reconnoiter, then I moved in. Once again, rather disappointing. We were told there was water in the campground, but of the three water pipes, only one had a spigot on it (the other two had no head, just caps), and the only functioning one had been cut in such a way as not to allow a hose to be fitted. When you turned it on, water went everywhere! Even with the huge tubs we use, we couldn't get the stream just into the tub. What a waste! Fortunately, we still had some water in our tank, enough for the two days we planned to spend there, anyway. Almost no site was level, and almost no site was shaded, and no sites were both. We ended up on a site that at least provided some shade in one of the corrals, though we were really not at all level, both front to back and side to side. We felt like we were in a listing yacht! Quite disappointing, especially for $17/night (though with Hubby's Golden Age Passport it was $17 for both nights)! There was one other family in the campground, with two young girls and a new golden lab puppy in tow. They had outfitted a livestock trailer with boards placed in the slots and a mattress on the boards, providing an interesting "tent" for the girls to sleep in. Anyway, we settled in after a long active day, looking forward to a ride day tomorrow, having moved my horse into the second corral once the hot sun had passed behind the trees.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - Ride Day

It was such a beautiful day today, upper 70's, sunny and a milder than usual breeze, so we decided to take advantage and go for a ride. Our hostess was originally going to be back today, but a change in plans postponed it until tomorrow, and since we knew we would be working with her the rest of the week, we decided today as the day! We'd been told there was over 2000 acres of state "trust" property very close by, so we got directions and headed out. We had to go out the neighbor's driveway, as our hostess has a cattle guard and no alternative gate, but the neighbor has an electric gate with no cattle guard. So we left out her driveway, went only a few hundred yards to a turnoff, which was the road the went directly to the state property, just a mile or so away. It is mostly rangeland, with some fascinating "sentinels" at the end of the valley, rock carved by water and wind into a huge swath of monoliths, as if they were once mountains, but all that was left was what looked like a fence made by nature. There were cows grazing on the land, presumably they lease it from the state. Mostly wide open range with a road going through it. Only trouble is our horses tend to not understand what to do when there's no definite trail to follow, they tend to wander, straying from one side to another, unable to keep a straight line. The other thing is, when he sees that much wide open space, my horse tends to get this overwhelming urge to run willy-nilly across it, often starting out with some bucking before he gets his stride. A couple of times I just had to let him go, to try to get it out of his system, particularly when they got close to the cows, those strange animals that they didn't know what to do with. No crashes, fortunately, and no missteps, so all said and done it was a wonderful 3+ hour ride, though I have to say it's not as interesting just riding across the range. I was always worried about holes and uneven terrain and rocks that just seemed prime to sprain an ankle. A good time nevertheless! When we arrived back to the ranch, we discovered four bighorn sheep in the pasture nearest the one where our horses have been staying in, and they came in quite close, curious about what was going on. I'd never seen bighorn sheep in the wild before, much less in our own backyard! Quite the adventure! Anyway, the rest of the day is dedicated to relaxing, tomorrow morning I'll probably do some bushhogging with our hostess' tractor just to tidy it up a bit, then dinner with her and her mother and a few others tomorrow night, then work the next few days. Probably will ride on Saturday, weather permitting. We're thinking about the trail on Spanish Peaks, two very dominating fixtures in the landscape just south of here. Last trail we had planned to do while we were here, and considering we're planning on leaving early next week, high time we did it!

Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Crash Day

Our hostess left early from some appointments, so we slept in, very late, then spent the day laying back in our recliners watching TV all day. It was dinnertime before we mustered enough energy to go see the horses. We had only seen them from afar at that point, as tired as we were! Looking forward to a relaxing Sunday, then back to our normal routine on Monday.

Friday, June 11, 2010 - Travel Day Back to Colorado Springs

No problems today. Hotel shuttle got us to Reagan National in plenty of time (after pigging out on the free hotel breakfast this morning :-), no delays, no problems with our transfer, the whole day went well. The guys from Meineke took great care of us, picked us up at the airport right on time, back to the shop to pay the bill, then on to Walmart to shop, then the liquor store, then back to the ranch! Our hostess had flown in earlier in the day and had picked up our furry kids already, so we had wagging tails and kisses waiting for us when we got back! Ran into a little rain, but nothing of any significance, was happy to see it. Chatted for a few minutes, then heated up some leftover Chinese food we'd bought in DFW, ate and promptly crashed, exhausted from our hectic few days. Looking forward to a long and good night sleep!

Thursday, June 10, 2010 - Work, Play, Anniversary

Slept till after 10:30, missing the hotel breakfast, so instead we just had coffee in the room and leisurely prepared to meet our client. Left the hotel and walked to the nearby Metro station, grabbing some breakfast on the way. Didn't realize Dunkin Donuts had a full breakfast menu these days! Arrived in plenty of time, worked with our client until nearly 6:00, then met an old friend at the nearby Thai restaurant we love so much. It was a special occasion, as Hubby and I were celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary. Coincidentally, our friend's parent's (now deceased) anniversary was the same day, so we had a lovely evening all around After dinner we came back to Crystal City for a nightcap, then kindly dropped us off at the hotel. We were exhausted, but truly enjoyed ourselves. Now a good night sleep, hoping tomorrow's airport day goes a little more smoothly than yesterday's!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - Bad Day at the Airport

Got up bright and early for a travel day to DC. Made sure the animals were all set, dropped off all three dogs (our 2 and our client's, whom we've been looking after) at the vet's for boarding (stunned at the prospect they wanted to charge extra just to open a can of dog food, considering it I already had to pay through the nose to get them vaccinated for some rare but contagious influenza that is apparently out here in Colorado, but few other places), then ran up to Colorado Springs. Stopped for breakfast at IHOP, then headed to the Meineke. We had made arrangements to have them drive us to the airport, keep the truck to perform a brake job, transmission service and other overdue maintenance, then pick us up again on Friday when we returned. Made it to the airport with about an hour to spare, only to discover the plane was delayed for 30 minutes... Then an hour... Then two hours... It finally arrived, but moments later we learned the air conditioning had gone out on the plane in flight, and we needed to wait another 15 minutes to see if repairs could be made. After 15 minutes of analysis, the plane was taken out of service, leaving us stranded. I quickly got on the phone to American and rebooked for the next flight out, and the next connection to DC from DFW. The best we could get was a 1:10 am arrival, we had no choice, grateful that the appointment with our client wasn't until 3:00 pm! After several more hours of waiting, we flew out to DFW. Upon arrival, we learned that our connecting flight was going to be 45 minutes late, making our landing in DC about 1:30 am. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we arrived, even though our body clocks were at 11:30 pm, that's still way past our bedtime. It was apparently too late for an airport shuttle to the hotel, so we had to grab a cab for the 5 minute trip. Crashed into bed, but couldn't sleep for more than an hour, had to wind down from all the activity!

Sunday, June 6, 2010 - Ride Day at the Great Sand Dune National Park

Last night we sat and watched thunderstorms all around us, but none every made it to us. Although they were predicting thunderstorms again at about 3:00 this afternoon, it started out as a lovely day, and we were anxious to get a ride in, so we got up early, had the horses loaded in by 9:00 (fortunately it was still pretty cool), and headed out to a fascinating anomaly they call the Great Sand Dune National Park. Ninety minutes later (and ten degrees cooler, fortunately), we were approaching this incredible oddity. Having climber over the mountain range at LaVeta Pass, then driven on several flat straight roads reminiscent of the Great Plains, we came to end of a valley where countless tons of sand had piled up. I mean COUNTLESS! I thought it would be like a great sand pit, but oh, no, it truly was HUGE DUNES! You could imagine what the Sahara looks like, only built up into a mini-mountain range. It's 30 square miles, and to ride around it would something like 50 miles. It was incredible to see. There's also a stream that runs along the edge, so one great attraction is to wade in the shallow creek in what is essentially a giant wading pool next to giant dunes. The dunes were so big, we actually saw some young people sand-boarding down them. We didn't even know there was such a thing, but just like snow-boarding, they plummeted down the hill trying to make things happens on their boards. No where near as fast, of course, but entertaining nonetheless. We watched a lot of people truly struggle to get up those dunes, it looked way too much like hard work to us!
Anyway, we had a choice to follow a sandy road, which had a lot of 4X4 traffic on it, go along another semi-marked trail, or simply go cross-country, a nice feature here, you can go almost anywhere you like, "except where there are a lot of people", as the man at the park gate explained. They must have been having a free weekend, because they didn't charge us the usual entrance fee, so we got lucky on that one. It did increase the traffic, however.
We followed a trail out of the trailer parking area, along with two other women who were just heading out. One had forgotten her cinch so she was riding bareback with only stirrups (not sure what that rig looked like, but that's how it looked.) We turned off at the first trail to the left, leaving them heading out the road. Our trail led us to the stream which we then followed for a few miles. We were on pure sand at some points, dirt, some stony areas, and the quicksand like footing of the river, which was good as long as you didn't stop for long. The long you stopped, the more you'd sink in. At one point, my gelding started splashing his foot, getting his belly wet. We moved out of the river, and after a minute, my horse decided it was time for a roll, so before I knew what was happening, we were on the ground together. I quickly checked to make sure my foot was out of the stirrup, then stepped off. I had just said to Hubby that the day was for the horses to enjoy themselves as well, and, well, rolling just seemed the perfect response to that! He got back up, shook himself off, I stepped back on and off we went! Stopped for lunch under a large shady pine tree a bit later. It was a brilliantly sunny day when we arrived, the stark contrast between the dark blue sky and the light beige sand was truly awesome. During the day, though, some puffy clouds had started to appear. After lunch, we crossed over the road and started to head to higher ground, when we came over a peak and saw an incredible storm heading our way. The sky was black and you could see rain already falling in the distance, so we decided it was time to head back. Traffic on the road had diminished (it had peaked about 1:00, which I suspect was the usual checkout time), so we had a couple of nice trots and canters (in between a few bucking spells, which my gelding decided he was in the mood for), and arrived back at the trailer in no time. As we were preparing for departure, another group arrived (the only other livestock trailer in the parking lot besides us and the two women we saw earlier), and we had a brief chat with them, taking a picture for them, exchanging email address, etc. They were interested in what horse campgrounds I knew about, so I told them about my Google Earth list and this blog, so hopefully we'll stay in touch.
We were out by just after 3:00, stopped at a store for a few supplies on the way home, ran into a little bit of the rain but managed to get back, put the horses away and get the truck under cover (we still have a pickup full of hay) moments before the real storm arrived. A beautiful day that we thoroughly enjoyed!

Friday, June 4, 2010 - The Great Escape

Well, it didn't surprise me too much when Wednesday afternoon I looked up and saw my horse grazing outside the pasture fence. He managed to wriggle his way through, one step at a time. I brought him back in, knowing full well that wasn't going to be the last time. Sure enough, he escaped again during the night, and the stomping and whinnying of his mother woke me at dawn yesterday. I got him back in, and managed to get back to bed, and later, Hubby and I drove into town to get some supplies, including a new electrical outlet to replace the broken one that the fence would usually be plugged into. Unfortunately, we got back too late to do anything with it, so once again, before the crack of dawn, I heard the same ruckus and had to get up and get him back in. He wasn't going far (he never does), but Mamma couldn't see him because he'd wandered to the other side of the barn, so she was making too much of a fuss to sleep. It was a chilly morning, and by the time I got him in, I was too wide awake to sleep, so I just got on the computer and started working. Thanks to our hostess, who had ordered up a satellite internet service, otherwise keeping up with work would have been impossible, as there is no cell phone signal out here either, which is where I usually get my broadband. Anyway, later in the day, Hubby got busy working on the fence, and after an hour or so, managed to get it fixed. I gently led my gelding to the fence and let him stick his nose on it, and it did give him a little bite (it's a rope-style fence, not metal, so it seems to be a bit gentler.) He's a smart horse, I didn't see him try it again :-).
Met the neighbors for the first time today, they came over to check on their horses. They have a deal with our hostess, they run their 3 horses with her one in a series of pastures on her property, and keep the watered and looked after. Of course, I've been doing most of the watering, but they do come over and check occasionally. Nice folks (as most horse people we've met are), had a nice chat. Told them we'd be traveling next week, asked them to keep an eye on our kids while we're gone, which they readily agreed to do.
It's been incredibly hot here, I never expected 90 degrees at 7000 feet in Colorado in June. The only days it's not incredibly hot are when the winds get up (which is most of the time), but some days are both hot and windy. We've only had one day of precipitation since we've been here, and that was nearly 3 weeks ago when it was so cold we had sleet down here and snow up on the mountain peaks surrounding us. Everything just above us was coated with fresh white, and there's still a bit of that around. The wind does seem to howl constantly here, the kind of wind that would drive a soul mad after awhile. Good thing we're a couple of very sane people!