Home, Home on the Range
Friday – 7/18
Today will be our last day “out” before heading back to Wilmette. We are going to cap off the trip with a horseback ride and an afternoon at the hot springs.
We head out of town to Bair Ranch and meet up with the woman who runs the place.
http://www.highcanyon.com/
This is a working sheep ranch, and her son will be taking us out for the day. We all grab helmets and head down to the corral where he is saddling up the horses. We have a tough time pulling the kids away from some of the puppies and kittens that are hanging around. They have decided that it would be a great idea to bring one home with us. After all, we are at the end of the trip, right?
We head out slowly and unlike the previous ride, are not confined to riding head to tail. We spend a lot of time climbing to the top of a ridge where the views are spectacular. I talk to him about ranching and learn how they raise sheep and what life is like on the ranch. We are on the lookout for bear and elk as he has seen some on the trail the previous day. Although we don’t see anything, the ride is nice and it is nice to be a little more free as we ride.
One of the border collies has been following us the entire trip and keeps us company along the way. We stop often and take in the views as we go along.
As we head back toward the barn, the guide tells us that we can let the horses run a bit when we get back. Charlotte is very excited, and I decide to give it a go also. As we are just about back, he points to a fence across the a field about 300-400 yards away and says we can make a run to the fence and back. Charlotte and I take off, and both horses really let it out. It is a lot of fun and I feel like I have plenty of control on the way up the hill to the fence.
The ride back down is not quite the same. As we take off, my horse sees the barn and gives it even more than before. I am heading downhill, full out and as I start to pull back on the reigns, she is not responding. She just wants to head straight back to the barn. I keep pulling and start going up over her head as she slows down a bit to make the turn. I keep pulling hard and finally get her to stop.
Wendy and the kids are laughing as I come in saying that I looked like I was scared out of my wits. To tell the truth, I was more than a little worried.
We hop off and head back to the campsite and grab lunch at the RV, then head into town to the hot springs. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the hot springs. The kids do the waterslides and we all enjoy the warm spring water. It really feels good after spending 4 hours on horseback.
Back at the campsite, we have a small fire for our last night out.
It really has been a great trip, but we are going to head out early in the morning to try to get as many miles under our belts as possible on Saturday, so make an early evening of it.
Today will be our last day “out” before heading back to Wilmette. We are going to cap off the trip with a horseback ride and an afternoon at the hot springs.
We head out of town to Bair Ranch and meet up with the woman who runs the place.
http://www.highcanyon.com/
This is a working sheep ranch, and her son will be taking us out for the day. We all grab helmets and head down to the corral where he is saddling up the horses. We have a tough time pulling the kids away from some of the puppies and kittens that are hanging around. They have decided that it would be a great idea to bring one home with us. After all, we are at the end of the trip, right?
We head out slowly and unlike the previous ride, are not confined to riding head to tail. We spend a lot of time climbing to the top of a ridge where the views are spectacular. I talk to him about ranching and learn how they raise sheep and what life is like on the ranch. We are on the lookout for bear and elk as he has seen some on the trail the previous day. Although we don’t see anything, the ride is nice and it is nice to be a little more free as we ride.
One of the border collies has been following us the entire trip and keeps us company along the way. We stop often and take in the views as we go along.
As we head back toward the barn, the guide tells us that we can let the horses run a bit when we get back. Charlotte is very excited, and I decide to give it a go also. As we are just about back, he points to a fence across the a field about 300-400 yards away and says we can make a run to the fence and back. Charlotte and I take off, and both horses really let it out. It is a lot of fun and I feel like I have plenty of control on the way up the hill to the fence.
The ride back down is not quite the same. As we take off, my horse sees the barn and gives it even more than before. I am heading downhill, full out and as I start to pull back on the reigns, she is not responding. She just wants to head straight back to the barn. I keep pulling and start going up over her head as she slows down a bit to make the turn. I keep pulling hard and finally get her to stop.
Wendy and the kids are laughing as I come in saying that I looked like I was scared out of my wits. To tell the truth, I was more than a little worried.
We hop off and head back to the campsite and grab lunch at the RV, then head into town to the hot springs. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the hot springs. The kids do the waterslides and we all enjoy the warm spring water. It really feels good after spending 4 hours on horseback.
Back at the campsite, we have a small fire for our last night out.
It really has been a great trip, but we are going to head out early in the morning to try to get as many miles under our belts as possible on Saturday, so make an early evening of it.