At long last... on a horse! ;)

I woke up and walked to the bath house this morning and spotted a moose just outside my cabin! He trotted off behind Stubbies, the crew recreation cabin, and we ran right into each other on the back side... like nose to nose. Scared the crap out of both of us and he scampered away. Pretty cool, not to mention that when I first spotted him, he was walking by the "Moose Xing" sign. ha ha.

The weather finally cooperated this morning. It was brisk and sunny, warming up quickly. The corral was a sea of activity as the various rides departed. Kids rides, walking rides, trotting rides and loping (canter) rides.

I opted for the trotting ride for my first time out this season.

 

                                                                   

 

I had to pass a riding test in the ring with a wrangler looking on, and I did fine. Then, off we went. There was a lead wrangler in front, and 3 helmeted, experienced rider guests followed. I was last in the line on my horse Sundance, as they like to have a crew member in back in case anything goes awry.

We crossed the ranch and went through a gate into the Grand Teton National Park. It's adjacent to the ranch, giving us a few hundred additional acres to ride on. We crossed sage brush flats and a bridge or two and then went through some pine forests before we took off on our first trot. My horse had a very fast gait and kept running up on the horse ahead. I'd slow him down, pull him back and he'd do it again. Wore me out!

My cowboy hat saved my eyes a few times as we went barrelling through some low 

hanging tree branches!

 

We crossed a ridge and had fantastic views of the valley and Snow King Mountain in Jackson. It was a little steep descending, and when we got to the bottom, we had to cross a rushing creek (below). The horses were knee deep in cold water but sure footed crossing the rocky bottom.

We rode for 2.5 hours, alternately walking and trotting about 6 miles. It felt GREAT to be on a horse again, but I can already tell I'm going to be SO sore tomorrow when I have to go back to work. I put ice on my knee and a heating pad on my back when I got home. I plan to ride a lot while I'm here, and we get "extra credit" towards our gratuities for every ranch-sponsored activity we participate in with guests. Hardly an imposition ;)

Tonight's buffet dinner was Mexican and delicious... rice, beans, ground beef, pulled pork, flour tortillas, chalupas, enchiladas, and all the fixings for fresh grilled shrimp and steak fajitas, including fresh guac and cilantro. This pic doesn't do it justice as a few platters are empty or have been removed. Trust me.... it was amazing ;)