Finally, time to "catch up". My time in the "real" west

Actually, I've probably had the time, but didn't feel the urge to "tell the story".   Bad girl!!

When last I wrote, it was the middle of April.  I had just arrived at the ride site at the Cumberworth's boarding stable in Farmington, New Mexico. Because of being tired and fighting the wind, I decided to skip the events at Susie's house and  just blogged a little.

Here's the story of my stay in Miami, New Mexico.

Miami is a very small town outside of Springer, New Mexico. This area is geographically south of the Rockies, in fact the Rocky Mountains end  to the south and west.  It's in the foothills and has great views of the Rockies.

Miami is quite close to the famous Philmont Boy Scout Ranch.  This ranch was actually owned by the Phillips family who started Phillips Oil.  (Phillips 66 and the flying Red Horses on their signs). At one time,  the family had a huge "villa" there, but  now all of the land and homes etc are owned by the Boy Scouts of America.

There are some HUGE Ranches out there.. Multiples of  thousands of acres make up one  ranch alone. Boggles my mind to think about owning that much land.

I got to Susie Jones' home on April 7th and stayed until the 13th.  We had a great time.  Buddy had horses he could talk to, Charlie got along with her dogs and Susie and I were able to catch up with each other.

My Internet connections didn't work there so I didn't post much there. Could barely make phone calls.

While I was there I learned a great deal about irrigation and water issues. Susie is the President of the local water association (an unpaid/volunteer position) and was dealing with  some pretty serious issues.  The area  had had limited rain and the snow pack hadn't melted, so the water in the reservoir was down and there was great worry that people wouldn't be able to irrigate their fields and that the local water supply may be negatively affected.  The concern was that the first irrigation "run" of the year would have to be stopped and many people wouldn't get the water they needed for their fields/crops. She was on the phone frequently, keeping all of the board members apprised of the situation, even sending letters out to the locals letting them know what the concerns were.
  We take water in the Midwest for granted.

One evening Susie took  some friends and myself to the town of Coalfax, which isn't really there anymore, to a local  Tavern that makes homemade pizza..  The girls ordered green chile and sausage pizza and on one half were gracious enough to put more "regular" toppings.  I had a few pieces of the pizza with the green chiles.. not too bad.  Green Chiles are a condiment in New Mexico.. it seems that folks put it on about everything.. hamburgers, you name it.

Susie and I wanted to ride every day.. The wind was horrid..  sustained winds of 25 mph with wind gusts of  35 to 40 mph.  We did get a short ride in on Saturday morning, we rode about 6 miles before turning back and riding home as it felt we were going to blow away..  That afternoon there was a windstorm of 60-70 mph winds. Susie's power went off for a couple of hours.. Wow.. I ain't never seen anything like that.  (unless we were having a tornado)  There were nights I was rocked to sleep and rocked awake by the wind  when I was lying in my bed in the trailer.. I made sure Buddy had his fly mask on to help protect his eyes.

We did get a good long ride in on Tuesday, we rode about 3 hours up in the Pinon Hills.  We saw Elk and what we thought might be bear poop.  I ddin't want to look real close to make sure.

The Elk were cool, there were 5 of them (no horns so perhaps females?) and they were down in the valley, they saw us and came running towards us at a pretty fast pace.. Me being cool and calm kept asking Susie.. "what do we do, what do we do, if they don't stop running towards us?"  I don't remember if she HAD a good answer, luckily they stopped and went on their way.  We thought perhaps they weren't sure what we were and wanted to come and see if we were Elk.  Who knows?

One day Susie's farrier came to reset her horses and I had him check Buddy since I knew it was about time for a reset. It was, reset all around with new handmade shoes.  Buddy now gaits like a charm.

There is a lot of history in this area, the Santa Fe trail came this way and there were old frontier towns such as Cimaron  and Springer.   Kit Carson I think it was, lived in the area close to Philmont.

 We had meals at 2 historic old Hotels: the St. James in Cimaron and the Brown in Springer.  Actually, the tortillas, frijoles and rice I had at the St. James was the best I've had so far.  Actual\ whole pinto beans, not mushed up  as re fried beans.

I also learned how to play Dominoes, that is the local social gathering event for the ladies in the town.  They were glad to have me there to play, since I'm kinda  math challenged.  They could kick my butt easily. We played for several hours and had great fun.. Thankfully, I'm a good loser.

The day before I left I thought  the truck  smelled of  Anti freeze.. I didn't see any leaks and checked the coolant level, all seemed Ok..
So I figured I would just  ignore it.. But what did I know?   Luckily things held together until I got to Farmington when it began to leak more.  I think there is something to the saying that God looks out for fools and idiots.
Susie saw me off on Wednesday and I drove to Farmington, New Mexico.  It wasn't a bad drive.  But I still had a bad wind to contend with.. Did I mention the wind blows hard and frequently in New Mexico?

Susie, thank you for your friendship and generosity.. I had the most wonderful time...

Back on the grid

In Farmington, New Mexico this evening, traveled from the Springer, New Mexico area today.  I was very close to the Philmont Boy Scout camp. Had a great time at Susie's place.  More on that later.

 I now have 3G Internet connection again, so will update my blog as soon as I can.

Right now freting about the fact my RV Fridge won't run on the  LP gas and my truck seems to have developed a small coolant leak.  Let's just hope it's a hose on the truck and the need to purge the air out of the LP line f r the Fridge.  Had to refill propane bottle today so sometimes air gets in the lines.

Time for bed, was a long day...

Waltzing across Texas

Can't believe a week has flown by.  Wonder if the rest of the trip will go that way?

So far, good traveling.  Monday and Wednesday were particularly hard with  strong winds and wind gusts of 30 mph.  Today - same thing, except stronger gusts.. You just have to pay attention and drive slow.   My fuel consumption has dropped from around high 13 to about 10 right now..  Mostly due to the wind.

Buddy is traveling fine.. What is going in, is going out.. in mass quantities.

Charlie is happy,  we are in an enclosed area so I took him off his leash for awhile (with permission).

So far, all 3 of us are getting along fine except for when I have to load Buddy and he wants to stay where he is..
We are all still speaking to each other.

Had a great time riding at the Grasslands with Jonni and Bill.  Stayed 2 nights at a very nice Bed and Barn.

Today, I'm outside of Amarillo, headed to the Springer, New Mexico area.  I'll stay there a bit, then on to Farmington, New Mexico for my next competition.

Let's see what challenges this wind brings me..

For those interested in the Techy stuff like how far I go on each leg, how often I stop and my mpg etc.. I'll post that later this week.

Check out the fish.. see if you can see which one is the new one..  Probably need fed too.

In Texas..

Just completed the Tarrant Ranch CTR this evening.  Had a good weekend riding with old friends (Alice) and new friends.. Barbie, Candy, Linda, and Christa.. Saw lots of people I "talk" to on different chat groups and some I hadn't seen for years.  Saw 2 of my fellow Appaloosa Distance Riders, Bill and Julie..

I had a nice and uneventful trip coming from Pryor, Oklahoma.  Had rain for  about a couple of hours then, nice sunshine..  I must have gone the long way as 325 miles took me 9 hours, with stops.

Buddy didn't travel well.  He had not eaten or drank in in Ok.  Worried about his new roommates, there trying to eat him, I guess.

When I unloaded him at the ride site Thursday afternoon, he hadn't pooped in the trailer at all.  For those non horse people reading this, that's a sign that  a horse is stressed.  It's never good to take a stressed, dehydrated horse out and ask them to do hard work.  Never a happy ending there.

So pulling out all I have learned on taking care of Endurance and CTR horses, I dived in and got him
re hydrated and much happier.   We had all day Friday to make sure he felt well, and I asked my friends on different distance horse related  "chat lists" if they thought I should "follow my gut" and compete at the lower stress level.  Most people agreed with my gut too..  Funny how that works.

 So he went slower and shorter (miles per hour and total mileage).  He was tired on Saturday (it was really HOT) and today he was so perky, he was pulling on me to get back to camp. We finished, but didn't get any ribbons, however, he didn't lose any points for being unsound (lame) and no metabolic issues.. Hooray.

Now I'm making plans to go to an area of Texas called the LBJ Grasslands to meet up with my friend Jonni  and ride there with her on Tuesday..  I'm hoping the weather cooperates and the high winds die down,  it's supposed to storm and have high winds tomorrow.  I know they need the rain here, so let's hope it's just showers.

Then off to New Mexico.

Disclaimer: I will admit to a major anxiety attack and wanting to have my head examined on  the Tuesday before I left..  But- so far, I'm having a great time and don't plan to go home anytime soon..

Feed the fish!

On the Trail

Finally, I made it out of my drive way, trailer in tow, dog in the back seat and horse in the trailer.  Unfortunately, the inside of my living quarters looks like a episode of  "Hoarders".
I had an uneventful drive, which is always nice

I'm in Pryor, Oklahoma which is almost exactly 300 miles from my house.  I'm staying with an Endurance Riding friend.. Buddy is learning about "new friends".  He was exposed to 2 goats and a miniture pig upon arrival.  After  he unloaded from the trailer,  he got lots of exercise trembling, snorting and spinning in circles.  He is in a stall now and can't seem to keep his eyes off of his "new friends".  It's because he thinks they will eat him.
Lexi, Rich and I went for Mexican food tonight.  Pretty yummy stuff.   I was quite the party pooper, as as soon as we got back I went  and fed Buddy, walked Charlie and said I was going to the trailer, I've been sorting and arranging things and making the bed.  Can't anyone find an easier way to put on sheets on a bed  in the nose of a gooseneck?

Tomorrow, I head into Texas to the Tarrant Ranch Ride site. But we go to breakfast first..  First things first.. and part of seeing the country is seeing it from the inside of local eating establishments I always say.

 Hey wasn't I going to lose 30 pounds while I'm on this adventure?  Hmmmm  

Night all, don't forget to feed the fish...

Less than 1 week to blast off!

Wow, time flies while you procrastinate.  I have less than a week until I leave.  Still making progress in getting ready.

Seems like yesterday, my emotions changed from feeling stressed and overwhelmed to being excited and looking  forward to finishing all the packing and prep work and hitting the road.

I've gotten the trailer and truck worked on and ready to go.  Lowell added some storage drawers  in my kitchen cabinets which will really help with storage. Betty helped me clean the bathroom. She made the shower shine, it hasn't been that clean since I bought it.   (should I admit that?)

 Granddaughter Lena came over and spent the day on Saturday.  She wanted to ride Rebel and tell him goodbye.  We rode around the neighborhood until the thunder made us stop.

Sunday, I met Lisa and Diane and we rode on a glorious early spring day enjoying the trails at Rudolph Bennett, south of Moberly, Mo.  The trails are all weather and sustainable, great to ride there any time of the year.  I took Rebel with me and Lisa took him back to the barn she boards at.  So Buddy came home all alone.

I was pretty sad watching Buddy look for his friends, horses are such herd animals.. He whinnied and looked  everywhere he could for them. Then he came over to me and wanted me to scratch him.  Hopefully he will figure out that Charlie and I will be his herd for right now.  As long as he thinks I'm the boss mare we'll do fine.

I have my first stop planned out.  I'm staying overnight in Pryor, Oklahoma with Alexis Jones.  She is an OCER member and an Endurance riding friend.

A new adventure has been added, I am going to Fairbanks, Alaska in July.  Sue Flag is going to judge a NATRC ride and I'm going to go with her.  I'll be able to compete a horse offered to me by the ride manager Laurie Knutilla.  We plan to spend 2 weeks up there.    That will be a huge blast!

I couldn't do this trip without all of the support and offers of places to stay, or  horses to ride.  My NATRC friends and Endurance friends are such good folks and kind and generous friends.  Thanks guys.. you all keep me going!

Next time I post, let's see how far I've gotten on the packing.. anyone want to lay any bets?

By the way, I've updated  my map, for those of you who want to follow the trip visually.

Counting down.. 2 weeks and counting

I have 2 weeks before I leave on the "Great Adventure".  My plans currently are to leave on March 29th or 30th to go to a NATRC ride in Bullard, Texas.  From there, on to visit a friend in Miami, New Mexico before going on to the next  NATRC ride in Farmington, New Mexico.

 Bullard is about 640 miles from my house.  I want to drive about 6 -7 hours a day, so will look for an overnight spot.

 I plan to start out for New Mexico on Monday after the Texas ride.  I'm going to Susie Jones' home which is near Miami, New Mexico.  That leg is about 700 miles, so another overnight location will need to be nailed down.  From Susie's, I'll go on to the Farmington, New Mexico area for the NATRC ride.  That's a short haul, around 350 miles.  So no overnight stop on that leg.

I was able to ride Buddy for the first time on Saturday. Only got 6 miles in, but really wanted to see how I would do with hooking up the trailer, loading and unloading the horse and tacking up.  All of that went well, considering my wrist is still healing.

Right now, I'm filled with a mixture of emotions, excited to leave, worried I won't be prepared in time (I'm a hell of a procrastinator), thinking of all the bad things that could happen, but then so looking forward to  riding  in new places and visiting friends and family.   I have an Uncle, Aunt and cousins in Portland, Oregon who I'd like to see when I go to the ride in Washington.

So far, I'm planning on competing in Texas, New Mexico, Northern and Southern California and Washington. There is a NATRC ride near Fairbanks, Alaska, perhaps I could find someone to loan me a trusty mount?  I've looked up how far that ride is from Auburn, California  and it's 3600 miles one way.   That helped me make up my mind about loading up Charlie and  Buddy and  heading north to Alaska..   (Which isn't gonna happen).

Today was a busy day, getting my trailer back from the repair shop, I had  preventative maintenance and only 1 repair done.  Lowell and I got the water lines un-winterized and  Lowell began installing some slide out drawers to improve my storage in the kitchen area.

Thursday is a  day set aside for major trailer  interior cleaning, then repacking and restocking.  I know everyday from now on will be completely focused on getting ready to go and telling friends and family "see you",  it's not good bye, it's just "see ya later"

On that note..  I'll believe I'll close and "see ya later"   Don't forget to feed my fish..