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Archives-Sept.
Where we've been while you were sleeping.
The fifth month of
Adventure! Here is what we wrote earlier, with conclusion on the Adventure
page.
September 3-10 Northern California
Coast
We had arrived at the small town of Orick, CA the day before. Now
we were ready for a ride on the beach. I packed all my camera gear
including the tripod hoping to photograph whales. There was some fog
on the beach side but it was clear overhead so I hoped it would clear
out. We rode the Redwood Creek dike all the way to the beach (about 2
miles) where we crossed the lagoon the creek forms on the beach. This
dike is to protect the town from the creek 
overflowing. At the lagoon we
encountered sea birds and driftwood and worked our way through both to
ride to the north along the beach at a high tide. We rode about two
miles and ate our lunch of peanut butter sandwiches. We spent some
time looking for driftwood we
could carry across the saddles.
Gizmo had a lovely time racing along the beach and to the water’s
edge. I think he knew the waves were too big for him and did not
attempt to go into the water. We slowly rode back to the lagoon and
the dike but I spotted whales again. So we stopped for a rest and
photo opt. I didn’t get much whale 
but lots of sea lions diving for
their meals with the birds and one so well preserved on the beach I
photographed it. At one point Ralph reminded me to check on the horses
and I turned to find Jur had left. Fortunately he was just over a sand
dune and I dragged him back and tied him to the driftwood with a
couple of knots. We rode back along the dike and it was getting pretty
warm by this time but never got above 75 for the day. And they call
that hot! Most summer days are in the sixties! That afternoon we went
to Kalmath. There the Kalmath River runs to the sea and the Kurot
Indians fish for salmon at it’s mouth. They were doing this as they
have done for centuries and the whales were breeching offshore. Again
I tried to get some pictures. I have determined that whales are harder
to photograph than horses. We drove back to camp and enjoyed spaghetti
dinner.
It rained quite a bit during the night postponing our ride into the
Redwoods National Park. Instead we decided to go down the road and
find an Internet café and do my computer work and e-mails and a hike
in the afternoon, allowing it to dry out some. So we drove about 19
miles to the Trinidad Organic Espresso Café. This little café is
hopping
with locals and the occasional tourist. We
also stopped on the bay side and toured the memorial lighthouse, bell
and “lost at sea” memorials. I walked down to Indian Beach at
Trinidad Bay and got some pictures of the fishing
boats. The steps back up are quite
a hike with 218 of them. On the drive home we stopped at Stone Lagoon
and toured the 
early century schoolhouse and old
caboose. We drove out the Klamath Beach Road along the Klamath River
which had flooded in 1969. (There are places along Hwy 101 marking the
flooding level from that year that are 12’ above our vehicle.) We did
see a couple of whales amongst the sea lions and birds. Then we went
to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and hiked the trail. This trail is one
mile with a self guiding tour of the redwoods. Lady Bird urged their
protection
in the 60s during her Beautify America
Campaign. In 1969 President Nixon dedicated this grove to her.
The next morning we rode the
Redwood Creek dike to the north. The Orick Rodeo Grounds has a
trailhead and the camp hosts have maps. So armed, we took a lunch. The
trees were magnificent and it was incredible to ride through them.
This is the Redwood National Park and the trees are from seedlings
with pencil trunks to 800
years old with 12’ diameter trunks. There was even one, still alive,
with a burned out base that we were able to ride into. The forest
floor is covered in ferns giving it a prehistoric look. After our ride
we joined Carol and Mike and Carol and Dick, our camp hosts, at the
local Mexican restaurant for dinner.
On Thursday we drove from Orick to Humboldt Redwoods State Park and
the Cuneo Creek Horse Camp there on Hwy 101 passing through Eureka 
where there is a beautiful historic
district and lovely harbor. I wanted to ride the Cuneo Creek Endurance
Ride that weekend. The camp is 7.5 miles from 101 to the camp on
a one lane road lined with redwoods. It is as if they made the road
from a trail that picks its way through the
redwoods. Campground hosts, Andy
and Sharon greeted
us and told us to take our pick of
sites. We picked a spot near the vet check and under one of the few
large trees with pens for the horses and with water right beside us.
We spent some time setting up and met Dennis and Joy S. Dennis was in
charge of flagging the trails and Joyce was a world class endurance
rider who has won a couple of world championships. That afternoon
Ralph went with Dennis to flag some of the trail and see about water
on the trail. Joyce and I talked. I shared some of the joys and
difficulties of the trip. We ended up praying together and enjoying a
very special time. God brought her to me at just the right time.
Friday was a very quiet day until
almost noon. Then other riders started arriving and the place was
filling up. Forrest T. and Cynthia A., who we had met at the Strawberry
Fields Endurance Ride in Utah, arrived. Ralph made the four of us
chicken sandwiches and we ate and talked for a couple of hours,
getting to know each other. Forrest and Cynthia just did a 10 day trip
in Mongolia on horseback, that was facinating to hear about. Friday
was also the day to prepare for tomorrow’s ride. Riders take their
horse through a veterinarian exam called a pre-ride vet check. There
are more vet checks during the ride (to determine you are still able
to continue the ride) and at the end (for determining the horse’s
completion in a fit condition). Jur had managed to get a swollen canon
(rear left) and so, once again, I was going to ride 22 year old Silver
Girl. Instead of the 50 miles I had planned on Jur I was doing 30 on
Silver Girl.
The ride started at 7:30 Saturday morning. I
was planning a very easy and slow ride so I took my camera. I rode the
entire first loop (23 miles) with Natalie (a barefoot farrier) and
Harvey S. (who‘s wife was going to win the 50 and is the picture being
vetted above). Natalie knew all the trails and that made it even more
enjoyable. We got back to camp at 11 and I took my time unsaddling
Silver Girl, getting her some food, and waiting for her to drink. When
I took her through vet check, Dr. John was immediately concerned
because her pulse was still 60 after 20 minutes. And then we trotted
her out and she was slightly lame on the right fore. So we pulled from
the ride. I had enjoyed the ride and she had done over 20 miles and we
want to stay fit for The Trip. So I put SG up and got her stocked up
on feed and water. Ralph fed me a sandwich and I sat and drank
lemonade for a bit. But then got my camera and went to get pictures of
the ride, mostly at the vet check. I enjoyed documenting the ride from
the camp side. An hour before dinner we joined others at Forrest and
Cynthia’s camp. We had wine, cheese and chips. At 7:15 dinner was
served. After the meal the awards were presented and then we headed
back to our individual camps and most lights were out at 9:30.
On Sunday we awoke to people breaking down camp. I went to walk the
horses and found Silver Girl swollen in both hind legs. Jur’s swelling
was down and looking good. As I walked around camp Forrest and Cynthia
were pulling out and I said goodbye until we could get to their place
on our trip. Then I got to talking to Dr. Dan C. and came and checked
out Silver Girl and wrapped her legs. We enjoyed several hours with
him and Ralph made us a hot dog lunch. We discussed everything but a
lot about horses. He treatment of SG was a blessing to us being on the
road. He was the last from the Cuneo Creek Endurance Ride to pull out.
It was great to get to know him.
Monday, September 10, we were driving out of the horse camp at 10
headed to Clearlake.
Clearlake, California is home of vineyards,
olive groves, a lake and David B. and Janet R. Janet is the sister of
my oldest brother’s wife, Wendy. We drove through 
the beautiful Redwood Valley and
found the road we needed with no problem. But it became very narrow
(really one lane) with some hairpin turns that got me concerned that
we were not on the right road. But we squeezed between the Manzanita
bushes on one side and a pine tree on the other. Just as we turned
into the driveway we heard terrible squealing from the left front
wheel of the truck. It sounded like our brakes were bad but we had
replaced them before The Trip. When Ralph checked it out an hour later
he found it to be the tie rod end. If this had snapped while driving
the valley while pulling over 10,000 pounds it would not have been
good. Once again we were safe for a repair. We had water, electric and
enclosure for the horses. David and his daughter, Cecilia, his wife,
Janet, and Marilyn, Janet’s mother who lives next to them, welcomed us
in. David is a contractor in Berkley and has built their lovely home
as well as Marilyn’s and Janet is a physical therapist assistant in
Clearlake. They were working the next day but made their home open to
us. We had a truck repair and laundry to keep us busy.
September 10-16 Clearlake, CA
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We had arrived at Olive Hill Farm in
Clearlake, CA on Monday, the tenth. For several days we did the things
that were needing doing: truck repair (tie-rod), laundry, computer
work and web update, chiropractor appointment, grocery shopping and
hay purchase and stacking along with feed and lots of relaxing.
On Thursday I started the morning with computer work. Ralph
unloaded all the hay from the truck and cleaned it. (In CA all but
chicken feathers and leaves are considered litter (a $1000 fine). So
we needed all the hay debris out of the truck which I used to go to
town while Ralph and Marilyn went car shopping. ) I spent the
afternoon on the Internet at an Internet Cafe
and drove back to the trailer
after pausing at the boat launch on the lake for a sunset. I got back
to Olive Hill Farm and fed my
horses and myself. Ralph and
Marilyn arrived after 10 with a used Honda as Marilyn‘s new car.
They’d gone to lunch at the senior citizen’s center and dinner at the
Mexican restaurant, then to the Lake Shore Cultural Museum where there
is a great display of baskets and artifacts of the Pomo
Indians. They
also went to an anthropology talk on the Pomo Indians of Clearlake.
These native Americans were the bankers of the Indian tribes, using
shell coins and eventually metal coins in trade.
On Friday we heard David leave to
get supplies and later in the morning he and Ralph started work on the
barn. Marilyn and I went to town, her to her chiropractic appointment
and I to the Express Café for the next web update and e-mails. I was
excited to be getting caught up despite some long hours on the
computer. There were still emails and the cleanup of my e-mail box on
co-mission-services site (for those of you who had trouble it should
be resolved). At noon Marilyn picked me up to go to the senior citizen
center for lunch. We had an enjoyable lunch and then to Janet’s
physical therapy office to exercise (Marilyn) while I got photos
organized. We drove home after 4. We spent a good part of the evening
talking and Marilyn gave us each a foot massage.
-sm.jpg)
Saturday Ralph helped David again
with the barn. Ralph was glad to be helping to get one of their
projects further along. This week was very relaxing for both of us
with little goings and doings. I did join Janet and Phara, a neighbor,
in a ride at nearby Cache Creek Management Area
in the afternoon. The
terrain in Clearlake is rolling hills to steep hillsides with gullies
of brown grass (until the rains come and
turn them emerald). There
are small (scrub) oaks and manzanita bushes (with red bark these are
popular bird perches)
with very little undergrowth so the
area looks very open. The management area was once a large cattle
ranch and still has occasional fences crossing it.
Janet and I planned a longer ride for Sunday, going to a part of
the Cache Creek Wilderness that she had never ridden. We had her maps
and were using her trailer pulled by our truck with her riding Silver
Girl and I on Jur. We drove east 13 miles to a trailhead just on the
side of the hwy. Two horse trailers were there but we never saw
another horse and rider. We saddled up and headed out on the Cache
Creek Ridge Trail. This trail literally follows a hilltop ridge for
miles. Unlike our mountains in the east which will drop off to a 
steep incline before rising again, these keep
on going and going. It is like a mound the mole
makes digging up your yard, except
a couple thousand feet high. We rode the ridge trail all the way to
Cache Creek, about 8 miles. On the map there is indication of a trail
on the other side and we could see it high on the hill but did not
look hard for the crossing. Rather we ate lunch and relaxed at the
river. Janet and I talked a lot about horses and horse trainers,
always fun with a like-minded person. We got back to her place just
after 5. We washed both horses down and fed them before we all sat
down for hamburgers. Ralph had spent the day helping at their place;
moving a cabinet and helping David clean out the irises in their
pond.
September 17-24 Wine, Waves,
Wonderful times
We left Clearlake on Monday morning
and headed toward the California coast once again. Cynthia A. and
Forrest T, whom we met at the Strawberry Fields Endurance Ride in Utah
in early June, had invited us to visit. They insisted we should not miss
this beautiful section of the coast and we were going to discover why.
We went through such towns as Boonville with the Redwood Café (The café
is for sale for 1.25 million dollars.) and Ukiah with the Redwood
Station (a gas station in ONE redwood tree). What a drive! Very narrow,
up on a ridge, with hairpin 
turns thrown in to make it even more nail
biting. The entire day was a HARD drive and included a fender bender (a
guardrail encountered our trailer wheel well). But we arrived and set up
camp near the barn with water and electricity and stalls in the barn for
the horses. The barn is beautiful. (Forrest told us it is a kit barn
that a local guy put up for him. Ralph added some shelves in the tack
room.)
The next morning we were up at 7 and followed
Cynthia up to Fort Bragg at 9:30. She showed us the scenic route through
Mendocino, a beautiful coastal town, and pulled into the Mendocino Coast
Botanical Gardens before going on to her restaurant in Fort Bragg. We
toured the gardens for two+ hours. The gardens go all the way to the
Pacific Ocean. There is a pine forest, vegetable garden (which you can
sample at your own risk), herb garden, dahlia garden (pictured), rose
garden, and fuchsia and begonia house! A big part of this garden is the
Rhododendrons. Though not in bloom at this time there was an incredible
variety and we could imagine that the garden must be in beautiful color
in the Spring. There is also a lovely gift shop and snack shop. We had a
lovely walk and took some great photos in the 47 acres. Then we drove to
the Pianci Pub and Pizzeria in Fort Bragg where Cynthia was serving that
day. We ordered a Sicilian pizza and enjoyed one of the best pizza‘s 
we‘ve ever eaten 
(be sure to try it out if you get that way).
After lunch we drove back south on Hwy 1 and stopping at several scenic
places for photos. None really show the splendor of the crashing waves
on rocks and sand at the base of cliffs with the brilliant blue sky that
we were gifted with. We drove into Mendocino to walk the galleries and
gift shops. We grabbed cups of coffee at one of the never ending coffee
shops that are more common than churches back in the Bible Belt and
continued driving south. We returned to Forrest’s place and enjoyed an
evening of seeing some of Forrest’s photograph’s. Forrest has traveled
the world and has taken some spectacular photos. He also has fabulous
stories of the places to go with the photos.
The next day Forrest and I trailered his horse, Airborne, and my
horse Jur, to Big River
section of Medocino Headlands State Park. We rode from the 
headwaters of the Big River inlet south of
Mendocino inland for a couple of miles. Forrest lead the way on a single
track through some pretty thick forest. There was Redwoods and lots of
rhododendrons and some manzanita. When we got back to the trailer,
Forrest lead the way in a lope along the beach and I even got Jur to
walk into the water. Ralph spent the afternoon watching a Bruce Lee
movie “The Invincible” given as a gag gift from David B. in Clearlake.
Ralph said once was enough.
On Thursday, we got in the truck with
Gizmo and headed to Fort Bragg. We were off to do some wine tasting and
photograph every scenic spot along the way - my idea. The first stop was
the Heritage House Bella Flora, their grounds and gift shop. What a well
laid out resort. It is where the movie: “Same Time Next Year” with Alan
Alda was filmed.
We walked the ground with Gizmo. It
was another beautiful day with nary a cloud. We continued up the highway
and stopped at a couple more good views. At noon we bought soups, bread,
drink and macaroons from a local store for our lunch. We drove out to
Mendocino Headland State Park and parked with a view and ate 
our lunch. Then Ralph made a phone call while
Gizmo and I took a long walk and I took photos. From there we drove out
to Lansing Drive to the north side of Mendocino on our way to Fort Bragg
and I got some pictures of the coast there before getting on Hwy 1S to
Hwy 128. We visited the wine tasting rooms of several vineyards in the
Anderson Valley, enjoying the drive and beauty more than the wine.-sm.jpg)
The next day we spent the morning cleaning up the trailer and truck
in preparation of getting on the road again. We said goodbye to Forrest
and Cynthia as they left before us headed to another endurance ride.
After confining their dogs, Muddy and Leilah, to the barn, we pulled out
of the driveway going north to Hwy 128 and then Hwy 101. At Highway 101
was a lumber yard called Redwood Empire, and it really was. Stacks and
stacks of redwood logs and lumber. On Highway 101 we drove down Sonoma
County through endless vineyards to Santa Rosa. We had again accepted
the invitation of a rider we just met at the Cuneo Creek Endurance Ride
on Sept 8.
Ashley S. is an exotics animal
veterinarian and endurance rider. We enjoyed several days at her
equestrian facilities. The first day we drove to Healdsburg to sightsee
as it was drizzling. We started at the weekly farmers’ market. Much -sm.jpg)
smaller than the one we visited in Eugene, it
was still a lovely selection. Another great selection was to be had in
the fabric shop. This was a quilter’s Mecca. We then walked to Matheson
Street to the Healdsburg Museum where we learned about the earliest days
of Healdsburg. Once a booming town of 2000 it was thought it would grow
as big as San Francisco. But the boom burst and it remained mainly an
agricultural town. Now it is thriving again on a tourist trade. In its
heyday it provided all the gravel for the
Golden Gate Bridge. Gravel mining is still big business in central CA.
We also drove to Windsor and Calistoga where there was a antique car
show at the fairgrounds. We got there so late we saw most the cars on
the road as they were leaving. We went to main street and walked it.
That evening we returned to Ashley’s and we went to dinner at a Sushi
place Ashley has her own chopsticks at. (Ralph had to tease her about
that!)
On Sunday the three of us drove to
Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area. We pulled out just after 11 and the drive took two and a half
hours on the windy Highway 1. We pulled into Stewarts Ranch Horse Camp
and the Five Brooks Trailhead. The campgrounds was very full but people
were packing up to leave. We saddled up 
and went for our ride. The map that Forrest
gave me was a big help - I don’t think we would have gotten to the beach
without it. But we got to Wildcat Campground right on the beach in a
couple of hours. One couple was set up for camping in their tent and
offered to let us stay in their campground if we would help them haul
their stuff out the next day. Another group of young people were asking
for the same service as they were facing the hike out then. We
laughingly declined as we hear this often. We started the ride out on
the west side and began a long climb up a dirt road that continued for
about 2 miles. The total ride back to camp (after we got off the beach)
was 6 miles. I think it was 2 straight up and 4 straight down. One trail
we passed was named the Rift Trail because it is part of the San Andreas
Rift Zone. The Olema Valley which we drove through to get to the
trailhead is IN the fault. We arrived back at the trailer at full dark
without feeling the slightest moving of the earth. We soon found out we
could not stay. NO pets were allowed even
inside our trailer. Ralph would not accept Ashley's offer to take Gizmo
to her place so we could stay and ride, he was so upset. So we loaded up
trailers again to head back to Ashley’s. In Point Reyes Station we ate
at the Roadhouse Café. We took the Shoreline Highway along Tomales Bay
(barely visible in the dark). This bay is infamous for the bodies that
it yields both from shark attacks and deaths on the Golden Gate Bridge.
We got to bed just before another day.
On Monday morning I decided to trim
hoofs. I did Jur all the way around and he was great standing still for
me the whole time. Then I did Silver Girl’s fronts. She really needed it
not having been trimmed since we were in Galatin NF in MT. After a
shower we ate and loaded up. We were headed past Sacramento to Elverta
to family of a friend back in GA. As we saw Sacramento on the horizon we
were passing through a swamp area. We learned later that Sacramento
was originally 10 feet lower and has
been built up to it’s present level. We were passing Stone Lakes
National Wildlife Reserve, home to many water bird including white
pelicans and white heron. We arrived in Elverta in the late afternoon
and were all settled before the sun set. We were gifted with a dinner of
burritos and so had a lovely end to the day.
September 25-30
Our first day at Gold Country Equestrian Center in Elverta,
CA was easy. We got to meet some of the people, like Al who is co-owner,
and some of the horses, like Brenda who is 44. This is a hunter-jumper
facility and co-owner Jean does most the training. We spent the day
hanging around doing nothing but phone calls, eating, and a short drive
into Antelope, CA for groceries. We did stop at a Goodwill Industries
Store and I bought a pair of jeans for riding (two have developed holes
on this trip and needed replacing) and Ralph bought a book to read. At
about six I got Jur and saddled him up, intending to ride him in the
hunter-jumper arena. But he was not standing still so I took him into
the training
arena and lunged him there. Jur has developed
some “attitude” on this Trip and I need to spend MORE time with just
him, getting his attention and response. You may think just riding him
is doing enough and it surely is a teaching tool. But when he misbehaves
on the trail there is often little I can do at 8000’ on a ledge with a
1000’ drop to the next step. So I need to train him off the trail for
good response on the trail.
The second morning we drove over to Auburn (@ 16 mi) to see about
finding the Tevis Cup Trail. The Tevis Cup is an annual 100 mile
endurance ride from Truckee, CA to Auburn. I was interested in riding a
bit of this renown trail. We went into the main part of the town and
seeing signs to the Fairgrounds hoped these were the same ones mentioned
on the web page as the finish line’s victory lap (which it was) we
headed towards them. We found the fairgrounds but no signs for the
trail. Upon heading out of the fairgrounds we spotted a museum and I
suggested we go and learn a little about the town too. So we went to the
Bernhard Museum and had our own
personal tour of the grounds and house. It had been the home of Bernhard
and his wife and two children. Now 1890s farmhouse, it was built in 1851
as a posting house as the road passed right in front. For pennies you
could sleep on the floor, for few more get a bath, and few more get a
meal. Mr. Bernhard grew his own vegetables and had a vineyard and
processed his own wine. The wine press and equipment is on display and
wine is still being made there. There is a lovely carriage house and 
2 ½ acres. One of the interesting items on
display was a “Courting Candle.“ The candle is on a spiral pad that can
be turned and made to be a tall candle or lowered to be
short as the father wished. He would adjust this according to how much
he liked the man who came “a
courting’” his daughter. A short candle burn away quickly and the man
would have to depart. After this great tour we asked about the Tevis Cup
Trail and though the guide did not know where it was she thought it was
just past the railroad tracks. So we went over the railroad tracks and
after a bit of turning
here and there we found the Auburn
Regional Park with skate board park and Western States Trailhead (the
finish section of the Tevis Cup Trail). We took a look around and
determined this to be a great place for me to ride from tomorrow. We
then did a short walking tour of Old Town, looking in the window of the
Fire Department’s relic. When I got back to feed the horses that evening
I found Jur’s rear leg swollen like a few weeks ago. So once again I
iced it and wrapped it.
So once again I rode Silver Girl where I had hoped to ride Jur. In
the morning we loaded up everything except Jur and headed the trailhead
of the Western States Trail and the last section of the Tevis Cup Trail.
I was going to ride it from Auburn, CA to the town of
Cool, CA, a mere 9 miles. Gizmo
stayed with 
Ralph though he really wanted to come. I rode
out the trail at a walk and only trotted a few times. As it got hotter,
Silver Girl was less willing to make it a quick ride. She kept a good
pace and let me take many photographs. The first were of a mining
operation right below the park in the valley of the American River. We
followed the river for several miles and crossed it at the “No Hands”
Bridge now a National Historic Site as the first concrete bridge of it’s
span. I called Ralph to let him know we were less than 45 minutes from
the Cool
trailhead. He started over to meet
us. He later told me (and I saw on the return journey ) that the drive
there was much worse than the ride. Give me a horse any day! It was
narrow and twisting and with one big rig after another to be passed by
ours. But just 2 ½ hours after we started we were waving to Ralph and
Gizmo at the Cool trailhead. It had been an easy ride and we could have
gone further but the heat was enough to have us say “enough.” I can’t
imagine doing 100 miles of this trail in the July heat! The Cool
Trailhead was actually called the Olmstead Loop Trailhead. It had plenty
of parking on gravel, picnic table, trash bins and water trough and hose
(which I used to wash Silver Girl down). That done, we put Silver Girl
in the trailer and headed back to Elverta. That evening I made a large
salad and spaghetti dinner for everyone. I wanted do the cooking one
night as they had graciously included Ralph and I several times.
We could have left Friday morning but we were enjoying the electrical
and water hookup, not to mention the hospitality. And I was somewhat
hopeful that if we left on Saturday the traffic to Tahoe would be less
(and several here agreed). So for most the day we just did what needed
doing. We started by taking our laundry into Rio Linda. Then we found a
grocery store and though we only went for a can of white beans to finish
off my recipe for Tuscan Bean and Vegetable Soup we ended up getting a
few more things. When we got back to the trailer we put away clean
clothes and I put the soup together. I spent the rest of the afternoon
finishing the September 24th web update.
Saturday. We were up by 8 packing things away. At 8:30 Ralph moved
the truck and trailer to face out so we would not get blocked in by
boarders coming in. At about 9:15 I saw Barb, one of the boarders, and
she mentioned she and Diana were going to Hidden Falls Regional Park to
ride. Ralph asked if we could 
go with her and Diana and she agreed.
So we finished getting things ready and at 9:50 we pulled out of Al and
Jean’s 
behind Barb’s trailer after saying our
goodbyes. Hidden Falls Regional Park is 1 ½ years old with trails
generally two abreast wide and very gently sloping. Some were in the
open grasslands but most were in the pine and manzanita forests. One of
the first vistas gave us a view of downtown Sacramento 50 miles away! We
took the Seven Pools Loop Trail to an overlook of the pools
and then down to the stream to give
the horses a drink. We had a lovely ride just over an hour and then
loaded up once more. We got back on Interstate 80 East and as we passed
Blue Canyon we saw snow on the ground under the trees where the sun had
not melted it yet. This must have been from yesterday evening’s weather.
It showed 57 degrees on our gauge at 4 o’clock. Ralph said “we already
have snow, time is short” for our Trip. Since the whole Trip is
scheduled around the weather he is right. Good thing this is the return
journey. Emigrant pass gives a good look at the 4000’ we have already
climbed and the 4000’ yet to climb. We were entering the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. Exit 176, Castle Peak, we passed the Pacific Crest Trailhead
(another
“want to“ trail). To Donner Pass at elevation
7227.’ It is 46 degrees outside now. The road condition on I-80 was
awful and hard on us and the horses. Picture a cracked (some two inches
wide) and furrowed concrete bed and then put your dog in a wagon and
pull 
him across it! Not where the dog wants to be and
not where I wanted my horses! But we exited on Hwy 267 and I saw the
first Aspens changing color. Then we were on Nevada Hwy 431 climbing
away from Lake Tahoe and nearing our destination, a pullover for a
popular trailhead. The elevation here is over 8000.’ It is cool enough
in the sunshine to wear a few layers. We start setting up camp. There
was a lovely brook just across the road for horse water. We were in the
Toiyabe National Forest - Carson Ranger District. We made it an early night.
A beautiful Sunday morning dawned, crisp, clear skies and
temperatures in the forties at nine. We dressed in layers and then
donned our oilskin dusters. We commented several times in the day that
at least we were prepared for any kind of weather. The cold was not
stopping us from riding the Tahoe Rim Trail.
The Tahoe Meadows Trailhead was directly across 
Hwy 431, very well marked and used. We saw signs
of other horses but never saw any. We saw one
hiker right away with his dog and several others. But the most use that
day was the bikers, about 100 in all. The patches of snow gave extra
magic to the trail and Gizmo was so excited to be out on a trail with us
he bounced off rocks most of the day! The trail climbed slightly but
never enough to strain the horses. It was a VERY level contour trail. We
soon come to one of the first glimpses of the lake and I had to get a
picture, then another, then another. Some of the views were spectacular
panoramas and others were just sections through the trees, but all were
beautiful in the brilliant blue day. We were high above
Carson City, Nevada along quite a
ways. If I wasn’t taking pictures of the view it was of Gizmo on a rock.
We did not quite make Tunnel Road (it would have been another 9 miles
from there to Spooner Summit) but enjoyed the ride a lot. We ate lunch
in a sunny spot with little wind and a small view of the lake. Gizmo got
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dog food, treats and his water. The
horses got treats. After a little rest we headed back. It was
“beautimus,” Ralph says. “You could not have asked for a better ride.”
It was a really nice trail on a really nice day with really nice views.
What more can you ask for? We were glad to be back though. We were both
tired. The drive from the day before and lack of good sleep was adding
up. We cooked dinner and ate, showered, and read a little before
climbing into our snug bed. It was a great end to another month on The
Trip. Late in the night wind began rocking the
trailer.
Receive
all that God has for your life
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