What I did on my summer vacation before the Browns' season starts
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Earlier this summer, 3 weeks ago, our friends who really are more like family, from NC who used to live here in Ohio...
rented a 6 person cabiin down in Copper Hill, Tennessee - a beautiful resort. They did that, knowing
my Wonderful Cute Wife and i were first on their list to go with them. They later told us
we were also second and third.
So, we surprisingly ended up, somehow, not with a "cabin", but with the "Round House" -
a beautiful, modern, 12 sided house on the hill, overlooking the mtns, complete with
3 bedrooms, and a very modern, complete kitchen, hardwood floors, wrap around porch,
and wrap around picture windows. and more.
We got there, ran around the park, and the next day, we went horseback riding,
and whitewater rafting.
It was a great, memorable time.
The horseback riding was simple - show up at the stables, pick our your horse,
and you all ride off. This trail isn't like I rode several decades ago, in Miss. Those trails
were flat, and boring.
This trail was challenging from the start - into the woods, after 4 days of on and off again rain.
And it wasn't flat, it was up and down and around, and twice into ravines.
This is where the drama starts.
Up and down the hills, there were ditches from the horses' steps, every bit at least a half to
a foot deep.
I was riding Luke, the biggest horse, a Morgan. I figured big feet made for better traction. We were out about the middle of an hour ride, and were having a great time, when the first six horses went through the first ravine, a smaller one. I found out that Luke for whatever reason, stopped by
himself, looked down and around, and then continued carefully through all the steps and the
mud at the bottom.
Up and down hillsides, water-filled step/ditches about a foot deep. We got soon to another
ravine up ahead, the big ravine - and as the front horses and riders easily went between
two close trees on the trail near the beginning of the down hill to the big ravine....
I was talking to the last guy, an employee riding the end of the line. Another gal employee was
at the start of our line of trail horses and riders.
So, the last guy was telling me how they made the trail, and I turned back around and me and Luke were going between the two trees. I realized that although all the other horses went
through just fine, there was nearly no room for the edge of the saddle, meaning there
was no room for my legs. The next second, I find out that my tennis shoes were stuck
in the stirrups. The next second, Luke keeps on going, and the trees hit my legs, and
drag them backwards, crunching them into Luke. I finally got my feet out of the stirrups
just as the trees mashed my shoes, and the stirrups, into his loins...roughly.
Now, anybody who ever watched a western, knows that that means the horse should
go faster. Now, Luke is not happy. He takes off with his ears back, my feet are out of the stirrups,
I'm bouncing around off balance, and we start charging downhill way too fast. I have
the reins in my left hand, because my right hand was trying to free my right foot, but
the tree came too fast, and Luke's ears are laid back and he's snorting, and stomping
in and out of the ditches down the steep hill into the big ravine.
I'm trying desperately not to fall off, but my feet were literally on his butt, my head was next
to his neck, the saddlehorn kept hitting me in the throat, and even though I'm nearly bouncing
off of him, I pushed myself upright, and tried to quickly find the stirrups again.
All this time, I'm yelling "WHOA !" repeatedly, as we charged down into the ravine, everybody else had stopped their horses up ahead, and behind us...
and Luke is doing something between a trot and maybe a cantor, whatever a cantor is,
and btw, I never once rode horses since my Air Force days. Really don't know how to ride.
Luke is angrily stomping in and out of ditches, snorting, sending mud and water flying all over
the place, his eyes look like he's freaked out, and I think he stumbled on the third
step away from the bottom, because they say he leaped over the next two dtiches, strongly forward.
into the wide flat of the bottom of the ravine, into about 2 feet of mud and water.
Mud and water fly up into the air, Luke is hard charging across the ravine, NOT stopping.
If I don't get him stopped, he'd have run into the horses ahead, stopped on the trail
back up and to the right on the other side.
So, from all the old black and white Roy Rogers westerns, with Dale, Pat, Trigger and Bullet and
Roy, I finally got upright, pulled back on the reins with my left hand, and pulled old Luke into
a tight right turn just as we nearly collided with the bank on the other side.
Now, Luke had not slowed down, either. We charged across the wide flat, reached the
other side just as he wheeled around and charged to a complete stop.
Now, I still didn't have my feet in the stirrups, and that is no joke. When he wheeled around,
I went from trying not to get thrown off backwards, to getting my left hand almost too late,
onto the saddlehorn to keep from getting thrown off to the left.
Well, Luke stopped, we were facing backwards, all the riders and horses to the front
are at our right on the bank, on the trail, and the horses behind us are on our left.
I have mud on my face, Luke is standing completely still, and I'm hoping he isn't going
to buck me off into a tree.
So it was, that even though I swung way out left of the saddle, drawing serious "G's"
in a tight right fast turn in deep mud, Luke isn't happy he was "told" to charge downinto the ravine, he's snorting and looking like he's amazed he didn't fall.
I stayed on. Everybody was serious and quiet and I finally said "Folks, me and Luke
need to take a moment. Hang on...."
So, I leaned over and petted Luke on his neck, and quietly told him we were fine, and he
did a good job of not getting me hurt. He finally quieted down, put his ears back up, and
just quietly stood there.
I turned to everybody and asked "Do I get a blue ribbon for not sailing off Luke, into a tree?"
They said yes. In our charge, we actually passed two other horses that veered off
onto a side trail to get out of our way. So, our friends asked the employees what would
happen if I had ended up in the mud, and they grinned and said they'd just throw me
into the creek, get me washed off, and put me back in the saddle again.
haha. haha. But, though I didn't think of it til later, a best friend's brother had fallen
with a horse, and his pelvis was shattered.
But we were all fine, maybe before the Browns play, I'll post a pic of Luke, and talk
about the white water rafting with a pic or two of that. It was outstanding, challenging,
but serious fun, without the death defying terror that comes with rafting the damn New River
in WV, which I did once back in the seventies after the AF.
EDIT - Oh, and the next half hour of the ride, same territory, Luke was perfect.
Earlier this summer, 3 weeks ago, our friends who really are more like family, from NC who used to live here in Ohio...
rented a 6 person cabiin down in Copper Hill, Tennessee - a beautiful resort. They did that, knowing
my Wonderful Cute Wife and i were first on their list to go with them. They later told us
we were also second and third.
So, we surprisingly ended up, somehow, not with a "cabin", but with the "Round House" -
a beautiful, modern, 12 sided house on the hill, overlooking the mtns, complete with
3 bedrooms, and a very modern, complete kitchen, hardwood floors, wrap around porch,
and wrap around picture windows. and more.
We got there, ran around the park, and the next day, we went horseback riding,
and whitewater rafting.
It was a great, memorable time.
The horseback riding was simple - show up at the stables, pick our your horse,
and you all ride off. This trail isn't like I rode several decades ago, in Miss. Those trails
were flat, and boring.
This trail was challenging from the start - into the woods, after 4 days of on and off again rain.
And it wasn't flat, it was up and down and around, and twice into ravines.
This is where the drama starts.
Up and down the hills, there were ditches from the horses' steps, every bit at least a half to
a foot deep.
I was riding Luke, the biggest horse, a Morgan. I figured big feet made for better traction. We were out about the middle of an hour ride, and were having a great time, when the first six horses went through the first ravine, a smaller one. I found out that Luke for whatever reason, stopped by
himself, looked down and around, and then continued carefully through all the steps and the
mud at the bottom.
Up and down hillsides, water-filled step/ditches about a foot deep. We got soon to another
ravine up ahead, the big ravine - and as the front horses and riders easily went between
two close trees on the trail near the beginning of the down hill to the big ravine....
I was talking to the last guy, an employee riding the end of the line. Another gal employee was
at the start of our line of trail horses and riders.
So, the last guy was telling me how they made the trail, and I turned back around and me and Luke were going between the two trees. I realized that although all the other horses went
through just fine, there was nearly no room for the edge of the saddle, meaning there
was no room for my legs. The next second, I find out that my tennis shoes were stuck
in the stirrups. The next second, Luke keeps on going, and the trees hit my legs, and
drag them backwards, crunching them into Luke. I finally got my feet out of the stirrups
just as the trees mashed my shoes, and the stirrups, into his loins...roughly.
Now, anybody who ever watched a western, knows that that means the horse should
go faster. Now, Luke is not happy. He takes off with his ears back, my feet are out of the stirrups,
I'm bouncing around off balance, and we start charging downhill way too fast. I have
the reins in my left hand, because my right hand was trying to free my right foot, but
the tree came too fast, and Luke's ears are laid back and he's snorting, and stomping
in and out of the ditches down the steep hill into the big ravine.
I'm trying desperately not to fall off, but my feet were literally on his butt, my head was next
to his neck, the saddlehorn kept hitting me in the throat, and even though I'm nearly bouncing
off of him, I pushed myself upright, and tried to quickly find the stirrups again.
All this time, I'm yelling "WHOA !" repeatedly, as we charged down into the ravine, everybody else had stopped their horses up ahead, and behind us...
and Luke is doing something between a trot and maybe a cantor, whatever a cantor is,
and btw, I never once rode horses since my Air Force days. Really don't know how to ride.
Luke is angrily stomping in and out of ditches, snorting, sending mud and water flying all over
the place, his eyes look like he's freaked out, and I think he stumbled on the third
step away from the bottom, because they say he leaped over the next two dtiches, strongly forward.
into the wide flat of the bottom of the ravine, into about 2 feet of mud and water.
Mud and water fly up into the air, Luke is hard charging across the ravine, NOT stopping.
If I don't get him stopped, he'd have run into the horses ahead, stopped on the trail
back up and to the right on the other side.
So, from all the old black and white Roy Rogers westerns, with Dale, Pat, Trigger and Bullet and
Roy, I finally got upright, pulled back on the reins with my left hand, and pulled old Luke into
a tight right turn just as we nearly collided with the bank on the other side.
Now, Luke had not slowed down, either. We charged across the wide flat, reached the
other side just as he wheeled around and charged to a complete stop.
Now, I still didn't have my feet in the stirrups, and that is no joke. When he wheeled around,
I went from trying not to get thrown off backwards, to getting my left hand almost too late,
onto the saddlehorn to keep from getting thrown off to the left.
Well, Luke stopped, we were facing backwards, all the riders and horses to the front
are at our right on the bank, on the trail, and the horses behind us are on our left.
I have mud on my face, Luke is standing completely still, and I'm hoping he isn't going
to buck me off into a tree.
So it was, that even though I swung way out left of the saddle, drawing serious "G's"
in a tight right fast turn in deep mud, Luke isn't happy he was "told" to charge down
into the ravine, he's snorting and looking like he's amazed he didn't fall.
I stayed on. Everybody was serious and quiet and I finally said "Folks, me and Luke
need to take a moment. Hang on...."
So, I leaned over and petted Luke on his neck, and quietly told him we were fine, and he
did a good job of not getting me hurt. He finally quieted down, put his ears back up, and
just quietly stood there.
I turned to everybody and asked "Do I get a blue ribbon for not sailing off Luke, into a tree?"
They said yes. In our charge, we actually passed two other horses that veered off
onto a side trail to get out of our way. So, our friends asked the employees what would
happen if I had ended up in the mud, and they grinned and said they'd just throw me
into the creek, get me washed off, and put me back in the saddle again.
haha. haha. But, though I didn't think of it til later, a best friend's brother had fallen
with a horse, and his pelvis was shattered.
But we were all fine, maybe before the Browns play, I'll post a pic of Luke, and talk
about the white water rafting with a pic or two of that. It was outstanding, challenging,
but serious fun, without the death defying terror that comes with rafting the damn New River
in WV, which I did once back in the seventies after the AF.
EDIT - Oh, and the next half hour of the ride, same territory, Luke was perfect.
Had something like that happen when i was a kid. Used to be a riding stable where 480 is now at Biddulph and Tiedeman Rd. in Brooklyn. Got on this big white horse. I was a city kid never rode a horse. Got on he started moving then started galloping and i'm slamming into him. He could tell I didn't know what I was doing. Finally he stopped and got on all fours and rolled onto my frigging leg. Luckily I didn't get hurt. But that's something I never forgot.
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I'm still up at my brother's house in Estes Park, Colo. enjoying seeing moose, elk and deer on my walks on the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. Wildflowers are at their best in August as well, but alas only one more week to go before returning to the mundane world of Sunday Ticket and Texas drought.
-
Earlier this summer, 3 weeks ago, our friends who really are more like family, from NC who used to live here in Ohio...
rented a 6 person cabiin down in Copper Hill, Tennessee - a beautiful resort. They did that, knowing
my Wonderful Cute Wife and i were first on their list to go with them. They later told us
we were also second and third.
So, we surprisingly ended up, somehow, not with a "cabin", but with the "Round House" -
a beautiful, modern, 12 sided house on the hill, overlooking the mtns, complete with
3 bedrooms, and a very modern, complete kitchen, hardwood floors, wrap around porch,
and wrap around picture windows. and more.
We got there, ran around the park, and the next day, we went horseback riding,
and whitewater rafting.
It was a great, memorable time.
The horseback riding was simple - show up at the stables, pick our your horse,
and you all ride off. This trail isn't like I rode several decades ago, in Miss. Those trails
were flat, and boring.
This trail was challenging from the start - into the woods, after 4 days of on and off again rain.
And it wasn't flat, it was up and down and around, and twice into ravines.
This is where the drama starts.
Up and down the hills, there were ditches from the horses' steps, every bit at least a half to
a foot deep.
I was riding Luke, the biggest horse, a Morgan. I figured big feet made for better traction. We were out about the middle of an hour ride, and were having a great time, when the first six horses went through the first ravine, a smaller one. I found out that Luke for whatever reason, stopped by
himself, looked down and around, and then continued carefully through all the steps and the
mud at the bottom.
Up and down hillsides, water-filled step/ditches about a foot deep. We got soon to another
ravine up ahead, the big ravine - and as the front horses and riders easily went between
two close trees on the trail near the beginning of the down hill to the big ravine....
I was talking to the last guy, an employee riding the end of the line. Another gal employee was
at the start of our line of trail horses and riders.
So, the last guy was telling me how they made the trail, and I turned back around and me and Luke were going between the two trees. I realized that although all the other horses went
through just fine, there was nearly no room for the edge of the saddle, meaning there
was no room for my legs. The next second, I find out that my tennis shoes were stuck
in the stirrups. The next second, Luke keeps on going, and the trees hit my legs, and
drag them backwards, crunching them into Luke. I finally got my feet out of the stirrups
just as the trees mashed my shoes, and the stirrups, into his loins...roughly.
Now, anybody who ever watched a western, knows that that means the horse should
go faster. Now, Luke is not happy. He takes off with his ears back, my feet are out of the stirrups,
I'm bouncing around off balance, and we start charging downhill way too fast. I have
the reins in my left hand, because my right hand was trying to free my right foot, but
the tree came too fast, and Luke's ears are laid back and he's snorting, and stomping
in and out of the ditches down the steep hill into the big ravine.
I'm trying desperately not to fall off, but my feet were literally on his butt, my head was next
to his neck, the saddlehorn kept hitting me in the throat, and even though I'm nearly bouncing
off of him, I pushed myself upright, and tried to quickly find the stirrups again.
All this time, I'm yelling "WHOA !" repeatedly, as we charged down into the ravine, everybody else had stopped their horses up ahead, and behind us...
and Luke is doing something between a trot and maybe a cantor, whatever a cantor is,
and btw, I never once rode horses since my Air Force days. Really don't know how to ride.
Luke is angrily stomping in and out of ditches, snorting, sending mud and water flying all over
the place, his eyes look like he's freaked out, and I think he stumbled on the third
step away from the bottom, because they say he leaped over the next two dtiches, strongly forward.
into the wide flat of the bottom of the ravine, into about 2 feet of mud and water.
Mud and water fly up into the air, Luke is hard charging across the ravine, NOT stopping.
If I don't get him stopped, he'd have run into the horses ahead, stopped on the trail
back up and to the right on the other side.
So, from all the old black and white Roy Rogers westerns, with Dale, Pat, Trigger and Bullet and
Roy, I finally got upright, pulled back on the reins with my left hand, and pulled old Luke into
a tight right turn just as we nearly collided with the bank on the other side.
Now, Luke had not slowed down, either. We charged across the wide flat, reached the
other side just as he wheeled around and charged to a complete stop.
Now, I still didn't have my feet in the stirrups, and that is no joke. When he wheeled around,
I went from trying not to get thrown off backwards, to getting my left hand almost too late,
onto the saddlehorn to keep from getting thrown off to the left.
Well, Luke stopped, we were facing backwards, all the riders and horses to the front
are at our right on the bank, on the trail, and the horses behind us are on our left.
I have mud on my face, Luke is standing completely still, and I'm hoping he isn't going
to buck me off into a tree.
So it was, that even though I swung way out left of the saddle, drawing serious "G's"
in a tight right fast turn in deep mud, Luke isn't happy he was "told" to charge downinto the ravine, he's snorting and looking like he's amazed he didn't fall.
I stayed on. Everybody was serious and quiet and I finally said "Folks, me and Luke
need to take a moment. Hang on...."
So, I leaned over and petted Luke on his neck, and quietly told him we were fine, and he
did a good job of not getting me hurt. He finally quieted down, put his ears back up, and
just quietly stood there.
I turned to everybody and asked "Do I get a blue ribbon for not sailing off Luke, into a tree?"
They said yes. In our charge, we actually passed two other horses that veered off
onto a side trail to get out of our way. So, our friends asked the employees what would
happen if I had ended up in the mud, and they grinned and said they'd just throw me
into the creek, get me washed off, and put me back in the saddle again.
haha. haha. But, though I didn't think of it til later, a best friend's brother had fallen
with a horse, and his pelvis was shattered.
But we were all fine, maybe before the Browns play, I'll post a pic of Luke, and talk
about the white water rafting with a pic or two of that. It was outstanding, challenging,
but serious fun, without the death defying terror that comes with rafting the damn New River
in WV, which I did once back in the seventies after the AF.
EDIT - Oh, and the next half hour of the ride, same territory, Luke was perfect.
Earlier this summer, 3 weeks ago, our friends who really are more like family, from NC who used to live here in Ohio...
rented a 6 person cabiin down in Copper Hill, Tennessee - a beautiful resort. They did that, knowing
my Wonderful Cute Wife and i were first on their list to go with them. They later told us
we were also second and third.
So, we surprisingly ended up, somehow, not with a "cabin", but with the "Round House" -
a beautiful, modern, 12 sided house on the hill, overlooking the mtns, complete with
3 bedrooms, and a very modern, complete kitchen, hardwood floors, wrap around porch,
and wrap around picture windows. and more.
We got there, ran around the park, and the next day, we went horseback riding,
and whitewater rafting.
It was a great, memorable time.
The horseback riding was simple - show up at the stables, pick our your horse,
and you all ride off. This trail isn't like I rode several decades ago, in Miss. Those trails
were flat, and boring.
This trail was challenging from the start - into the woods, after 4 days of on and off again rain.
And it wasn't flat, it was up and down and around, and twice into ravines.
This is where the drama starts.
Up and down the hills, there were ditches from the horses' steps, every bit at least a half to
a foot deep.
I was riding Luke, the biggest horse, a Morgan. I figured big feet made for better traction. We were out about the middle of an hour ride, and were having a great time, when the first six horses went through the first ravine, a smaller one. I found out that Luke for whatever reason, stopped by
himself, looked down and around, and then continued carefully through all the steps and the
mud at the bottom.
Up and down hillsides, water-filled step/ditches about a foot deep. We got soon to another
ravine up ahead, the big ravine - and as the front horses and riders easily went between
two close trees on the trail near the beginning of the down hill to the big ravine....
I was talking to the last guy, an employee riding the end of the line. Another gal employee was
at the start of our line of trail horses and riders.
So, the last guy was telling me how they made the trail, and I turned back around and me and Luke were going between the two trees. I realized that although all the other horses went
through just fine, there was nearly no room for the edge of the saddle, meaning there
was no room for my legs. The next second, I find out that my tennis shoes were stuck
in the stirrups. The next second, Luke keeps on going, and the trees hit my legs, and
drag them backwards, crunching them into Luke. I finally got my feet out of the stirrups
just as the trees mashed my shoes, and the stirrups, into his loins...roughly.
Now, anybody who ever watched a western, knows that that means the horse should
go faster. Now, Luke is not happy. He takes off with his ears back, my feet are out of the stirrups,
I'm bouncing around off balance, and we start charging downhill way too fast. I have
the reins in my left hand, because my right hand was trying to free my right foot, but
the tree came too fast, and Luke's ears are laid back and he's snorting, and stomping
in and out of the ditches down the steep hill into the big ravine.
I'm trying desperately not to fall off, but my feet were literally on his butt, my head was next
to his neck, the saddlehorn kept hitting me in the throat, and even though I'm nearly bouncing
off of him, I pushed myself upright, and tried to quickly find the stirrups again.
All this time, I'm yelling "WHOA !" repeatedly, as we charged down into the ravine, everybody else had stopped their horses up ahead, and behind us...
and Luke is doing something between a trot and maybe a cantor, whatever a cantor is,
and btw, I never once rode horses since my Air Force days. Really don't know how to ride.
Luke is angrily stomping in and out of ditches, snorting, sending mud and water flying all over
the place, his eyes look like he's freaked out, and I think he stumbled on the third
step away from the bottom, because they say he leaped over the next two dtiches, strongly forward.
into the wide flat of the bottom of the ravine, into about 2 feet of mud and water.
Mud and water fly up into the air, Luke is hard charging across the ravine, NOT stopping.
If I don't get him stopped, he'd have run into the horses ahead, stopped on the trail
back up and to the right on the other side.
So, from all the old black and white Roy Rogers westerns, with Dale, Pat, Trigger and Bullet and
Roy, I finally got upright, pulled back on the reins with my left hand, and pulled old Luke into
a tight right turn just as we nearly collided with the bank on the other side.
Now, Luke had not slowed down, either. We charged across the wide flat, reached the
other side just as he wheeled around and charged to a complete stop.
Now, I still didn't have my feet in the stirrups, and that is no joke. When he wheeled around,
I went from trying not to get thrown off backwards, to getting my left hand almost too late,
onto the saddlehorn to keep from getting thrown off to the left.
Well, Luke stopped, we were facing backwards, all the riders and horses to the front
are at our right on the bank, on the trail, and the horses behind us are on our left.
I have mud on my face, Luke is standing completely still, and I'm hoping he isn't going
to buck me off into a tree.
So it was, that even though I swung way out left of the saddle, drawing serious "G's"
in a tight right fast turn in deep mud, Luke isn't happy he was "told" to charge down
into the ravine, he's snorting and looking like he's amazed he didn't fall.
I stayed on. Everybody was serious and quiet and I finally said "Folks, me and Luke
need to take a moment. Hang on...."
So, I leaned over and petted Luke on his neck, and quietly told him we were fine, and he
did a good job of not getting me hurt. He finally quieted down, put his ears back up, and
just quietly stood there.
I turned to everybody and asked "Do I get a blue ribbon for not sailing off Luke, into a tree?"
They said yes. In our charge, we actually passed two other horses that veered off
onto a side trail to get out of our way. So, our friends asked the employees what would
happen if I had ended up in the mud, and they grinned and said they'd just throw me
into the creek, get me washed off, and put me back in the saddle again.
haha. haha. But, though I didn't think of it til later, a best friend's brother had fallen
with a horse, and his pelvis was shattered.
But we were all fine, maybe before the Browns play, I'll post a pic of Luke, and talk
about the white water rafting with a pic or two of that. It was outstanding, challenging,
but serious fun, without the death defying terror that comes with rafting the damn New River
in WV, which I did once back in the seventies after the AF.
EDIT - Oh, and the next half hour of the ride, same territory, Luke was perfect.
Hilarious. I always end up with the biggest horses too. Usually they just like to trot around but I had a guy who took off down a hill with me. It wasn't anything like your story but enough to make me realize just how in control the horse is of me and not the other way around. I'm just on for the ride.
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I just returned from part one of my summer vacation. Part one was guys time and myself, my brother in law, father in law and a friend took a fishing trip in Vermillion Bay Ontario. In four days we caught and released 450 walleye and 75 northern pike. Freaking amazing fisheries in the lakes around there. Part two is week after next when wifey and I head to Riveria Mayas Now Sapphire resort.
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I'm assuming this is like writing about your summer vacation on the first day of school.
-
I guess because I am a person over 17. I don't get a summer vacation.
I worked the entire summer.
I never understood taking a vacation in the summer.
That's the best time to work.
Vacation is best served in Jan. or Feb.
You can leave this winter crap for summertime
-
Earlier this summer, 3 weeks ago, our friends who really are more like family, from NC who used to live here in Ohio...
rented a 6 person cabiin down in Copper Hill, Tennessee - a beautiful resort. They did that, knowing
my Wonderful Cute Wife and i were first on their list to go with them. They later told us
we were also second and third.
So, we surprisingly ended up, somehow, not with a "cabin", but with the "Round House" -
a beautiful, modern, 12 sided house on the hill, overlooking the mtns, complete with
3 bedrooms, and a very modern, complete kitchen, hardwood floors, wrap around porch,
and wrap around picture windows. and more.
We got there, ran around the park, and the next day, we went horseback riding,
and whitewater rafting.
It was a great, memorable time.
The horseback riding was simple - show up at the stables, pick our your horse,
and you all ride off. This trail isn't like I rode several decades ago, in Miss. Those trails
were flat, and boring.
This trail was challenging from the start - into the woods, after 4 days of on and off again rain.
And it wasn't flat, it was up and down and around, and twice into ravines.
This is where the drama starts.
Up and down the hills, there were ditches from the horses' steps, every bit at least a half to
a foot deep.
I was riding Luke, the biggest horse, a Morgan. I figured big feet made for better traction. We were out about the middle of an hour ride, and were having a great time, when the first six horses went through the first ravine, a smaller one. I found out that Luke for whatever reason, stopped by
himself, looked down and around, and then continued carefully through all the steps and the
mud at the bottom.
Up and down hillsides, water-filled step/ditches about a foot deep. We got soon to another
ravine up ahead, the big ravine - and as the front horses and riders easily went between
two close trees on the trail near the beginning of the down hill to the big ravine....
I was talking to the last guy, an employee riding the end of the line. Another gal employee was
at the start of our line of trail horses and riders.
So, the last guy was telling me how they made the trail, and I turned back around and me and Luke were going between the two trees. I realized that although all the other horses went
through just fine, there was nearly no room for the edge of the saddle, meaning there
was no room for my legs. The next second, I find out that my tennis shoes were stuck
in the stirrups. The next second, Luke keeps on going, and the trees hit my legs, and
drag them backwards, crunching them into Luke. I finally got my feet out of the stirrups
just as the trees mashed my shoes, and the stirrups, into his loins...roughly.
Now, anybody who ever watched a western, knows that that means the horse should
go faster. Now, Luke is not happy. He takes off with his ears back, my feet are out of the stirrups,
I'm bouncing around off balance, and we start charging downhill way too fast. I have
the reins in my left hand, because my right hand was trying to free my right foot, but
the tree came too fast, and Luke's ears are laid back and he's snorting, and stomping
in and out of the ditches down the steep hill into the big ravine.
I'm trying desperately not to fall off, but my feet were literally on his butt, my head was next
to his neck, the saddlehorn kept hitting me in the throat, and even though I'm nearly bouncing
off of him, I pushed myself upright, and tried to quickly find the stirrups again.
All this time, I'm yelling "WHOA !" repeatedly, as we charged down into the ravine, everybody else had stopped their horses up ahead, and behind us...
and Luke is doing something between a trot and maybe a cantor, whatever a cantor is,
and btw, I never once rode horses since my Air Force days. Really don't know how to ride.
Luke is angrily stomping in and out of ditches, snorting, sending mud and water flying all over
the place, his eyes look like he's freaked out, and I think he stumbled on the third
step away from the bottom, because they say he leaped over the next two dtiches, strongly forward.
into the wide flat of the bottom of the ravine, into about 2 feet of mud and water.
Mud and water fly up into the air, Luke is hard charging across the ravine, NOT stopping.
If I don't get him stopped, he'd have run into the horses ahead, stopped on the trail
back up and to the right on the other side.
So, from all the old black and white Roy Rogers westerns, with Dale, Pat, Trigger and Bullet and
Roy, I finally got upright, pulled back on the reins with my left hand, and pulled old Luke into
a tight right turn just as we nearly collided with the bank on the other side.
Now, Luke had not slowed down, either. We charged across the wide flat, reached the
other side just as he wheeled around and charged to a complete stop.
Now, I still didn't have my feet in the stirrups, and that is no joke. When he wheeled around,
I went from trying not to get thrown off backwards, to getting my left hand almost too late,
onto the saddlehorn to keep from getting thrown off to the left.
Well, Luke stopped, we were facing backwards, all the riders and horses to the front
are at our right on the bank, on the trail, and the horses behind us are on our left.
I have mud on my face, Luke is standing completely still, and I'm hoping he isn't going
to buck me off into a tree.
So it was, that even though I swung way out left of the saddle, drawing serious "G's"
in a tight right fast turn in deep mud, Luke isn't happy he was "told" to charge downinto the ravine, he's snorting and looking like he's amazed he didn't fall.
I stayed on. Everybody was serious and quiet and I finally said "Folks, me and Luke
need to take a moment. Hang on...."
So, I leaned over and petted Luke on his neck, and quietly told him we were fine, and he
did a good job of not getting me hurt. He finally quieted down, put his ears back up, and
just quietly stood there.
I turned to everybody and asked "Do I get a blue ribbon for not sailing off Luke, into a tree?"
They said yes. In our charge, we actually passed two other horses that veered off
onto a side trail to get out of our way. So, our friends asked the employees what would
happen if I had ended up in the mud, and they grinned and said they'd just throw me
into the creek, get me washed off, and put me back in the saddle again.
haha. haha. But, though I didn't think of it til later, a best friend's brother had fallen
with a horse, and his pelvis was shattered.
But we were all fine, maybe before the Browns play, I'll post a pic of Luke, and talk
about the white water rafting with a pic or two of that. It was outstanding, challenging,
but serious fun, without the death defying terror that comes with rafting the damn New River
in WV, which I did once back in the seventies after the AF.
EDIT - Oh, and the next half hour of the ride, same territory, Luke was perfect.
Earlier this summer, 3 weeks ago, our friends who really are more like family, from NC who used to live here in Ohio...
EDIT - Oh, and the next half hour of the ride, same territory, Luke was perfect.
You were lucky Cal- that you didn't get killed or seriously injured. I only needed to have a horse step on my foot but once to decide horseback riding wasn't a pursuit I wanted to investigate further.
I'm still up at my brother's house in Estes Park, Colo. enjoying seeing moose, elk and deer on my walks on the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. Wildflowers are at their best in August as well, but alas only one more week to go before returning to the mundane world of Sunday Ticket and Texas drought.
That's more my speed Ag, at least it used to be. If you're going to get killed- go out in style, take a 1,000' fall off of the Diamond on Longs Peak .
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I live on vacation, enjoy the assholes and snow Cleveland.
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I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
Ja.brill Peppers - Cleveland Brown OldBrownsFan, on 02 Jun 2017 - 5:09PM said: "No you are not the work of the devil but you are deceived by the devil." Who's got it better than us? Nooooobody! -
i retired 6 years ago and have been working ever since.
can't stop working here. besides you stop working you usually die soon after, so.............
-
I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
Smith & Wesson have a solution for you.
(and no, that is not a financial investment firm)
-
I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
I remember the same feeling when i left college for my full time job. It was a little depressing. You don't realize how great college was until you leave it.
Don't worry the feeling goes away... Never!!! Just kidding. You'll get into a rhymthm and it's nice to have money and free time.
-
I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
Smith & Wesson have a solution for you.
(and no, that is not a financial investment firm)
Smith & Wesson have a solution for you.
(and no, that is not a financial investment firm)
That's dark
-
I started what will hopefully be a long career at a great company.
Moved to a new state
And played a lot of soccer...
.... But miss college. Real life is a drag, lol.
I remember the same feeling when i left college for my full time job. It was a little depressing. You don't realize how great college was until you leave it.
Don't worry the feeling goes away... Never!!! Just kidding. You'll get into a rhymthm and it's nice to have money and free time.
I remember the same feeling when i left college for my full time job. It was a little depressing. You don't realize how great college was until you leave it.
Don't worry the feeling goes away... Never!!! Just kidding. You'll get into a rhymthm and it's nice to have money and free time.
I've got some buddies either doing a masters or a 5th year too, so when they start up in the Fall again it will be even worse. I'll just have to drive up to Ann Arbor a lot haha
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So? Cal has started a thread on "What I did on my summer vacation"?
Well.....I went to see Cal.......Coolidge that is. Plymouth VT, CCs hometown.
And I was a guest at the home of one of the Rockefeller's: which is now a museum.
And I took a gondola to the top of a ski run.....but there was no snow.
And I went to see Ben & Jerry.
And the Von Trapp family.
And I visited where they make Teddy Bears.
And I hiked in some very green parks.
And my wife did her share of antique shopping.
And we saw about a couple of dozen quaint Vermont towns.
And we visited Woodstock....not that concert venue, but the VT town that is in my estimation the nicest small town in the USA.
And we rode the St. Lawrence Seaway home....and had some Thousand Islands dressing in the Thousand Islands.
And we saw the British battle the French on Lake Ontario.
-
the 34217.. People come here to vacation
A few places we stopped this summer.
Chicago-sucked
Frankfurt-cool
Instanbul-different
Mykonos-very cool
Athens- a bit overated
Malta-hot
Sicily-cool
Salerno-got the worst pizza of my life..
Rome-CROWDED!
Newark-outsucked chitown.
Our musical works to date http://www.arielsatticmusic.com/ -
I didn't travel anywhere this summer.
The summer highlight, for me, was helping out with my youngest sons' little league team. It's exciting to see him/them get better week by week. His team won the championship and I was extremely proud of how the boys started out like the "bad new bears" but finished as champs.
I guess part of the attraction were the memories of myself playing ball at his age. The crack of the bat on a solid hit, the glove-pop of a hard throw and the dirt on the uniform from a slide stir up emotions that are hard to duplicate in the world we now live. As John Fogerty (sp) crones on my favorite sports song - "put me in coach, im ready to play"
Little league baseball is far more than merely a game. It truly is the "great American pastime".
Hey Axe, looks like you made a Med cruise. I've done a few myself. My favorite stop was Costa del Sol off the coast of southern Spain.
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Chicago is cool. You must have hit the wrong spots.
-
Chicago, home of Emanuel the ex Obama thug.
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