7/12/08 Ouch! My Butt Hurts!

Up at 5:30 this morning to get started for our morning of horseback riding. We had to give ourselves an hour to get to the place and experience told us that we would be pulling over to see wildlife along the way.

We had decided last night that we would have a BBQ this afternoon so I boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs, cut up celery and onions in preparation for making potato salad. Since I had hit the shower and dressed first I had plenty time to put all the fixin's together before we left.

At 6:30 we all loaded up into the trucks and were on our way.

At this hour there was very little traffic on the road which made for a very nice ride. As thought, we stopped for wildlife.

Geez, ANOTHER buffalo, ho-hum.

These animals, on average, weigh 2000 pounds and can run, are you ready for this, approximately 35 miles an hour! Three times faster than your average human. Granted, they aren't long distance runners but to protect themselves or their young they will give you a run for your money,,,,,and win!

No, we aren't this close, this is thanks to our zoom lens. Over the years, hundreds of park visitors have been gored by the buffalo's horns because they got too close or teased the animal. This action by the buffalo causes serious injury and even death.

A little further up the road we were lucky enough to catch one swimming across the river. The current was extremely swift so even at two thousand pounds the buffalo ended up further down the river than where he started.

He made it across but had to rest before climbing up the bank of the river.

We saw yet another buffalo, this time with steam coming off his back. First pic is taken with regular lens and second with the zoom. Gotta love that zoom lens!

You know, you have to wonder, what did the early pioneers think when they saw these buffalo for the first time? I'm not sure, but I don't think these animals were on the east coast when the pilgrims landed.

There was lots of "steam" (?) coming off the river this early in the morning.

Further down the road we passed this small herd of elk grazing in the morning sun.

We finally arrived at the Canyon Ranch where the stables are. First thing we find out,,,NO CAMERAS! This does not make me a happy camper. Thinking back, its a good thing I didn't have the camera with me, but Bob did smuggle the little camera in his pocket so we have a few pictures from the ride.

This is Josh, one of our guides, getting his horse ready to go. I'm hoping MY horse isn't that big.

Now, as most young teenage girls do, I had my love affair with horses at 14. We lived near a stables that I could ride my bike to or mom would drop me off and pick me up in the afternoon. Back then you could "rent a horse" for $2.00 an hour. (Remember that figure) I would ride for my hour then just hang around the stables for the rest of the day in hopes that they would need one someone to be the leader on the trails and then I would get to ride for free. Unfortunately, there were several other girls the same age there and they were neighbors so they got picked more often than me. It didn't matter, I was just happy to be there. Oh yeah, I learned on an English saddle versus a Western saddle. The saddle I was used to had no saddle horn, laid much flatter on the horse and was just smaller all the way around. (Remember that too)

So we wait around for our appointed time and for the rest of the riders to show up. I snapped a few more pictures of the horses waiting for us.

The rest of the pictures were taken by Bob with our little camera.

A picture of our group while we are all standing upright.

Remember the love affair with horses that I told you about, back when I was 14? Well, that was the last time I rode. Forty years ago!

Josh, the trail guide, called us altogether to sit down and listen to instructions. I would say there were probably twenty of us on this ride.

Ok, its time to be assigned our horses. We were told to stand inside of the corral fence in front of a painted number and wait for a horse to be brought to us. Ed rode Klondike, Audrey rode Dandy, Lauren had Buddy, Bob rode Skipper and I had Copper. Now, I never claimed to be a mind reader but as I gazed into Copper's eyes while the others were still being assigned their horses, I could swear this horse was plotting my death. He just stared at me. All the horses are males by the way, I think I would have been happy with a sweet little mare.

OK, time to mount up. I was looking for the portable stair steps that I would climb up and then easily swing my leg over the horse once they got him lined up with the steps. Oh no,,,that's not the way they do it here. When I put my foot in the stirrup I swear this horse stood up straighter making it all the more distance I had to pull myself up and swing my leg over. I finally got up there after two tries. Almost immediately the pain set in. The top of my legs where they bend went into immediate cramps. I was so grateful when the ranch hand came over to get my stirrups the right length and I got to hold my legs forward and the cramps were relieved. This saddle was uncomfortable! It was big, nothing like English saddles I remembered. I have to tell the truth though, I was glad that saddle horn was there because I hung on for dear life!

My thought was that is going to be a long hour!

Here's Bob, Audrey and myself already to go.

So everyone is on their horse, stirrups have been adjusted, saddles checked for tightness and we're ready to go.

My horse, Copper, was hungry! Every chance he got he started grazing whenever we were at a standstill. I pulled as hard as I could on the reins but he was just so strong I had a hard time getting his head out of the clover. Then I had an "AHA" moment. I leaned forward as far as I could and quietly whispered in his ear........ glue factory. I didn't have anymore problems after that.

We were walking along at one point and Josh, the leader, said, "If anyone has a fear of heights keep your eyes to the right." What??? It seems as though we had to pass through this one section of the trail that had only about 4 feet of ground between the trail and a sheer 200 foot drop! I prayed my horse wouldn't stumble.

We passed a field of elk on the way and they just sat there and looked at us. Bob was able to pull out the camera for that.

This hour went on forever! I wanted off that horse in the worst way. My left knee was giving out on me, it must have twisted somehow.

I had Audrey in front of me and I yelled to her, "Audrey, you're saddle isn't centered on the horse"...she yelled back, "I know" and with that what seemed to be slow motion the saddle just slid down the side of the horse and the next thing we know she's on the ground. Thankfully, her horse stepped away from her and she wasn't hurt. A ranch hand was there in no time to get her back in the saddle.

The ride was finally nearly over and we had to stop because the next group going out (for a 2 HOUR ride) couldn't move because a buffalo was standing on the trail and wouldn't get out of the way. So we all just stood there waiting for the ranch hands to come out and chase the buffalo, even that took awhile because the animal didn't want to move!

Back at the corral I eagerly waited my turn to get off the horse.

When I finally got off I could hardly walk. The group I was with thought this was most amusing. Boy, did my butt hurt! Can you feel my pain?

I remembered my $2.00 an hour rides fondly and cussed this $35.00 an hour ride the whole time.

On the way back to the campground we noticed a lot of cars on the sides of the road so we knew something had been spotted other than an elk or a buffalo. As we drove by we could see the bears. Bob found us a parking spot as quickly as he could and we walked back a little bit. Sure enough a mama grizzly and her two cubs. Here are the two cinnamon colored cubs. Mama is laying in the grass in front of the cub on the left.

I guess Mom had had enough because it wasn't too long before she walked off into the woods with her babies trailing behind her.

We headed back to camp and Audrey said she was going to do laundry to get that out of the way. While Bob and I were sitting outside talking we decided that we would leave Monday instead of Tuesday because of several reasons. No cell phone, no TV, no Internet and the pollen count is through the roof! Our white truck is yellow! So I rode up to the office to let them know we were leaving a day early. They refunded our money for the night's stay! Isn't that amazing?

Back at the house, Ed and Audrey came down to sit with us before we started our BBQ. The ladder golf game was brought out and that was played and Ed modeled his new denim shirt with Yellowstone patch that he bought for us.

Pretty soon Al showed up. He's a few sites down and he sat and talked with us and played some ladder golf.

Soon he went to get his wife, Jeannie, and we invited them to join us for our BBQ. Al and Jean were lots of fun and we shared many, many laughs. This isn't the most flattering picture of Jean but I didn't want to leave her out.

Bob fired up the charcoal grill and soon elk burgers, hamburgers, brats and hot dogs were cooking. Inside I was getting the rest of the food ready and Audrey was at her place cooking steamed shrimp.

What a feast we had! Everyone had plenty to eat and we sat around until the mosquitoes were so bad we couldn't stand it anymore.

One story I want to share with you. We were discussing how each couple met and how long we've married, etc.. On Ed and Audrey's 20th anniversary they renewed their vows. Lots of the same people there as the first one, bridesmaids, groomsmen, the whole enchilada. The priest had asked them if they wanted to use the traditional vows or make up their own. Ed had it in his mind that he wanted to make up his own and prepared for it. Audrey wanted the traditional vows. The day the vow renewal came and the priest asked beforehand what vows they wanted, Audrey said traditional but Ed protested loudly and when the time came he started with the vows he wrote. Audrey went on and on about how beautiful they were and likened them to a Hallmark card, not a dry eye in the house when Ed was done. Thinking they were repeating traditional vows, Audrey had nothing prepared. When the priest turned to her and said, "Audrey, would like to turn to Ed and give him your vows now" Audrey looked at Ed and said.......Ditto! Well, we howled when we heard this. Ed told us that the video picked up all the laughing people in the church too.

Back inside I told Bob time and time again....TODAY WAS SO MUCH FUN!