A Short Trail Ride- With Company!

So I have been dying to go and ride in the desert by our house, but it is fenced off and locked up. I have been told that one of the the neighbors has the key and that you have to get it from her to ride there. So I went off to find said neighbor and see if I couldn't borrow that key in order to go ride. I knew that Simon wanted to go too, so I figured this was a perfect way to get someone to ride with me.

I figured out which house she lived in, and as it turned out she was already in her back yard. I introduced myself and she said, "Oh hold on, let my shut off my saw."

She was cutting rocks on a rock saw.

I immediately fell in love with this woman.

She was not cutting just any old rocks either. She was cutting my favorite rocks of all time.

Fire Agates!

Lets just say I spent a good 20 minutes there visiting, and talking about everything from rocks, to horses, riding, schedules, artwork, ducks, chickens and peacocks!

I have found a kindred spirit and she lives 3 doors down from me.  She goes rock hounding every week!  She goes trail riding every week!  She is addicted to original artwork!  It was very cool.   I even was able to share some information with her about a particular mountainside in Eloy that is covered in fire agates.

The sad part is that the man who leases the desert took away her key because too many people were abusing the privilege of being able to go out there.  So was not able to get the key. But she did tell of another gate to a different section of desert that is not locked.  She was not able to go ride with me last night, as she was taking care of her paraplegic son, but we agreed that we definitely will go ride together someday.

So I came home and told Simon that we would go and find the other gate and ride in that desert. We saddled the horses, (me on Tras and him on Killian) gave a quick spin around the arena and then headed out.
Oh but first Trax had to lose his mind over the nest door neighbors golf cart.  For some reason it totally freaked him out.  I think because it didn't make any noise. A semi- pulling doubles roaring down the road next to him will not faze him, but that silent little golf cart was going to eat him alive.  So I asked the neighbor to drive by us a few times until he relaxed.

Then we headed off down the road. Trax was ready to go, Killian moved like an old man.

 I snapped that pic over my shoulder which is why it is crooked.

I made Simon kick him up a notch. Killian spent a good amount of time trying to eat the grass on the side of the road.  At one point we found a big puddle from the rain the night before, and made both horses go through it. Of course Killian, pretending like he wanted a drink, found the only piece of grass sticking up.

I like this shot, it makes Trax look really tall.

I know we have seen this shot a thousand times, but it never does get old does it? LOL

At one point Simon said, "Hey let me take a good picture of you"
There is no such thing, but this one isn't too bad.

So we headed down the road and then across to try to get to where I thought the gate was, but I turned the wrong way and we ended up riding down the busy road next the fence we wanted to get past.  I was so proud of our horses, they never even gave that traffic a second look. However we were suddenly swarmed by mosquito's and I could tell that a certain paint horse was getting really pissed off.  Next thing I knew he had blood spots all over and so did I.  I opted to go home.

Simon wanted to turn around and go find the gate. He was really bummed that we did not get to desert ride, so today I will make a point of finding the gate from my car, and then trying the ride again.

So we road on down the busy road and then across.  Not one single person thought to slow down when they passed us.  But then I guess maybe they think that if you are going to ride your horse on a busy road, you had damn sure better make sure he can handle the traffic.

The reality of it is that horses and pedestrians still have the right of way over motorized vehicles so legally those people should be slowing down.

Anyway, as we turned back down our road we saw two dogs running loose ahead. One was black and one was brown. The black one was very big with a strong deep chest, and a drive when he walked.  The brown one moved with a air of athleticism about it and I knew immediately that it was none other than Dakota and Smarty Pants. By time we got to them Smarty was trying to figure out how to ring the door bell of the house he was at. He was tired and hot and was hoping that maybe some nice people would let him in to their air conditioning. Dakota saw the horses and came right to us. Smarty came when he heard his name, which is good. It means he is learning.

They followed us home, Mason was still in the yard. I'm guessing he was sleeping when the other two made their escape, but Butch was gone. I had Simon head off to the North, while I headed south and he found Butch pretty quickly. But not before I had made it to the end of our road, around the block and back up on the busy road again.

I had to laugh at Trax because although I didn't really kick him up to a trot, he sensed my urgency and went to his million mile trot. It is his "horse on a mission" pace. Just fast enough to cover some ground with out being so fast that you can't see what is going on.

With all the doggies safe at home, we put the ponies away with their dinner.

I had thought about trying to ride this morning but woke to the sound of shotguns all around me. Dove season is upon us, so we won't be riding in the desert anytime soon.  Bummer!