Starting where we left off in the last one...
I forgot to mention, Emma's bag was delivered to us on Friday evening, around 1am!
09/10/12
The car wasn't due into the shop until noon. So we took our time sleeping in and relaxing, eventually dropping it off and getting a ride home. On the way home, we were informed they'd 'probably' get it done, and that the mechanic was off work in a half hour.
Nice.
Panic set in, as I stressfully called around trying to find out my options. Enterprise saved our butts here, they had an economy car for less than what it was costing to fix the Acura. Emma offered to pay half of it, and that was that. I called my dad to get a ride down to the place to pick it up (About 45 minutes away) and off we went. The rental car was settled and we were on our way to Avondale, Colorado in a fancy Nissan Versa . It was nearly a 4 hour drive, but we got there at a decent time and were welcomed by horses, dogs, cats, and some amazingly nice people.
I'd sent out a message a few weeks prior asking if someone in the Doll Community would be willing to put us up, and Cassie offered up her home. While we got a bit turned around, and were very concerned we were in the wrong location, everything worked out and they could have not been better hosts. The only problem I had was the darn cricket who wouldn't stop chirping! I didn't mind the snake or lizard sharing my sleeping space, and but the cricket was very unwelcome. Darn thing.
While our stay was short, I really enjoyed chatting to Cassie and her daughter. They're amazing people and I hope to get out there again and do a proper visit one day. Sadly, it was an early rise the next morning so we headed to bed around 10.
09/11/12
Cassie made us breakfast and gifted us both with some lovely jewelry. Mine's got a dragonfly on it, squee! We headed out fairly early, having plans at 10:00am nearly two hours away. I made record time though, getting there with time to spare!
We arrived and checked in to the Royal Gorge Rafting (and ziplining) building. By 10:15 we were getting strapped up and soon headed off to the training course. Ziplining was quite fun, there were six of us to start with and they took their time building up the speed and length of the lines.
The photo op bench!
Emma on the training course.
Me, casually zipping.
By the end of it, it was down to 4 of us. Two dropping out because the hiking was a bit much for them. We finished quite quickly, and were headed out for another 3 hour (170 mile) drive.
After getting a bit lost, we turned down the road to Spotted Fever Ranch. Oh. My. God.
http://www.spottedfeverranch.com/
Just. Wow.
The horses looked great, the inside was amazing, the outside was beautiful, the views were stunning. We were in for a real treat! Nevermind the people, wow. Just wow. I WILL be going back!
There was an adorable gelding we got to meet, nicknamed Billy Bob. He was a mustang from Nevada, the stallion had bit him really good. I've NEVER seen an injury like that (not done by another horse at least). He was such a good sport about having the abscessed wound cleaned out, ears perked and not stomping around making a fuss.
Ahem, we arrived, dropped off our luggage and hopped in a pimped out golf cart to go find a mare who wasn't where she belonged. Jay Cee had recently had her foal weaned, apparently she wasn't to big on that. We spent the evening driving around getting a nice tour of the area, and looking for a horse we didn't know! Quite exciting!
We did eventually find the mare, and get assigned to drive the fancy golf cart back (at that point, in the rain). She'd gone through a couple of fences to get to her baby, but was fine. No worries!
Dinner was amazing, we had jalapeno poppers that weren't spicy, lasagna that was very cheesy (thus I liked!), alcohol, bread, and Peach Cobbler. Emma and I sat back that night with fancy wine and my cheap screwdriver and enjoyed the everything. They even did a small fire in the backyard for us all to tell stories around!
That place. Just wow. There are no words to describe just how beautiful and welcoming it is. :)
In Emma style, we brought rain to a place that'd only seen sprinkles in years. It poured.
09/12/11
Breakfast was served bright and early, buffet style where you serve yourself, then pack whatever sort of lunch you want. We left the house around 9? I think. Time blurs!! And were off to see the mustangs. I was assigned a horse named Lady, who is the biggest (Round...) mare I've ever seen. She's quite the little queeny, but we got along pretty well. Her trot is so smooth!...canter not so much. Emma rode a mare named Sierra, Rick was on JayCee, and Pat rode Marcell.
Wet times were had, and mustangs were seen. We all had a great time, even if fingers and toes were uncomfortably cold and damp by the end of it. Our ride was cut short and we were back to the trailer by 1:45. Having planned to stay out all day and see the mustangs (Which weren't out in the hills, they were actually by the trailer. Huh.) it was a bit of a bummer.
A cool part was when I got to sneak around a corner on foot and pop right up on a small herd. Sadly, they saw me too quickly to get too many shots.
Back at the trailer, as we drove away, a herd was running alongside the road. Pat challenged Rick to chase them, and we did! Epic times! They ran along side us, then crossed in front, and kept going on my side! SQUEE!
The rest of the day was spent with a nap, and just being dead. The rain hadn't stopped, and at times it got worse. We were suppose to have an outdoor BBQ but that didn't happen because of it...no smores were had either. But dinner was still good, Pat did a good job! Corn on the cob, BBQ chicken, potato salad... million dollar bars <3
Spent the evening soaking in the jet-tub and discussing more plans and epicness with Emma.
09/13/12
So the next day came, it was still damp, but not rainy. I opted to go for a different horse as Lady was a bit wide for me with my hip problem. The narrowest horse they had was Gray Goose, a donated horse who was a girls show 'pony' in his previous 'life'. Pat had never ridden him, and Rick wasn't all too chatty about him. I hopped aboard, and quickly realized he didn't steer or stop very well. We went through some drills and got that worked out, and then we all headed out to drive some cattle!
Last years foal, Aspen.
Ahem, we also went out to the field and fetched said horses, and they 'stampeded' all around us. The first day we led them back (they trotted alongside) with the golf cart. Sierra refused to be caught, so we walked back as Rick chased her down and herded her into a pen to catch her.
There were snow on the peaks from yesterdays storm...
Goose and Inca
Goose, Cookie and Kaluah with Rick.
Sierra leading the CHARGE lets not be caught. With Inca, Kaluah, and Marcell.
Having a discussion with Goose. He did good after I got my alpha shoes on.
Drive cattle! Stop eating!
After the cattle drive.
We got a bit of extra ride time, touring the property and I got to canter Goose. He's quite a good boy, reminds me of Kandy quite a bit-just less of a mare!!
After that we got to go see the stallion and foal. A bit of sad times were had, but I'm hoping the little filly will be ok... as unlikely as it is.
After that it was off for a 4 hour drive back North to Denver!
It was around 6:30 when we got checked in, Emma tried on bits of her costume (contacts!) and we got everything sorted. I had a photoshoot to meet with, and was about to give up and grab dinner when she showed up. Sadly I wasn't in my game and the photos from it didn't turn out all that great. Still, I'm glad she showed up. We ate at the Lift inside the Devner Tech Center (the Marriott!) and headed up to our room to relax before the big day.
Tune in next time for the rest of the Epic Holiday!
I forgot to mention, Emma's bag was delivered to us on Friday evening, around 1am!
09/10/12
The car wasn't due into the shop until noon. So we took our time sleeping in and relaxing, eventually dropping it off and getting a ride home. On the way home, we were informed they'd 'probably' get it done, and that the mechanic was off work in a half hour.
Nice.
Panic set in, as I stressfully called around trying to find out my options. Enterprise saved our butts here, they had an economy car for less than what it was costing to fix the Acura. Emma offered to pay half of it, and that was that. I called my dad to get a ride down to the place to pick it up (About 45 minutes away) and off we went. The rental car was settled and we were on our way to Avondale, Colorado in a fancy Nissan Versa . It was nearly a 4 hour drive, but we got there at a decent time and were welcomed by horses, dogs, cats, and some amazingly nice people.
I'd sent out a message a few weeks prior asking if someone in the Doll Community would be willing to put us up, and Cassie offered up her home. While we got a bit turned around, and were very concerned we were in the wrong location, everything worked out and they could have not been better hosts. The only problem I had was the darn cricket who wouldn't stop chirping! I didn't mind the snake or lizard sharing my sleeping space, and but the cricket was very unwelcome. Darn thing.
While our stay was short, I really enjoyed chatting to Cassie and her daughter. They're amazing people and I hope to get out there again and do a proper visit one day. Sadly, it was an early rise the next morning so we headed to bed around 10.
09/11/12
Cassie made us breakfast and gifted us both with some lovely jewelry. Mine's got a dragonfly on it, squee! We headed out fairly early, having plans at 10:00am nearly two hours away. I made record time though, getting there with time to spare!
We arrived and checked in to the Royal Gorge Rafting (and ziplining) building. By 10:15 we were getting strapped up and soon headed off to the training course. Ziplining was quite fun, there were six of us to start with and they took their time building up the speed and length of the lines.
The photo op bench!
Emma on the training course.
Me, casually zipping.
By the end of it, it was down to 4 of us. Two dropping out because the hiking was a bit much for them. We finished quite quickly, and were headed out for another 3 hour (170 mile) drive.
After getting a bit lost, we turned down the road to Spotted Fever Ranch. Oh. My. God.
http://www.spottedfeverranch.com/
Just. Wow.
The horses looked great, the inside was amazing, the outside was beautiful, the views were stunning. We were in for a real treat! Nevermind the people, wow. Just wow. I WILL be going back!
There was an adorable gelding we got to meet, nicknamed Billy Bob. He was a mustang from Nevada, the stallion had bit him really good. I've NEVER seen an injury like that (not done by another horse at least). He was such a good sport about having the abscessed wound cleaned out, ears perked and not stomping around making a fuss.
Ahem, we arrived, dropped off our luggage and hopped in a pimped out golf cart to go find a mare who wasn't where she belonged. Jay Cee had recently had her foal weaned, apparently she wasn't to big on that. We spent the evening driving around getting a nice tour of the area, and looking for a horse we didn't know! Quite exciting!
We did eventually find the mare, and get assigned to drive the fancy golf cart back (at that point, in the rain). She'd gone through a couple of fences to get to her baby, but was fine. No worries!
Dinner was amazing, we had jalapeno poppers that weren't spicy, lasagna that was very cheesy (thus I liked!), alcohol, bread, and Peach Cobbler. Emma and I sat back that night with fancy wine and my cheap screwdriver and enjoyed the everything. They even did a small fire in the backyard for us all to tell stories around!
That place. Just wow. There are no words to describe just how beautiful and welcoming it is. :)
In Emma style, we brought rain to a place that'd only seen sprinkles in years. It poured.
09/12/11
Breakfast was served bright and early, buffet style where you serve yourself, then pack whatever sort of lunch you want. We left the house around 9? I think. Time blurs!! And were off to see the mustangs. I was assigned a horse named Lady, who is the biggest (Round...) mare I've ever seen. She's quite the little queeny, but we got along pretty well. Her trot is so smooth!...canter not so much. Emma rode a mare named Sierra, Rick was on JayCee, and Pat rode Marcell.
Wet times were had, and mustangs were seen. We all had a great time, even if fingers and toes were uncomfortably cold and damp by the end of it. Our ride was cut short and we were back to the trailer by 1:45. Having planned to stay out all day and see the mustangs (Which weren't out in the hills, they were actually by the trailer. Huh.) it was a bit of a bummer.
A cool part was when I got to sneak around a corner on foot and pop right up on a small herd. Sadly, they saw me too quickly to get too many shots.
Back at the trailer, as we drove away, a herd was running alongside the road. Pat challenged Rick to chase them, and we did! Epic times! They ran along side us, then crossed in front, and kept going on my side! SQUEE!
The rest of the day was spent with a nap, and just being dead. The rain hadn't stopped, and at times it got worse. We were suppose to have an outdoor BBQ but that didn't happen because of it...no smores were had either. But dinner was still good, Pat did a good job! Corn on the cob, BBQ chicken, potato salad... million dollar bars <3
Spent the evening soaking in the jet-tub and discussing more plans and epicness with Emma.
09/13/12
So the next day came, it was still damp, but not rainy. I opted to go for a different horse as Lady was a bit wide for me with my hip problem. The narrowest horse they had was Gray Goose, a donated horse who was a girls show 'pony' in his previous 'life'. Pat had never ridden him, and Rick wasn't all too chatty about him. I hopped aboard, and quickly realized he didn't steer or stop very well. We went through some drills and got that worked out, and then we all headed out to drive some cattle!
Last years foal, Aspen.
Ahem, we also went out to the field and fetched said horses, and they 'stampeded' all around us. The first day we led them back (they trotted alongside) with the golf cart. Sierra refused to be caught, so we walked back as Rick chased her down and herded her into a pen to catch her.
There were snow on the peaks from yesterdays storm...
Goose and Inca
Goose, Cookie and Kaluah with Rick.
Sierra leading the CHARGE lets not be caught. With Inca, Kaluah, and Marcell.
Having a discussion with Goose. He did good after I got my alpha shoes on.
Drive cattle! Stop eating!
After the cattle drive.
We got a bit of extra ride time, touring the property and I got to canter Goose. He's quite a good boy, reminds me of Kandy quite a bit-just less of a mare!!
After that we got to go see the stallion and foal. A bit of sad times were had, but I'm hoping the little filly will be ok... as unlikely as it is.
After that it was off for a 4 hour drive back North to Denver!
It was around 6:30 when we got checked in, Emma tried on bits of her costume (contacts!) and we got everything sorted. I had a photoshoot to meet with, and was about to give up and grab dinner when she showed up. Sadly I wasn't in my game and the photos from it didn't turn out all that great. Still, I'm glad she showed up. We ate at the Lift inside the Devner Tech Center (the Marriott!) and headed up to our room to relax before the big day.
Tune in next time for the rest of the Epic Holiday!
No comments:
Post a Comment