Hard Sun

Today was my first day off (wranglers get sundays off). After waking up late (8:00am... oh my!), I drove myself, my roomate/fellow wrangler Emma, fellow wrangler Kristen, and irrigator Josh into Dubois to pick up a few things. Not much is open this early in the season on a sunday, but I was able to get a watch, knife, and some intense chapstick at the Wind River Outdoor Gear store... and I bought a $2 kite at the grocery store.

Driving back (20 minutes to the dirt East Fork Rd, 30 minutes on East Fork) we rolled all the windows down as "Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder came up on the mix CD that was playing. We all got silent and just stared out the windows.... East Fork Rd cuts across a high plain as it winds towards the ranch... the entirety of the snowcapped Wind River Range stretched out behind us and the craggy Absarokas rose skyward out of the dense pine forrest ahead. We were all lost in the moment, driving back out to our little ranch, 17 miles from the nearest paved road. The song came to an end, and we all remained silent listening to the wind rush by the car windows, and breathing in deep the scent of sage wet from a rain shower. We agreed that this must be one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and in turn that we are some of the luckiest people on Earth for having the opportunity to work here.

Once back at the ranch, we made our way to the staff kitchen to show off what we'd bought. Everyone was a big fan of my $12 french camping knife. I flew my kite on the lawn infront of the main lodge, and scared the poo out of the peacocks and Mel's three scottish deerhounds. It worked quite well though.... flitting about on the wind brought on by an incoming storm. I spooned with Hyena the black lab on the lawn for a little while once the sun returned, and chatted with Emma and Caitlin (one of the cabin girls). Emma and I then took a walk out to visit some of the foals (pictures on facebook) to kill some time before Kate (another wrangler) came back from Riverton and we could go hiking.

Kate came back around 3pm, and her, Kristen, and I set off on a hike out meadow creek trail to find the fabled Butch Cassidy's hideout. After about an hour and a half of walking in the Wyoming high country, we made our way down into a gully, and there was Butch Cassidy's cabin (or what's left of it). Now, this isn't some kitschy dude ranch fable, historical and athropological evidence back it up. It isnt the infamous Hole In The Wall (which is west of Dubois), but is a hideout where the former owners of Bitterroot would leave food and fresh horses, in return for gold and Butch Cassidy's tired horses.

We took a different trail back, that involved 3 river crossings. Riding that trail on horseback, we rarely ever think about the river crossings... its just an extension of the trail.... but on foot, it is a completely different story. The first was just a stream, so we hopped across from rock to rock. The second was much wider, and the water was very high and moving very fast because of recent snowmelt. We decided it would be best to take off our hiking boots, roll up our pants, and wade across. Three sets of wet pants and frozen feet later, we were on the other side. The final crossing was the most ridiculous by far... it was too deep and fast for us to wade across, but there was a thin log that stretched across (diameter: 8 inches). Kate went first--shimmying her way over to the other side (nearly falling in halfway there). I followed, army crawling my way, and made it with just one soaked hiking boot. After seeing Kate and I's log adventures... Kristen walked upstream and crossed on an old tree and the remnants of a beaver dam. Every branch she grabbed on the old tree snapped off, but she made it across safely and stayed dry. We laughed about how ridiculous we all must have looked, and made our way back to the ranch... holding the kind of conversation that can only be had while walking in the wilderness.

Now I'm back in the staff kitchen/internet cafe, waiting for the dinner bell to ring. Its hailing outside, but the kitchen is warm because of the heat from the oven. Needless to say, I'm enjoying my time here. :) I hope this blog makes up for my overly horsey post yesterday.

Worst Blogger Ever

No time to write... and pictures wont upload. If you are friends with me on facebook... I uploaded some pictures there... it took a million years.

You only need to know one thing: LIFE IS GREAT.

I'll write more soon.

:)

.... A Whole lot about Horses.

I. LOVE. MY. LIFE.

I seriously get paid to ride and cuddle horses.

TUESDAY:

I wrangled in the morning, but with 4 people we didn't get to ride the Icelandic ponies. I went to the lower pasture with Richard and brought the horses in form there. It all went very smoothly, and apparently one of the (many) dogs--Whistle--the poodle showed some very non-poodly instincts up at the top gate and actually helped herd the horses! (she's not much of a hunting dog though...)

I didn't go out on the morning ride, but stayed back with 2 other wranglers and Richard and Hadley. Kate (one of the other wranglers) and I were assigned to canter out a few horses in the hay field. I rode Laredo (one of the owner Bayard's horses) first. He is a big chestnut quarter horse that really covers ground--huuuge stride. He was well behaved enough though. After him, I had my first Little Gray Arab experience. I rode a mare named Tequila who haddn't been ridden in two years because she had a foal last summer. I didn't know what to expect... especially because I'm not so fond of Arabians..... but she was AWESOME!! Like, incredibly awesome. I had a little bit of an identity crisis because I actually LIKED an Arabian. She was lovely and responsive and so so so smooth.... and completely well-behaved cantering after 2 years off! It seems all the little arabians here are like that. So... I still don't think they'd make the best sporthorse.... but as trail horses.... they ROCK (I know, it's almost blasphemous). Here it is the Quarter Horses, Mustangs, etc etc that are the problem horses.

Anywayyyy..... after cantering Tequila and Laredo out, Hadley Kristen and I worked with four 4/5 year old arabian mares who had been broken to saddle last summer. I rode a beautiful leopard gray (to be totally gray/white when she fully matures) named Lorean, and she was fantastic! No funny business, and she responded really well to voice commands.

That afternoon I went on a ride lead by Kristen (the one returning wrangler) and I rode Buster for the first time. He's a dun paint, and they told me he had a bucking problem-- but we didn't canter on that ride so I didn't get to experience bad Buster. I liked him a lot, but decided to wait to profess my love for him until we cantered.

WEDNESDAY:

I didn't go on a guest ride wednesday morning either, instead I worked with the 4 saddle broke mares again with Kristen and Hadley. They were so good in the corral the day before, that we took them on their first trail ride! I lead on one of Richard's (owner's son, Hadley's husband) horses named Lullabye-- a 6 year old arabian mare. She was more spooky than the babies!! It was hysterical... the babies walked calmly behind, and she proceeded to spook at a cabin, a fourwheeler, a tree, and the trout pond we were riding them around. She settled after a while though (and not to blame her.. she haddn't been ridden in a year and a half herseld), and it all went well.

In the afternoon I got to ride Buster again on a ride lead by Richard with the 3 most advanced guests we have this week (Steve and Miki from San Fran, and Linda from Texas). Not only was the ride beautiful, but I finally got to canter Buster.... and he was fantastic!! I can see why he isn't a guest horse, but he didn't buck at all (some attempts... that i successfully stopped)... and I loved him even more!

THURSDAY:

I went on the morning ride lead by Bayard. I rode a 5 year old Percheron/Andalusian cross mare named Peanut (who is not so "peanutty"). She is still learning, so I was essentially schooling her at the back of the ride. She doesn't neck rein yet, so we worked on that... and we worked on stopping from a neck rope instead of a bit because she's become really fussy about her mouth. Overall, she was good. Not my favorite horse, but comfortable and pretty well behaved for me. She is Kristen's favorite, so I don't think I'll be riding her all that much anyway. We got stuck in a BIG hail storm up in the Absarokas, and I was only in a t-shirt. That was interesting, but we moved our way back down the mountains and back out into the sunshine.

In the afternoon I went out on a "schooling ponies"/staff ride. I lead because they wanted me to learn the Poll Creek Trail, which is one we frequently use on Monday mornings after guest evaluations. I lead on Lightning, a tri-colored paint gelding who one of the guests fell off of on monday. He was fine overall, except for one canter that was faced in the general direction of the ranch. Kristen just finished explaining how at that part of the trail I should be carefull because the horses have a tendancy to run away because they are faced towards home... so i should watch my guests. We start off on a nice slow lope, and Lightning is being very well behaved.... after a while (at where the trail became more rocky) I raise my hand to signal that we would slow back down to a walk.... Lightning slowed down for about a half a stride, and then grabbed the bit and took off. The three staff that were behind me (now walking) were left wondering why I had signaled to slow down and then taken off again. He galloped off a bit, but I just grabbed the reins in both hands an circled him off the trail into the sagebrush. He calmed down pretty quickly after that... and the rest of the ride went smoothly. We continued onto Upper Gorge Trail... which is a dead end into a beautiful gorge cut out by the Wind River.

That night we had a bonfire with the guests (all 5 of them). Hadley had found out at dinner one night previously that the favorite part of Miki and Steve's other ranch vacations was taking tequilla shots with the staff... and she was determined to outdo that. We. After a little firewood fiasco, and a ride on the flatbet of a pickup at 60mph on a dirt road, we settled down with the guests and drank some wine near the river. The french couple (Michel and Michelle...yep.) played the guitar and sang... and I spoke with Steve who offered me a job in green construction or a place to stay if I am ever in the Bay area. The staff then all went off to bed WAY after our bedtime (I wasn't in bed until 10:45.... shocking!).

FRIDAY (today):
While Kristen and Emma were on the ride this morning with Bayard, Mel had me stay behind to help with teasing and breeding. We took 4 broodmares over to the stallions. Only one was in heat, so we bred her. After that the vet came to do cultures on two of the broods, and check out one of the Icelandics who is completely lame. I held the mares while she examined them... and while it's a totally different world than Ireland/Coolmore, it is cool to be able to handle mares/foals, etc again.

Once the teasing/breeding/vetting was done, myself, Mel, and Kate rounded up the yearlings to continue halter breaking and general groundwork that had been started last summer. They were the CUTEST ponies ever.... way cuter than thoroughbreds because they are FAR less awkward looking (though much smaller). The first 2 went very well--- allowed us to groom them, responded to the wand, could be haltered, and picked up their feet when we asked. Then came a little chestnut arabian filly with an attitude. Kate and I were in a little pen with her trying to groom her... she wasn't having any of it. She was spinning in circles and bashing into walls, and no matter how much we tried to calm her down... it didn't work. At one point she just wheeled around and kicked out..... unfortunately I was on the recieving end. I got two nice kicks to the thigh. Luckily, I was close enough that she wasn't able to fully extend into me.... but I'm gonna have a nice baby hoof shaped bruise. Mel just kept apologizing profusely, because she sore none of the babies really kicked. I told her I was fine, and we moved on to the rest of the yearlings after letting the chestnut biotch settle down.

I LOOOOOVED working with the yearlings. They are so cute, and groundwork is fun. I think Kate and I are going to be doing a lot more of it.... partially because Mel wants to be able to lead them down to a bigger pasture, and because we are going to be the two hear in late September/early October when they start doing that kind of work with this years set of foalies.

This afternoon I caboosed a trail ride Mel was leading. I was on my man Buster again, and Mel warned me before we set out that the ride would be really fast and Buster has one hell of a buck. We did some normal trail cantering, and Buster was great.... and then we ended up on a huuuuuge high altitude field bordered by the Wind River Range on one side, and the Absarokas on the other. We brough the horses side by side, and trotted for a bit first... then Mel gave the signal and we took off. She lead us on a long faaaast canter/gallop over the plain. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Buster... ROCKED IT. He definetly has a bad streak, but he warns you about it... and if you correct him, he is really good about it. We galloped along, jumped over ditches, and in general just tried to catch up with Mel's wicked fast arabian. It was BY FAR the most fun ride yet!!! I officially LOVE Buster! I think Mel took me on that ride as a form of apology for getting kicked this morning....... let's just say I wouldn'y mind getting kicked more often! SOOO much fun. I can't even describe. Buster is so great... he isn't a pushbutton horse, but he is honest, adjustable, and we click really well. Mel was glad to see I loved Buster, and that Buster seemed to like me.... so I think I'll be riding him more this summer.

Anway... it is time for dinner, and I have babbled about horses for WAYYYY TOO LONG now.

Nobody puts Butch Cassidy in a corner....

So it’s the end of my first day and I already feel like I have so much to talk about that it would never fit into a blog….. this is why I always stop writing. BUT, I will persevere! I’m just going to be short and sweet, and don’t expect anything eloquent, because it’s enough of a miracle that I’m going to try to keep writing.

Today I woke up at 6:15am to help wrangle the horses down from the bench…. or really, keep them from running back out of the corral once they got down. Then came breakfast… where I had THE BEST BACON OF ALL TIME EVER. EVER. I might have dreams about that bacon….

Then we went out to tack the horses for the morning ride. It is like a whole different world. I know in general how to tack western, but all their different pads,and combinations of pads for each horse is confusing (not to mention there are over 60 saddles… and I don’t even know any of the horses yet). They have a system in place that I’m sure will have us run like a well oiled machine once we are all used to it.

The morning ride was fantastic! It was all 5 of the guests, and I was in the back with another wrangler leading (essentially the new wranglers will be tagging along on rides to learn the trails, etc). I rode a stocky little sorrel mustang named Snoopy—he has the BLM tattoo and everything. He is new to the ranch, so he isn’t a guest horse yet.. and probably for good reason. He is clearly a really nice horse, but hadn’t been ridden all winter, and isn’t used to the whole “ranch horse” thing yet. But other than a few minor freakouts in the arena, and a little meltdown on the trail… he was awesome! I really liked him. It’s clear that with more time here and more miles on the trails, he’ll be an angel. Except… he isn’t all the surefooted. In fact, he’s probably the clumsiest mustang ever… but in time I think that could improve too.

The afternoon ride was cancelled because of bad weather (apparently its only the first weeks in late May and early June that its really rainy and gross). We tacked all the afternoon horses up just in time to see some ominous looking clouds rolling in over the Absarokas. Sure enough, down came the rain and hail. Once it cleared, the Absarokas were covered in a fresh layer of snow… and we were stuck with mud, mud, and more mud.

We had a wrangler meeting (where expectations and procedures were all clearly explained), and did chores around the barn and corral for the rest of the afternoon.

Now I’m sitting in the staff kitchen with all of us typing away on computers (main lodge is the only place where the internet works). This place is seriously the cutest/most beautiful place imaginable. It’s just a down home ranch… and it’s adorable. My cabin is rustic and adorable, the scenery is beautiful, the staff kitchen and all that goes on in it could be in a novel (or reality TV show... in a good way). Its just such a ranchy ranch… it’s perfect.

There is so much more I could type… about what we’ll have to do when we move the cattle into the Shoshone National Forest… long days in the saddle, herding 200 head of cattle, watching for wolves… I am seriously living in a movie. A combination of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Dirty Dancing… (one of Butch Cassidy’s hideouts is actually on ranch property… but we don’t have an end of the summer talent show where nobody will put Baby in a corner).

Aaaaaand it’s time for dinner (sure to be delicious and FRESH). Love you all!

At the Bitteroot

I am here! I'm not dead. I have zero cell service. Internet is very slow, but works.

It is awesome!! Unbelievably beautiful! In a river valley surrounded by snowy peaks. We are literally the last ranch on a dirt road bordering the Shoshone National Forest. (Henry the Honda has never been so dirty....... the dirt road was MUD because it has been stormy up here the past few days. I should get a picture, he is two-toned bottom is brown, the top is still black)

My cabin is rustic, as promised (as is the whole ranch). Wood stove for heat, and I had to sweep all the mouse poop out myself upon arrival. haha.

Not all the staff is here yet. My cabinmate (another wrangler) arrives this evening... as do the 5 guests we have this week.

I ate lunch with the staff that is here. Everyone is very friendly. I can already tell this summer is going to be an adventure. I'm waking up at 6am tomorrow to help bring all the horses down from the bench. Woooo!!

Love you all!

WYOMING!

I AM IN WYOMING!!!! Lander, to be specific. I am too lazy to write anything real right now, so I'm just going to share some pictures.

Nebraska wins the award for flattest state EVER. Glad I'm done with that.

Here is Henry the Honda at a rest stop in Nebraska. At this point I thought my butt was going to fall off from sitting for so long.

Then I spent the night in a Super 8 in Cheyenne. I was too drained to really be excited about finally making it to Wyoming. There was an intense thunderstorm with a TON of hail--very cool!

I was much more cheerful about my drive this morning. Wyoming is beautiful! The land just outside Cheyenne is uncomprehensibly vast--just rangeland for miles and miles.

Once I hit the Medicine Bow National Forest, it started to get more mountainous... and I got progressively more excited. (There was also another HUGE wind farm, so my excitement level was rather high to begin with)

Here is Henry the Honda about an hour outside of Lander--that is the Wind River Range behind him (my ranch is on the other side of that).

I Brake for Wind Farms

Hello from Motel 6 in beautiful Council Bluffs, Iowa! The drive from Chicago was... long... and flat. Halfway through Iowa the repetative scenery drove me a little crazy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZeqeZwlsRY (blogspot couldn't upload it here. I'd suggest not watching it. it is 10 minutes of me in the middle of Iowa talking to a camera about how much I hate Iowa.... woo!)

Buuuut once I talked it out to my flip camera (and subsequently-- you all) I no longer wanted to bomb all of Iowa! (Hooray!) The driving got very zen, and I actually ended up enjoying myself by the end. I think I owe the state of Iowa a formal apology... it isn't as bad as I say it is. As I drove west it got progressively more epic... kind of like an Ireland on steroids, and with more sun.

Plus, there were wind farms!!!! I am a sucker for a good wind turbine, and there are hundreds out here! They literally make me giddy.... it's the environmentalist nerd in me. I tried to snap a few pictures while driving by the first one I passed, but once I reached the crest of a hill and saw a hole sea of them out infront of me, I had to pull over. Turbines are just so cool!

Steve thought it was exciting too....

There's no CRYING in Baseball!!

I’m in the middle of day two, and so far so good. I decided to take a break from driving, and had the nice British lady in my GPS system find me a park to explore. So I’m writing this from the middle of a riverside park in South Bend, Indiana (Dad- the Verizon internet thing works GREAT!—clearly). Ever since I saw the first sign for South Bend, I can’t stop thinking about A League of Their Own (that and I spotted Racine on the map in too). I think I’ll be humming the All-American Girls Baseball League song all the way to Chicago. (You know it… “We’re the members of the all American League! We come from cities near and far. We’ve got Canadians…etc etc”)

Anyway, the weather has been fantastic so far! It was sunny all day yesterday and today (not a cloud in the sky), and a perfect 73 degrees. The drive from New Jersey to Ohio was not a problem. Pennsylvania was pretty, albeit kind of boring. The mix CDs my friends made me are saving me from boredom (seriously Sam and Megan—they are awesome). I stayed in a Travelodge Motel last night in Girard, Ohio—moderately sketchy. There was no remote for the TV, the toilet was clogged, and I’m preeeetty sure the sheets on the bed hadn’t actually been cleaned… but I guess that is what I get for $37/night. Other than that, the trip has been uneventful (Henry the Honda is doing an excellent job).

It wasn’t until the end of Ohio and into Indiana that I really felt like I was driving someplace different or far away. The entirety of Pennsylvania just seemed like an extension of the NY Thruway, but now there are more and more restaurant chains and brands of food I don’t recognize, and the scenery is just flat, flat, flat… with more and more farms a cropland.

Tonight I’m staying with the Edmondson contingent of the Sommi clan in Wilmette, IL (just north of Chicago), and tomorrow is the first of the longer drives (7 ½ hours from Chicago to Omaha). I’m looking for a pit stop someplace along the way, but the most exciting thing I can find is a smiley face water tower, or the “Worlds Smallest Jail.” We’ll see how that goes….

That’s it for now!

-Kathleen

P.S. To Sam, Megan, and Jenna (and whoever else knows and loves our dear Steven) Here he is enjoying the drive through Ohio this morning........

The Plan

Tomorrow I'm off on my trip! Five days from New Jersey to Wyoming. I'm hoping the Chicago to Omaha, and Omaha to Cheyenne drives aren't going to be too hellish.... and that I don't run into any "severe weather." (but thanks to weather.com I do know the proper procedure for when you're in a car during a tornado) Here's to hoping middle America stays sunny for the next 5 days, and that Henry the Honda can handle a few thousand more miles...