Mountain Air Was Good for the Soul

Today was mountain trail ride day… yahoo!

I woke around 8:00, made myself a coffee, and after a quick Instagram scroll, settled in at the computer to upload all the photos and videos for Tuesday's blog. I hustled to get everything finished since we planned to start loading horses and tack by 9:30.

B arrived right on time with a Starbucks coffee for the drive—what a treat! She tossed hay to Roo while I packed cold drinks and snacks for the day.

S was moving a little slower this morning, but once we started catching horses, he headed out to hook up the trailer. First it needed fuel, then after he backed it onto the grass, he noticed the trailer tires needed air. He moved the swather, backed everything into the shop to fill the tires, and only then were we ready to load the horses. Thanks for all the safety checks and making sure we were roadworthy.

Harley was convinced she should be coming too. She stood faithfully beside her truck door while I loaded the cooler, hoping we'd change our minds. She did help us get the wily Biebs into the barn paddock, and I think she figured that counted as her walk for the day.

We finally pulled out of the yard just before 10:30, a little behind schedule. Traffic was crazy, but that's to be expected on a hot Friday during Stampede week. For the last 20 minutes we followed a motorhome that topped out around 80 km/h. Maybe it was slowing us down for a reason… perhaps there was a bear farther up the trail.

We picked up Shaina in Bragg Creek and managed to grab one of the last two parking spots at the trailhead. Before long the horses were tacked up, boots were strapped on, and we were off just after noon.

Beibs ready to ride

The girls kindly brought my steed to the bathrooms ready to roll

The trails were beautiful, although still wet in places, and we crossed several wooden bridges along the way. Eventually we reached a wide bog. Brave little Switch stepped in first, but the mud quickly swallowed her legs until she was nearly up to her belly. That was enough for us. We turned around and took a short detour back toward the trailer instead.

off we go

Roo attempts bravery at the bridge

Switch is our brave leader

always have a map photo in these mountains

Almost two hours in the saddle, surrounded by the mountains under 27-degree sunshine, was exactly the mental health day we all needed.

Back at the trailers we untacked the horses and took them down to the creek. B happily took on bucket duty, cooling everyone off and giving Switch's muddy undercarriage a much-needed rinse. Thanks, B!

Once the horses were loaded, we cracked open the ice-cold pops I'd packed and started for home. We dropped Shaina back at her Jeep so she could head home and get ready for a night out with Matt and the group of friends staying with them this week.

Back at the ranch I swung around the island and backed the trailer onto the grass in one smooth shot.

Yes!!

Considering it's been years since I was the primary trailer driver and parker, I was pretty pleased with myself.

B and I unloaded the horses and turned them into the house paddock for fresh grass and water. Bird and Jimmy seemed pretty excited to have everyone home again.

After unloading the truck, I headed inside while B tossed hay to Roo before joining us. S had burgers sizzling on the grill while the rodeo played on TV. After surviving most of the day on fruit, that burger tasted pretty good. Thanks, S!

Since it was still such a gorgeous evening, I headed back outside to clean the horse trailer, dumping the manure into the quad wagon, empty the barn bucket, and do a quick poop scoop around the yard. B fed the horses before heading home for the night.

I'd skipped my workout on Wednesday, the day we said goodbye to Cooper, so today I was determined to get back into my every-other-day routine. Workout done, I jumped into the shower.

While I was inside, S scraped underneath the trailer parking spot with the skid steer before putting the horse trailer away.

Today he also rolled up the last two large round bales of hay before checking the swather again... only to discover the hydraulic leaks are still there. He's come up with another repair plan because he really doesn't want to sell it to the young fellow who already left a deposit until everything is fixed properly. He's also arranged for four local people to come Monday to help load and stack the small square bales.

By then he was watching the news and the rodeo, but it was far too nice to stay indoors. I wandered outside in my nightie, hand-watered my flower beds and planters, thinned out some calendula, then settled onto the deck in the evening sunshine to write today's blog.

Shaina texted to say Matt's friends had started a bidding war over who got to wear Papa's spare cowboy boots to their party that night. That gave me a chuckle. In the end it was all hype but funny.

I tackled a few more little gardening jobs before finally heading inside. S putzed around in the shop for a while before joining me. He watched the chuckwagons while I watched a little Prime, and then, as has become our evening routine lately, we finished the night with another episode of Clarkson's Farm.

Only a few episodes left in Season 5.