Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Ranch

After all of that driving...741 miles of it...I finally got off at the Dragoon exit...


Remember all of these cool rock formations Crystal?...

And I couldn't resist stopping and taking a picture of this sign, right off of the Dragoon exit...

I texted it to one of the rodeo judges I got to know at the Henderson rodeo. I remembered him telling me that working at this place was one of his very first jobs and he was excited to know that the place was still up and running. It's a very small world isn't it?

Crystal...It was so green and lush with grass down here at the ranch, it was hardly recognizable...



Oh yea, here is a familiar picture...

LOL...That's the exact same picture we took when we was down here in the spring!

Last time we was here, the yucca plants had these huge pod stands on them, but they were all dried out. They are in full bloom right now...


And an interesting little fern-like plant just outside the main gate was blooming...

You know what is funny?...I was at the ranch for like 5 minutes...literally. The rancher's brother had the horses locked up, it was already getting to be late afternoon and just starting to cool down (it was 97*F out when I got there), so I grabbed Frosty, threw him in the trailer and waved on my way out.

Yep...That's how I rock n' roll. Scenic trip over...Time to haul butt for home!!

I went back to Wilcox and up to Safford again. Now Safford is a town I would like to go back to. There were 2 public arenas that I saw and numerous western and tack stores. It looked like a cool place to spend a little time at. This time I took the route that mapquest gave me...over to Globe. I knew there was arenas there that I could unload, water and walk Frosty for a little bit. The San Carlos Casino Arena was locked up, but the Globe arena was open. I had just enough time to water and walk Frosty before it got dark and I re-loaded and headed for Holbrook. I have friends in Snowflake, but that was a little out of my way and I knew I was going to be getting up that way late at night. I didn't want to put them out, so I just headed for Holbrook. They have an arena and stalls that a person can overnight at and that is what I did. Poor Frosty, I could tell he was a little confused about what exactly was going on. He doesn't appear to be any smarter, but he sure seems a lot more docile. :-/

The next morning it was back on the road...
 By now, my butt was getting a whole lot sore! Considering I put almost 600 miles on from the rodeo weekend and was another 1,000 miles into this trip...with a little over 400 miles to go. My fun meter was pegged. I just wanted to get home!!

It was still amazingly green around Holbrook and Ganado...
Back up to Chinle...


Then Bluff and Moab (where I stopped to water, walk and hose Frosty down) and then HOME!!

I tell ya, not only was Frosty happy to be out of the trailer...He was VERY happy to realize he was HOME and surrounded by his buddies...

He dang sure isn't fat anymore. Meg says she rode him at the ranch, but she also said she pulled his shoes right before she left and guess what?...This horse hasn't had shoes on for at least a month. Not only are there no nail holes in his feet, but they are worn smooth from the gravely, rocky terrain at the ranch and that don't happen in a weekend. So I have a pretty good idea that Frosty wasn't rode much...if at all. He did lose his blubber, but he also lost a lot of his muscle. I guess the best that could be said is that, he isn't fat anymore and he wasn't injured...And that is all I have to say about that. :-/

But I have to tell you...That trip down there and back...After a long rodeo weekend...It did me in. I have been on the verge of being worn-out for awhile now and that extra 1,500 miles in 3 days...I spent several days on the couch recuperating. The hubby and I have another big weekend coming up and I dang sure wasn't going to be sick and worn out for it. The horses have taken a back burner for a little bit. I don't think it will be so much time off that Moon will get out of shape...at least not enough for concern. I think he was ready for a little time off again too. We have a change in the game plan for the next few months cause I still have one goal I dearly need to meet before year end. :-)

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Heck Girl! You have friends in Queen Creek too. Its a little less than an hour from there to my house. I have extra pens (nice big ones for plenty of rolling room) or pasture. Not to mention an extra bedroom and stuff.

But I do understand what you mean about just going. I like the guy at the fair grounds in Holbrook. He had me just use the big stock pens so my ponies could really move around and stretch their legs.

I was just thinking about you last night. I was at work and they had RFD network on the tv. They had barrel racing on and I found myself watching with a whole new perspective. It was interesting to note that those who used subtle cues had better times. The ones who kicked, or whipped the crap out of those horses had horses who were tail swishing angry, did not fair so well.

Glad you made it home safe.

Unknown said...

I should probably add- "there" being Globe.

Cut-N-Jump said...

And here you go breezing through town again and not a chance to stop and say hi or nuthin'.... lol

Glad you made it home safe and have some time to relax and unwind before taking off again.

kestrel said...

Here's hoping all your goals get met! Awesome pictures.

Crystal said...

haha sure does look green, Im sure its pretty this time of year, but still a little hot for me down there so I will have to live through your pics :)