Monday, October 18, 2010

Black and Blue, but It Was Beautiful



It was sensory overload yesterday when we joined Bonner County 4-H coordinator Nancy Wright and her daughter Ruby for a ride along Upper Pack River.

There's no way that words or even photos, for that matter, could capture all the gorgeous scenes we encountered during our 2-hour ride.

A huge thank you to Nancy and Ruby for inviting us to join you on this drop-dead gorgeous afternoon, riding through the ultimate in beauty.

There was a glitch or two along the trail.

I have a horse that does not like going down hills. Fear takes over on inclines----might be she gets that from her owner who stays away from heights.

Lily just kept getting mixed up on what gear to use to get down that long downward stretch.

In one case, she tried reverse---doing a 360 in the middle of the hill. Not wise.

Further down, she got mixed up again and more scared.

That's when I went off and landed on a stump.

She may not like going down hills, but she was a good girl as I lay there next to her front hooves, assessing whether I was alive or if they needed to brink in a medi-vac.

Lily did not move a muscle.

I didn't move any muscles for a minute or two, but after moving my right arm around (it hit the stump) and seeing that it still functioned, I slowly got up.

By that time, Nancy had led Lily away from the scene.

Later, I led her the rest of the way down the hill and climbed back on.

My right side (ankle and upper arm) have more color than the rest of my body. Oh yeah, my thighs have some new decorations where I came off the saddle.

In spite of the momentary calamity, the rest of the ride was enjoyable.

In the back woods of Pack River we came upon a setting where I commented on the beautiful house, only to be told it was a barn.

I'd take a barn like that any day.

The outing was nearly perfect for a nearly perfect autumn afternoon.

Thanks again, Nancy.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh, so glad you are okay. Could have been much worse!!
Janet