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Chris and Ben and their mustangs after their Tuesday ride at beautiful Boulder Meadows east of Naples, Idaho. |
There's no greater outlet for sorrow than an escape to a beautiful place.
That's what Bill and I did after saying our final good bye's to our Kiwi.
And, when you meet two of the nicest gentlemen in that stunningly beautiful setting, the sadness is cushioned with some positive memories.
That's exactly the case for us as we packed up some nibbling treats and headed to Boulder Meadows east of Naples Tuesday afternoon where we were greeted by a horse and mule tethered to a high wire next to the parking area.
We also viewed a neatly planned camp set-up, complete with fenced-off grazing area.
Our guess was that there were more horses that had unloaded from the stock trailer in the parking lot and that the humans and horses had taken to the trails for the day.
After setting off with our walking sticks down the board walkway leading to a series of somewhat wet trails through grassy areas dotted with purple and yellow violets, we came upon two U.S. Forest Service trail crew members.
We had heard the buzzing of their chainsaws, which went silent after the first few minutes of our walk. The young men had finished their day of clearing blowdown and other trail obstacles.
We visited with them, and they confirmed our suspicions that Boulder Creek was running too high for us to cross and get into the area of larger lush meadows.
So, we simply weaved our way through grassy areas, sometimes tiptoeing over ground soaked with babbling brooks and simply enjoyed a low-key late afternoon walk.
It was a perfect hike for our relatively late start. As we were arriving back at the pickup, whinnies began. The two left behind probably thought their friends were returning.
Well, they did just as Bill pulled out the cold chest and the cheese and chips.
Two riders arrived back at camp, removed their saddles and were leading their sweaty horses from the grazing enclosure when I approached them, curious to see if I knew them.
Chris and Ben were definitely strangers but not for long. During the next hour or so, the four of us humans forged a new friendship.
Chris, who lives in Rathdrum is a firefighter for Spokane Valley, while Ben is an engineer in Coeur d'Alene.
It was soon obvious to us that these men share many, many common interests, including their handsome mustangs, which they have trained from the ground up as hunting and packing horses.
On Tuesday, Ben was figuring that maybe he and his horse might be needing a little more training after the big pinto put on a bucking exhibition just as they started off for the day.
About 20 steps from camp, the gelding let loose.
"He rode 8 seconds," Chris said.
And more, Ben said, noting that he stayed on his horse throughout the exhibition in the meadow, but that it had been a humbling experience.
Ben figured the scabbard on the side of the saddle and a backpack had given his horse a new, unfamiliar sense of the weight above. So, he reacted.
We learned that our new friends were getting acquainted with the meadows on a bear-hunting excursion.
Lively conversation on a variety of subjects flowed there in the parking lot near the tailgate of our pickup. Finally, we all agreed that visiting could carry on at a future time, as we all had our chores.
My take on Chris and Ben: thoughtful, principled, gracious, fascinating, impressive, polite and pure in their deep love of the outdoors and all that it has to offer.
Plus, they truly love those mustangs and that amazing 30-something mule.
Our return to Boulder Meadows for this year was motivated by sadness, but we were glad when the beauty of the place and the neat new friends we met there provided a much needed diversion.
And, that's usually the case with any visit to this very special and serene area in North Idaho.
It's exhilarating and always good for the soul as well as the eyes.
Thanks, Chris and Ben, for the inspiring time spent with you. Hope to see you again.
Happy Thursday.
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