Last ride before going home

Our final stop before arriving at our home barn is Granite Bay, California - about ten miles north of Sacramento.

That's Granite Bay behind me in the distance.

On the trail

I will be posting a list of all the barns we stayed at on our journey along with contact information.  Prices ranged from $15 to $30 per horse per night.  All of the barns allowed us to leave our trailer on the property at no extra charge.  Some of the barns had showers, kitchenettes, and bathrooms for our use.  Some allowed tent/RV camping.  A few had a cottage or small apartment available for rent if you want to spend the night.

Riding by Lake Washoe

Oberon takes a drink from Lake Washoe near Carson City

Saturday night finds us back in Carson City, Nevada.  The temps are in the high 90s.  We waited until 6 pm to let things cool down before we rode.  We rode through the dunes.  The lake was calm, so we were able to ride next to the water.  Normally, Oberon doesn't like riding right on the beach due to the waves.  Laertes made several stops to drink from the lake.

On the way out of the barn, a large grey mare leaned out of her stall and took a large bite out of my thigh as I rode past.  Ari scolded me for riding too close to a strange horse's stall.  My left thigh is now swollen like a grapefruit and turning lovely shades of blue and purple.  The skin wasn't broken.  Just bruised.  I iced it when we got back to the hotel room and icing it this morning.

For those people who think I am supposed to sue or even complain to the barn manager....most states post a notice that when you enter a barn/stables/area where there are livestock, you do so at your own risk.  Horses bite and kick and we have been hearing from barn managers all along the journey about how bratty their horses are, so I should have been more careful and made a wide berth around any horse I don't know.

Silver Sage Ranch in Fallon

Oberon Pining for Laertes from elisemoss on Vimeo.

For the first time in five days, Laertes is in a stall next to Oberon.  Oberon has full view of Laertes.  He can see Laertes, touch Laertes, and smell Laertes.  It doesn't matter.  He is separated from Laertes and he doesn't like it.

Laertes is Oberon's security blanket.  We call Laertes the Oberon sedative.  When Oberon has Laertes nearby, he is calm and relaxed.  When they are separated, even by a fence, Oberon gets anxious, uptight, and agitated.  So, Oberon paces - back and forth like a tiger - ever vigilant to make sure nothing happens to Laertes.  Laertes might make friends with another horse at the barn.  If Laertes even looks at another horse, Oberon is annoyed.

The motion Oberon is doing with his head is called an "Arab Twist".  He flips his head, like a girl flipping her hair.  It is a characteristic of Arabians - most other breeds don't do this.  He does it when he is upset, agitated or excited.  Some horse owners will actually tie the horses head to prevent them from doing it when they ride because they are annoyed by it.  

Our next barn is in the Washoe Valley and they will be back to sharing a space.

From Winnemucca, Nevada to Fallon, Idaho

On the Bloody Shins Trail

Still on the Bloody Shins Trail

Typical cattle guard

Livestock, meaning horses and cattle, can't cross a cattle guard without their legs getting caught between the bars.  The purpose of cattle guards is to keep livestock out of certain areas.

Before we drove out of Winnemucca, we stopped at the Bloody Shins Trail for a quick ride before the heat got into the triple digits.  The Bloody Shins Trail is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land.  The trail is not well-known.  It is located at the end of Kluncy Canyon Road off Highland Road.

There is a large gravel parking area which is great for horse trailers.  Plenty of room to turn around.  It is a mixed use area - the trails are used by bikers, hikers, and even ATV people - although ATVs are supposed to keep to the wide roads.

There is a cattle guard at the trail entrance (see photos above).  The trails are extensive and you could easily spend a day on the trails, but the view is pretty much the same regardless of where you are...sagebrush and cactus.  There are rapidly moving lizards and I am sure there are rattle snakes, although I only saw the lizards.  I kept my ears open for rattlers, just in case and we kept to the trails.

We only rode for about 30 minutes - it was in the high 80s when we started the ride and in the high 90s when we ended the ride.  Mostly, we wanted to let the horses stretch their legs a bit before we loaded them into the trailer for the two hour plus ride to Fallon.

From Pocatello, Idaho to Winnemucca, Nevada

This picture is for Isaiah...this is a calf at the barn we stayed in Pocatello, ID.  This baby is smaller than our German Shepherd, Shara.

This is a Welsh pony at the Pocatello barn. 

Oberon loaded in the trailer, Laertes is behind him.

Taking a break at the McDonald's in Elko.

Relaxing at the C Horse Ranch in Winnemucca

Today was our roughest travel day of the trip - six hours of driving through the desert in 90 degree heat.  We took the horses out of the trailer in Elko and let them graze at the lawn next to McDonalds.






Both horses were happy to finally get to the barn.  No trail rides today...both horses and riders were happy to just be out of a moving vehicle.

From Pocatello to Twin Falls, Idaho

Today's ride was in the City of Rocks along the way to Twin Falls, Idaho.  The ride was mostly through sage brush and in the desert, in 80 - 90 degree temperatures.  It was much warmer than Jackson, Wyoming, which was in the low 60s.

We rode a section of the California Trail.  This is the same trail used by settlers traveling west in covered wagons.  We weren't expecting to find any water in the creek, but there actually was some and both horses were happy to drink from the creek.

That's sage brush on both sides of the trail.  Ari would occasionally reach out and pluck some sage to smell.

You can see some of the rock formations in the distance.

You can get an idea of what it is like to ride in a desert - sage and cactus as far as the eye can see.  Very little shade, but plenty of heat.

The horses were pretty dusty and hot after the ride, so we gave them a bath at the barn - Otter Ranch in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Both horses liked getting clean.

Tonight the horses are sharing an extra large stall with a run and some cover.  They are eating their grain out of the rubber bins.  They get a supplement for Active Senior horses.

Pictures from Ari's iPhone

Since we recovered Ari's cell phone, here are the pictures he took...these are all at the GTNP.

Heading Home

We left Jackson, Wyoming this morning.  It was an amazing time.  On the way to pick up the horses, Ari asked me to try calling his cell phone.  I called it and a young woman answered it.  She was hiking on the trail, heard it ring and picked it up.  She offered that we could pick it up at the front desk of the Jenny Lake Lodge.  Ari was very happy and so even though we were less than a mile from the barn, we turned around and drove back to GTNP (Grand Teton National Park) - more than an hour drive round trip.

She was there as promised and Ari got his iPhone back.  He was very happy.  We offered the woman a reward, but she refused it.

We headed back to the barn.  By the time we left Game Creek Stables with the horses it was after 1 pm.  Ari & I had considered picking up the horses, getting the cell phone and riding in the GTNP again, but we are trying to limit the amount of time the horses are spending in the trailer.

Both horses have lost weight this trip.  Oberon is down almost 100 lbs.  Laertes has lost about 50 lbs.  It's not unusual for horses to lose weight on a long trip.  Riding in a trailer is exhausting for horses.  Imagine standing on a moving platform and trying to balance yourself for hours at a time.  This is why we have set up the trip to go over several days, trying to keep the horses in the trailer for less than four hours a day and we stop to give them rest periods.  We also have increased the amount of grain and supplements we give them each day.

Even with the weight loss, there is no doubt that both horses are having a great time.  Oberon especially loves to explore new trails.  He is a very smart horse with a natural curiosity.  He likes to see new places. 

We stopped at Palisades Creek Campground in the hopes of riding on the way to Pocatello.  The ride was a bust.  Several people had recommended the location, but they hadn't ridden there in years.  Well, most of the land around the campground has been developed and is now private property.  The trails are pretty much gone.  

Because of our detour to get Ari's cell phone, we didn't get to the Rock'N'R stables until after 6 pm. 

Tomorrow we head towards Twin Falls and we are hoping to ride at Massacre Rocks State Park along the way.

Riding in the Grand Teton National Park

The horse trails in the park are a bit rocky and narrow.  There weren't a lot of places where we could pull over and take a picture.

On the Jenny Lake Trail - Jenny Lake can be seen on the far left and the Teton Mountains behind me.

Jenny Lake is on the right.

The views throughout the ride are breath-taking and when you inhale it is pure oxygen.

This is a small creek that feeds into the lake.

After the ride, we let the horses graze on the grass in the parking area.  You can see the Tetons in the background.

Dinner was at the Merry Piglets.  This is one of the murals on the wall.  The food was Tex-Mex.  I had chile rellenos, Christmas style.  Ari had enchiladas.  For dessert, we had sopapillas - not as good as the ones at La Hacienda in Alburquerque, but a close second.

Today's trail ride was the reason we spent six days traveling across the country.  I couldn't get enough of the trails or the scenery.  We rode three different trails - around Phelps Lake, around String Lake, and around Jenny Lake.  String Lake looked like it was the most popular with equestrians, judging from the amount of road apples.   We were the only equestrians on any of the trails, but there were plenty of hikers.  Ari lost his iphone on String Trail - fell out of his jacket pocket.  I expect we will get him a replacement in Pocatello as I saw plenty of Verizon Wireless stores there.  We reported the cell phone lost at the Visitor Center on our way out of the park, but it is gone for good.

We put saddle bags on Laertes.  Oberon hates saddlebags and Laertes is, like, whatever.  In one saddlebag I put a couple of bottles of water and a couple of sandwiches we picked up at the local Quiznos on the way to the barn.  The other saddlebag held our high-line.  This is a long rope used by cowboys to tie up their horses when they are on a trail ride.

We rode Phelps Lake and String Lake trails, then stopped for lunch.  Then, we rode the Jenny Lake trail.  We rode up to Hidden Falls, but couldn't make it the entire way as the trail becomes impassable for horses.  We then explored Cascade Canyon.  That trail was labelled a horse trail, but it was steep, rocky, and not that pleasant.

Riding Game Creek Trail

Laertes and Oberon are sharing a corral at the Game Creek Ranch during our stay in Jackson, Wyoming

Laertes is ready to hit the trails

Oberon waits patiently to hit the trails

On Game Creek Trail

The trail had a lovely creek - Game Creek- running through it

Laertes peeks over Oberon to see what I am doing

On the Game Creek Trail

The Game Creek Trail runs through the foothills of the Teton Mountains

To get to the Game Creek Trail, we rode right off the ranch, rode down the road - Game Creek Road - and the trail head was at the end of the road.  We packed some sandwiches in a saddle bag and ate a picnic lunch on the trail.

From Driggs to Jackson Wyoming

On the Aspen Creek Trail near Driggs, Idaho

In the Caribou-Targahee Forest on the Gibson- Jack Trail

In the Caribou-Targahee Forest - note the beautiful yellow daisies on both sides of the trail in the background

Good ol' boys having breakfast at the Five Bar Diner in Pocatello, Idaho

Sign at the Gibson Jack Trailhead

On the Gibson Jack Trail

On the Gibson Jack Trail

At the Teton Saddleback Vista barn

Chowing down

Getting ready to ride on the Aspen Creek Trail, outside of Driggs, Idaho

Oberon drinking snow melt off the trail - he loved it

Laertes drinking from Aspen Creek

On the Aspen Creek Trail

Driggs, Idaho

After six stops - Granite Bay, Carson City, Fallon, Elko, Twin Falls, Pocatello, and Driggs, we have finally arrived in Jackson, Wyoming.  It is a harrowing drive over a mountain - at least harrowing when you are driving a truck pulling a horse trailer.  I am definitely experiencing altitude sickness - headache, fatigue, and vomiting.  I am hoping that by the time we leave I will have recovered.  You are supposed to rest when you are experiencing altitude sickness, but we only have three days here in Jackson, so I still plan to saddle up and tough it out.

We are tweaking our plans for the return trip.  Now that we have seen and experienced the route, we have a better idea of where we want to stay and what places we still want to ride.

Getting to the Gibson-Jack trail head was less of an ordeal than the previous day's ride at the Sawtiooth National Forest.   The dirt road section was about 1/2 mile.  There was a nice parking area and as we were tacking up, two nice young men delivered porta-potties for our use.  Someone from the forest service must have gotten word about my complaint from Carol Sherman's place.

To get to the Aspen trail outside of Driggs, you have to take Ski Hill Run to Stateline Road and drive down Stateline Road until it dead ends at the trail head. 

None of the trails we have visited are marked - except at the actual trail heads.  There are no road signs, nothing on the maps, they are virtually invisible.  To find out where we can ride, we have to ask locals - most of whom are completely puzzled by the idea of riding horses for fun.  Horses are used to work cattle and for rodeos.  People here simply do not trail ride just for recreation. 

To find the Gibson Jack trail, we stopped at the local feed store and asked one of the clerks where we could ride.

To locate the Aspen Trail, one of the other boarders at the Teton Saddleback Vistas Ranch provided us with directions.

We stopped at the Visitor Center across from where we are staying in Jackson and got a map for a trail we can ride tomorrow.  Today we plan to ride the Game Creek Trail from the barn where we are staying.