Family Visits before We Hit the Road

 Our long term winter stay in Arizona is coming to an end. On Monday, we pack up and move on to the Ride Out Ranch in Florence...from now until next winter we will be doing the same pace of staying four to ten days at a place before we move on. 

One of the reasons we picked Arizona to winter is that Ari has family living in the area. We reminded them that we would be moving on Monday, so they took the opportunity to visit one more time.

Jaydon, our great nephew, actually managed to cram in TWO visits before we left because he has fallen in love with Mercy and wanted to ride on the local trails. He has grown into a wonderful young man and he has the makings of a real cowboy. He told his mom he may have to get a horse once he is done with college and settled down.

Our other niece also visited with her four kids. The older two each got a riding lesson on Mercy.

This is the baby - five month old Jeremiah - taking a nap in our bed inside the trailer. He is out for the count.

This is David James, age 15, getting his riding lesson.

Here's Althea, age 13, getting her riding lesson - she's a natural.

Althea also got to drive Joel's ATV - with Joel behind her to make sure she stayed safe. What a great adventure!

It's been really nice getting to spend time with our nieces and see Ari's sister.

Here is Joel helping with Lennox while he gets his manicure.

The horses got their manicures this morning before Nicole's visit. Both horses enjoyed their spa day.

Tomorrow our stock trailer gets picked up so it can be towed back to California.

Riding with Wild Horses - Salt River Coon Bluff Loop Arizona

 While I am laid up, our camp host, Joel Erickson has agreed to ride my horse and he has been having a blast getting to ride. He and his wife left their horses back in Minnesota so he hadn't expected to be able to ride.

This morning Ari and Joel took our horses back to the Coon Bluff Loop equestrian area. This time they went across the road and into the Salt River to see the wild horses.

Here is Ari on Lennox. The herd of wild horses is to the left on the other side of the river.

You can see the horses in the distance over Ari's shoulder.

Joel took these pictures of the herd.

Here is Joel riding Mercy. You can see the wild horses behind them. What a great picture!

This was definitely a great ride and I am very sorry I missed it, but so happy there are some pictures to capture it.

The Dancer's Fracture

 

Monday night I was making dinner - coq au vin. I keep the flour in an upper shelf and I am vertically challenged. So, I stand on our dinette to reach the cupboard. I slipped and fell badly. I broke the fifth metatarsal in my left foot - spiral fracture.

When I fell, I landed on my butt and hit my head on the back of our new wooden cabinet. Ari told me to lay there a minute and take inventory before I tried to get up - wise advise after any bad fall. I had a bump on my head, a scratch on my arm, my butt felt sore, but otherwise I thought I might have escaped any serious injuries. Then I tried to get up. As soon as I put weight on my left foot, I knew I had a broken bone. 

I crawled into our bed, elevated it, and iced it. I was hoping I was mistaken and the tell-tale throb of a break would subside, but it didn't.

I texted our niece, Dayna, who lives in the Phoenix area.  I wanted to avoid going to an ER with COVID rampant in Arizona right now. Dayna is a nurse and I was hoping she could recommend one of those 24 hr clinics. Instead, she got me a doctor's appointment the next morning with her podiatrist - even better.

As luck would have it, Ari had put our truck in for service that morning to have all the leaky hoses replaced. Our landlord, Joel, kindly lent us the use of his vehicle for the doctor's appointment. 

At the doctor's, X-rays were taken and my fears confirmed. It is a spiral fracture in the left foot. The doctor said most fractures of this type require surgery, but my bones had remained aligned, so there was a good chance it might heal without surgery. He prescribed a hydraulic boot and told me to stay off my foot as much as possible to prevent the bones from mis-aligning. He will check me again on the 19th to see if I have dodged the surgery bullet. If I have, then I only need the boot for a total of four weeks. If I require surgery, it will be a 12 week recovery period.

Ari is having to do my chores and his chores for the duration.

Fortunately, our landlord has been willing to ride Mercy and they have been riding together and having a great time. 

Dayna came out to check on us yesterday, so here is my hero with Lennox. Because of her, I didn't need to spend hours sitting in a crowded ER risking COVID. I got excellent care from her podiatrist and I may be able to avoid a painful surgery.

People have asked me if I need crutches and crutches would be a challenge in a small trailer, plus the ground outside is mostly rock and gravel so it would not be very steady for crutches. A walking boot is definitely the best solution. It keeps my fracture stabilized and protects my foot.

 

Salt River Wild Horses - Coon Bluff Loop

 There is a herd of wild horses living in the Salt River area near Usury State Park. They have their own supporters. We trailered out to see if we could spot them. Ari said he would be fine if we didn't as he didn't want our own horses spooking.

There is a large parking area on Coon Bluff Road across from the Salt River that is designated for equestrians. There were easily a dozen horse trailers in there. Lots of riders hoping to see the wild horses. No vault toilets or picnic tables. Just plenty of free parking. No overnight camping allowed.

The trails are mostly wide and sandy. It was an easy and relaxing ride. No herds of wild horses are seen, but we had a good time, nonethless.

New Year's Day - Lost Goldmine Trailhead

 

This is a popular trailhead with hikers. The parking lot fills up by 9 am most mornings. Residents complain about the parking and the traffic. Lots of no parking signs and the sheriff tours the streets to give out parking tickets and tow vehicles.

We managed to find a good sized pull out about 1.25 miles from the parking lot where we could park and tack up.

Lots of hikers on the trail, lots of small children who wanted to give our horses cookies and pets. We rode both horses barefoot, but the trails were pretty rocky. As we got up to the top of the mountain, the trails got narrower and more technical.

This was the goal - we took the Hieroglyphic Trail to see the petroglyphs. The last few hundred yards we had to dismount and take turns - one person holding the horses while the other person walked to the end to see the rock art. 

But it was well worth it - check out the beautiful petroglyphs and how large an area of rock face they take up.

Our horses were actually very relaxed and I think I figured out something - my horse is nervous and jumpy on trails where we are the only ones about, but relaxed and happy when there are lots of people. He obviously feels safer when there are a lot of people around to protect him.