Well, it has only taken me almost a week to get all these pictures posted, but at least I got it all narrowed down. I came home with almost 600 pictures total! ( ALmost 300 of my own, and almost 300 from the trip leader). Here are about 60 of the best ones and the ones that tell the story.
Kaitlynn and I took advantage of a trip sponsored by the OAP (Outdoor Adventure Program) on base, and joined 12 other adults for a horse-back riding trip to West Yellowstone, Montana.
We left here at 4am last Friday morning, boarded up 2 vans, and attempted to sleep part of the 6 hour drive. We made it to the Parade Rest Guest Ranch in time for lunch. Not a bad drive!
Our first trail ride was scheduled for 1:30, so we ate quickly and got bundled up for our ride. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the clouds were beautiful, but it was a bit colder then Idaho!
We started our afternoon ride with about 4 extra layers on!
Kaitlynn was given Strawberry to ride. A sweet older, calm mare. They hit it off instantly. After a 5 minute lesson, off we went up into the mountains! Here is Kaitlynn on her first ride, though it isn't Strawberry's best side. :-)
Sunset that first night was beautiful.
It was so peaceful just standing there in the quiet watching the colors.
This was the bridge was crossed over to walk through the pastures and down the road to the stables. I think it had to be over a half mile one way. So, we did a LOT of walking!
Kaitlynn was given Strawberry to ride. A sweet older, calm mare. They hit it off instantly. After a 5 minute lesson, off we went up into the mountains! Here is Kaitlynn on her first ride, though it isn't Strawberry's best side. :-)
Sunset that first night was beautiful.
It was so peaceful just standing there in the quiet watching the colors.
This was the bridge was crossed over to walk through the pastures and down the road to the stables. I think it had to be over a half mile one way. So, we did a LOT of walking!
Our first few minutes there, we went out to meet the sweet baby. His name was Java, and his mother and brother were Mocha and Cappichino.
This was the main lodge used for check-ins and sign - ups. Very pretty!
This was the walk through the second pasture on the way to the stables.
Kaitlynn's first time on Strawberry! ( Sorry, I tried to keep the pictures all in order, but I goofed.)
Coming up the main trail into the mountains.
It is a bit hard to take a focused picture on something small and far away when you are on a moving horse going uphill, but this one isn't to bad of the eagle's nest. We saw several flying as well.
We were so high, almost 10,000 feet, and the clouds were so white and fluffy, it felt like we could almost touch them!
After one of our rides. I am on Taco. Who would rather NOT be on the trail if he had his way.
One of the rides had us going through the forest. The pine trees smelled SO good!
Our first night we had a mountain cook-out. Most of the guests rode the surry to dinner, but Kaitlynn and I and 2 others left an hour early and rode the horses to dinner!
DELICIOUS! Steak, corn, beans, slaw, potatoes and carrot cake!
After dinner, Kaitlynn got comfortable on a log, watching the people and listening to the live entertainment.
I think she was ready to fall asleep!
This is the suri that everyone rode back. Except us, we had to ride the horses back home! Notice the jacket and gloves... it was COLD! In the 30's.
Our cabin! It slept 8 and there were only 3 of us in there! Kaitlynn took the twin bed by the stove. No central heat or air here! Ya want to stay warm, you have to feed the stove!
She liked the horse print on our chairs.
And really liked the unique bench!
Here is a shot of the hot tub and the swings.
Here is our genuine western cowgirl!
The rules of the ranch:
Here are all the aspen trees. I learned that they are all connected by the roots and the roots only go down about 24 inches, so they are prone to blow over during storms.
See the bear claw scratches? They are everywhere! I am sad we didn't see a real one out in the wild.
This is Dotty. Kaitlynn did NOT want to ride Classy again!
The front of our cabin. There were 16 cabins total. This was one of the bigger ones.
This was EARLY Sunday morning. She looks a bit sunburned and a bit tired doesn't she?
We spent a few hours in town, walking and shopping. EVERY store had a different painted buffalo in front of it. This one was in front of the IMAX theater where we saw the movie YELLOWSTONE.
We were one mile, ONE MILE, from the park entrance. So officially, I still have not been to Yellowstone, but I think I have been the closest possible with out going!
Our cabin! It slept 8 and there were only 3 of us in there! Kaitlynn took the twin bed by the stove. No central heat or air here! Ya want to stay warm, you have to feed the stove!
She liked the horse print on our chairs.
And really liked the unique bench!
Here is a shot of the hot tub and the swings.
Here is our genuine western cowgirl!
The rules of the ranch:
Saturday afternoon, Strawberry was tired, so Kaitlynn rode a new horse, Classy!
Classy was NOT as calm as Strawberry and gave Kaitlynn some fits!
Classy was NOT as calm as Strawberry and gave Kaitlynn some fits!Here are all the aspen trees. I learned that they are all connected by the roots and the roots only go down about 24 inches, so they are prone to blow over during storms.
(well, i just hit a button and the picture disappeared. That has never happened before. And I have NO idea how to put it back in this spot).
So, just imagine a close up picture of a forest of trees, and the ground covered with downed aspen trees.
This mountain pond was nice. SO nice that Classy tried to LAY DOWN in it with Kaitlynn on her back. Thankfully our cowboy.....um....wrangler was rather quick and got there and grabbed the reins before we had one wet, cold 8 year old. I think her screams might still be echoing through the mountain range!
See the bear claw scratches? They are everywhere! I am sad we didn't see a real one out in the wild.
This is Dotty. Kaitlynn did NOT want to ride Classy again!
The front of our cabin. There were 16 cabins total. This was one of the bigger ones.
The ranch closes in October, and one person stays behind until November, when the 18 wheelers come and take all 60 horses to spend the winter in Idaho. I asked our wrangler how much snow they usually get, he said from 6 to 12 FEET!
Who knew I could make such a gorgeous HOT fire! But when it is 20 degrees out and you are cold, I guess I shouldn't be surprised! :-)
Who knew I could make such a gorgeous HOT fire! But when it is 20 degrees out and you are cold, I guess I shouldn't be surprised! :-)
This was EARLY Sunday morning. She looks a bit sunburned and a bit tired doesn't she?
We spent a few hours in town, walking and shopping. EVERY store had a different painted buffalo in front of it. This one was in front of the IMAX theater where we saw the movie YELLOWSTONE.
We were one mile, ONE MILE, from the park entrance. So officially, I still have not been to Yellowstone, but I think I have been the closest possible with out going!There are more posts below, smaller ones that I did in a few freee minutes during the week.
What an AWESOME trip!
1 comment:
wow, what a great trip, thanks for sharing,Love, Haha
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