Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Gordon, Jess and Julie hit the hills on the horses!


On Labor Day weekend, Gordon took Jess and I up to Donnelley to ride the horses. We had a wonderful time, riding right over the mountains where we could see a view of the whole Cascade, Donnelley, McCall valley. We had a wonderful time with one little glitch; on the way back, it was pretty much straight downhill. (Yes, when you go up, you must come down). I thought Jess was being a trooper and so I wasn't about to complain either; after all, people pay a lot of money to do what Gordon was taking us to do and many never get to see nature in that way. I almost made it the whole way down without complaining when we came across two logs, which Ginger decided to lunge over (going sharply downhill, mind you); then she abruptly stopped and shook her mane out and I almost went straight over her head. Only my sturdy grip on the saddle horn and superior horsewomanship kept me on. (And also the cool cowboy boots and hat I was wearing...) At this point, out of nowhere, an involuntary word came out of my mouth directed at my husband, the Bishop. He was happily on his way, thinking we were doing great, which we were for the most part. I think he was a little stunned by the outburst. Then he said to Jess (trying to give us a little hope), "look, theres a road". "There's no road ANYWHERE, Dad" (even she was at her limit). Right then we turned the corner and there was the road and the truck and horse trailer. We made it so close! If we only could have held on for another five to ten minutes, Gordon never would have known we were sweating anything! That being said, it was a fantastically wonderful ride, great view, fresh air and quality time together. One of my favorite parts? At the top we stopped and I had my favorite snack:)