July 12-18, 2009 To Fort Robinson

July 12-18, 2009

 

To Fort Robinson

 

Sunday, July 12, 2009:

 

Kathy was our ride leader today. We trailered out to where we had left off, left a saddled horse and moved our trailers up to a feed lot that would be our destination for the day. We had had rain the evening before and long sections of the dirt road were muddy. Those of us that had 4-wheel drive used it. Somehow we all got through the mud. Now our trailers are muddy and yucky again. Oh, well…. We were shuttled back to our horses and started the ride north. We rode through fields of wheat and corn and occasionally beans. Since we were wondering what kind of beans were growing, Bobby went into the field to get a closer look and told us it was red beans growing – he had found a red bean that had not gotten planted. Smarty pants! There were sections covered with wild flowers. They smelled so good!!!! I traded horses with Tammy. She wanted to ride 2-Bits and I got to ride Rocky – her Rocky Mountain Horse. Rocky has a natural gait that is SMOOTH! After lunch, I rode Vegas and Bobby rode Rocky. He rode beside me as I tried to keep Vegas in a running walk. If he changed to pacing, I would slow him down and get him in his running walk again. This was fun for me as I am learning about the gaits of these horses. At this point, I don’t know where my new gaited horse will come from or what breed he will be – but I know he will show up soon. Bolivar, Nancy J’s husband will bring me the horse if I can get him to Childress or Amarillo, TX. We clocked out the miles and arrived at the feed lot. It is smelly and has many flies – but it is a place to stay for the evening. The Shiffs own the feed lot and all the land we have been riding on – over 17,000 acres!

 

Monday, July 13, 2009:   We left with Richard leading the ride today. The terrain was rolling hills – mostly native grasses (CRP?) with occasional fields of wheat or corn. All the cropland is irrigated with pivots. Water is the life blood of farming here. Many fields have stripes of wheat and fallow land. The farmer needs to plant only ½ his land to qualify for the farm bill subsidy so he plants in stripes. The next year he will plant the fallow land and let this year’s wheat lay fallow. This was pleasant. We had fields on both sides but were on a dirt road with good footing and we did not have to worry about snakes in tall grass.

 

Mike is a long rider but did not ride today. He wasn’t feeling good and was taken to the hospital. He didn’t want to go as it would inconvenience others. I can relate to this feeling! We think he is dehydrated or has some heart problem. We are all like family and this is like your brother having problems. We did not hear results of the doctor visit until the next day – dehydration and fatigue.

 

The Long Riders stayed in a field and the others continued to a ranch. Dinner was served at the ranch. We were treated by Maggie to cold water, tea and homemade cookies! We are the biggest thing that has happened to this community in years! Our hosts will have bragging rights for some time.

We don’t have time to watch TV – if we could even get reception – and have no newspapers so we are out of touch with the outside world. This is refreshing and calming and less stressful. All we have to worry about is taking care of our horses and being ready at 7:30 to ride or move our rigs or both. We don’t really care where we are going daily – we just ride until someone says, “This is it!” We can tell we are riding north by the sun. This is a simpler existence. We are easily entertained. We laughed and said, “Ride him!” today when Roy’s horse lay down in a huge puddle.

 

Sandy and Suzanne joined us at Flying Bee ranch. They will be riding with us for 6 weeks. I’m sure it was hard at first for them to feel part of this group as we have been riding together since April 21 and are like family. But today, I felt like they were treated as part of the group. Welcome Sandy and Suzanne!

 

We are all looking forward to Custer, SD. We will have many family members visiting us here. My high school friend, Diane, will arrive and will be staying with me for a week. I’m excited that she will be coming. We have been communicating about what to bring, what to expect, etc. Diane is an excited as I am. I can borrow 2-Bits while she is here. But I expect my new horse will be here by then.

 

Roy has a new horse. He and his wife Janis left here, drove to Missouri, picked up his horse and returned late last night or this morning – a 1700 mile journey.

 

A reporter was here today and interviewed a few of us. When asked about this ride, I said something like, “This is an adventure, a challenge, and a horseback ride of a lifetime.”

 

Our horses keep changing shape. 2-Bits has always been round with no withers. Now he has a withers and his rump shows his backbone. I am not riding him so a spot near his withers that has no hair heals. I have increased his feed and hope he gains some weight. Cisco has gained muscle. He has big muscles in his neck, chest and rump. He is just the age to be filling out. The lump on his forehead has all but gone away. I’ll ride him daily until the new horse gets here.

 

Tuesday, July 14, 2009:   The Long Riders rode the 8-9 miles to the ranch where the rest of our group was located. Some of our folks moved our rigs up to the ranch while we rode. Wow! We could easily get used to this service! Thank you drivers!

 

Nancy J and I drove to Ft Robinson after the short ride. This was a Calvary recharge center. They had over 200 mares housed here that were bred to thoroughbreds. The Veterinary Hospital is huge with stall for 50-75 horses. There were over 2000 horses here. There are 4 large horse barns each with 50 stalls. The floors are brick/cobblestone. I could almost feel the ghost of horses stalled here in earlier times. The Calvary rounded up Indians including Crazy Horse. He was killed or committed suicide here. A Museum had bones of prehistoric animals, including a huge display of a monolith.

 

We drove out of the State Park to some cattle pens. I thought this might be a place we could camp but the road is narrow, goes through a creek, and is not large enough for even half of our rigs. Duke and I had camped here with our horses several years ago. As we were leaving, we saw James, Mike Shaw, Barbara, Mark, Brenda, Julie entering the park with horses. They enjoyed their ride. But the main topic of conversation was the couple they saw in the bushes!

 

After lunch in Crawford, we went to Chadron and the Museum of the Fur Traders. This was an interesting museum with lots of guns, Indian wears, pots, arrow heads, and tools of the times. Outside was an old trading post – mostly in the ground with grass and flowers growing on the roof. The inside looked much as it must have during its useful days.

 

We all had dinner provided by the ranch. A lady that has been riding alone with her dog told about her adventures. She is out for a month and will ride more next year. She rides about 10 miles a day and her horse grazes on the lush grass of the Sand Hills. She has a tent and carries about 40 lbs of supplies on her horse. This is different travel than we are doing. Her advice is to “Follow your dreams!”

 

It has gotten cooler and the nights are cold – 45 or so. We are glad for a reprieve from the 90 degree heat. This is still much cooler than the 100+ days back home.

 

Wednesday, July 15, 2009:    Matt led us out and across pastures. The rolling hills here are not as high or as steep as the ones back home. I guess “rolling hills” covers a large range of hills. We had lunch at the ranch headquarters. This was another soft grass and shade lunch. Some of us took a short nap after eating. Then we were back on our horses. We rode across another “Sound of Music” hills. Then we could see South Dakota off in the distance. We went along a stream with large cottonwoods. We were joined by most of the folks left in camp. It was great to have so many riders. Josie is back! She rode with us when we were at the border of Mexico. Glad to have you back, Josie! Our destination was Fisher’s Ash Creek Ranch.

 

Our hosts on this ride have been very gracious! We have been served dinner, homemade cookies, ice cream, etc. People are anxious to talk to us, to hear where we come from, why we are on this ride, how it all works, etc. This is the Best of America. I really like the small towns, the rural lifestyle.

 

Thursday, July 16, 2009 This is a rest day. We did laundry, grocery shopping, fuel stop, found a saddle repair shop, etc. Cisco got loose in some tall grass – up to his belly – and was having fun running and bucking. He did not want to be caught!

 

Friday, July 17, 2009  Today we rode to Norman/Kolling Guest Ranch north of Fort Robinson. We saw buffalo in a pasture, went up on a ridge, and down into a draw. Lunch was at Tony Johnson’s Arena. Wayne rode 2-Bits today and liked 2-Bits’s fast walk. We were in the Sand Hills until Wednesday when we got into the Pine Ridge section of Nebraska. And today we changed completely again when we got to the alkaline white cliffs. It looks like the land was mostly level, then there was great erosion to make the cliffs. There is even a section called Toadstool Canyon where the erosion has created mushroom shaped formations with a narrow stem and large top. John and Candy from Wyoming have joined us for dinner before and today was the first time they rode with us. Candy’s horse was excited about being with so many new horses that he jogged most of the day. This can be exhausting. Welcome, John and Candy! We were served dinner at Norman Ranch – they even had tempeh for us vegetarians. Thanks!

 

Saturday, July 18, 2009 Donna’s Birthday – Happy Birthday, Donna!!!! And a Rest Day. Back to Chadron to the Wal-Mart, feed store, food coop, lunch at a restaurant on Main Street. We had “domestics” to do here at camp – change the oil in generators, replace the bug shield on my truck after getting new “screws”, replace the air filter, look for the water leak in my trailer – did not find it. I thought I might be filling the camper’s water tank too full but tonight after my shower, the floor is wetter than it was before. Maybe it leaks from the shower’s drain. I’ll keep checking. Get ready to ride into South Dakota tomorrow!

 

Happy Trails,

Nancy