August 23-27, 2009 Out of Medora

August 23-27, 2009 Out of Medora

First, let me correct any misunderstandings. Only 2 horses have been ridden the complete way from the Mexican border. I have 2 horses and alternate riding them. So neither of my horses have been ridden the complete way. Other people don’t ride every day. There are 8-10 of us riders that have ridden the complete way – on one horse or another.  Most of the original horses are still with us. A few have been left in a pasture or boarded – due to injuries or stress of travel. I am glad I brought 2 horses. They have held up well. I sold 2-Bits to Tammy and he is still on the ride. I bought Dakota and have ridden him some. He is young and not in condition for 20 miles day after day.

Most of the orginal riders are still with us. A few have gone home for health, financial or personal reasons.

Our trailers vary in size and ammenities. Some are high end rigs and others are basic – like Cadillacs vs. Chevrolets

Sunday, August 23, 2009 We loaded horses and were shuttled out to the Wannagon Campground where we had left the trail Saturday. We climbed out of the campground on steep trail that was narrow. Oh, Brother! I was scared! But I never let my fear of heights stop me from doing an activity. So Cisco and I made it to the top. Then I took several deep breaths. We continued on the Maah Daah Hey Trail. We climbed ridges, rode on the crest, and then descended – over and over again. Cisco goes slowly downhill, and then trots to catch up. I’m glad that he is surefooted!  There was an area near the top of a ridge where we saw petrified cypress stumps. This area is 2-3000 feet in altitude and must have been the edge of a swamp. There was one petrified tree that had fallen near the trail. When we were on the top of a ridge, we had great views on both sides. So much space! Down in a canyon we saw a small cabin. This is supposed to be the most remote cabin in the US. I believe it!  We stopped at mile Marker 31 where two stock trailers waited. But they had no trucks attached. So we waited in the shade of the trailer. Eventually, Tom arrived. The rigs passed by on the way to our overnight camp place. After they arrived, a truck came back and took some of the horses forward. Then other trucks took us riders back to Medora for our rigs. Bobby, Wayne, and Jim stayed with the horses that were left for the next trailer load. They were snoozing on the ground when the truck and trailer turned into the area. All the horses took off – even the ones that were hobbled. It sounded like a stampede! The guys jumped up form their relaxing, covered their heads and were relieved when they saw that the horses had bolted away from them and had stopped 100 yards away. Whew! They picked up water bottles, cameras, etc that had bounced out of saddle bags. Back at camp in Medora, we had to fill campers and horse water tanks with water as we will be a remote area for the next 4-5 days. We caravanned to the camping place 50 miles away as the route would be nearly impossible to follow. We arrived at the Badlands plateau about 6:30. Fortunately, Candy and Tom had snacks waiting for a few of us. We considered these our dinner. Besides we were too tired to cook dinner.

 

Monday, August 24, 2009  Once again we rode backward. We rode out of camp and headed for mile Marker 31 on the Maah Daah Hey Trail. We were on the dirt road for ½ mile, and then picked up the trail. We went up, down, across, around and up and down again. The views of the North Dakota Badlands were spectacular! I have changed my opinion of North Dakota. I lived in Finley, ND for 2 years in the 60’s – compliments of the Air Force. That area is mostly flat wheat and grass. There were a few small hills that just gave you a look of the vast nothingness of the area. Occasionally there were trees that had been planted near a house or along a windrow. But this Badlands is something else! The shapes and colors are endless. The trail wound around and along plateaus. Sometimes we went through a small forest with bear berries and other underbrush. Other times we were riding along a ridge looking out over a huge valley. I don’t like that part. Cisco seemed to prefer the outside edge of the narrow trail and, of course, I want to be as close to the upside as possible. Yesterday we saw petrified cypress stumps. Today we saw petrified mud rolls. Mud started rolling down the hill and gathered more mud as it rolled, creating a roll 4-6 feet in diameter and sometimes as long as a tree – and petrified over eons…

 We rode by the Elkhorn Ranch that Teddy Roosevelt owned from 1884 to 1898. It is now part of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

 We had a lunch break beside a canyon. As we ate our lunch and relaxed, Tammy, our resident nurse, took our blood pressures. She said we all had lower numbers than when we are in camp. She takes blood pressure and weight every few weeks. Thank you, Tammy!

 Don and Susan from the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association are leaving us after today. They have done so much for us – from telling the history and geography of the area, to using their stock trailers to transport our horses, to bringing us cold watermelon and cantaloupe on a hot day when we were riding. Many thanks Don and Susie!!!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 We were transported out to the Wannagon Campground that had been our trail end earlier. Bonnie, a local rancher, was our leader as we rode cross country. I rode Dakota as we crossed the Little Missouri River twice. He waded through the thigh high water easily. The Little Missouri River flows north while most of our rivers flow south. We had an early lunch break at a ranch that will be auctioned off in 2 days. The land, house, equipment will all go. It is sad to see a ranch that just has not made it financially. Tom brought Cisco to me at lunch. I had started the day on Dakota thinking it would be a 12 mile ride. The length got changed to 24 miles when we gathered for announcements that morning. I did not want to ride Dakota that far as I had not had him on the trail for a week, letting his sore muscles heal. So I changed horses and was glad to have Cisco for the afternoon ride. Bonnie led us up steep ridges, across plateaus, and we sort of lost the trail going down. She found a place for us to descend that was almost straight down! I got off and walked, or slide down that section. The horses had to go under a low hanging branch that tall Dakota would not have been able to get under. Cisco made it. We later got to a canyon and had to search for a crossing place. Nancy J. kept saying she saw a 4-wheeler track on the other side that must be the trail/road. Sure enough, when Bobby and Wayne checked it out, it was a place to cross the canyon. I ran out of water, got another bottle from the Sherriff, drank it and was still thirsty. Usually the water truck has water to refill our bottles but we did not see the water truck all day. I could have had 4 more bottles of water that day. We eventually got to a ranch headquarters with a tank to water our horses. After the horses were all watered, we wanted to refill our water bottles. But the water went through a long black hose that was on the ground and the sun had heated the water. After 10 minutes, the water finally cooled off and we started on our water bottles. Bobby sat on the edge of the tank and I sat next to him. Jim, the Sherriff, filled his bottle, and then I invited him to sit next to me. He did but soon I got up to refill my bottles. Tammy took advantage of this opportunity for paybacks from July 4^th when the Sherriff had dumped a huge bucket of water on her – and on a very cool day. She snuck up, then charged and hit Jim with her shoulder like a fullback and dumped him in the tank! Jim grabbed Tammy and she went in too. Then she took his hat, filled it with water and stuffed it on his head! I think the revenges are settled now….

 I took a nap in the shade while waiting for trucks and trailers to take us and our horses back to the plateau camp. Then we still needed to move rigs. We caravanned with 11 trailers. The road was very dusty; no wind to blow it off and the setting sun was in my eyes. I focused on the weeds on the left side of the road but soon realized that there were weeds on the right side of the truck too. I was off the road!!!! Gads!!!! And where was the road???? I saw it on my right and got the rig back on the road. The guy behind me said he though my trailer was going to roll over! After this, when I couldn’t see the road, I stopped and hoped no one would run into my rear. The driving was treacherous on the dirt road. We stopped for all to catch up before turning on a hard road. Then, just before mile marker 19, we turned onto another dirt road. We only had a mile or so of this before we came to the Madison Ranch where we would be staying. I was following Nancy J as she turned into the field. I could not see either side of the “driveway” but followed in her tracks and prayed that I would not fall into the ditch. Made it! Then she turned and crossed what looked to me like ditches. I can’t go through there – I’ll tear all the plumbing out of my trailer! But soon realized what looked like ditches were rows of weeds Milt had cut before we arrived. It was 9:00. We stopped but it was hard to walk through the piles of weeds at least a foot high and 4 feet across – especially when lugging a bucket of horse water. Then I found out I had a flat tier on the horse trailer. Not just a flat tire, but the tread was wrapped around, and the rest of the tire was in small pieces. I’ve never seen a tire come apart like this. Apparently, the tire was okay when I turned onto the hard road but was flat when I turned onto the dirt road. Fortunately, the rim was still in good condition. I was tired and stressed! I made a quick dinner and went to bed.

 Wednesday, August 26, 2009  We were supposed to ride today but Tom changed it to a Rest Day. I was glad to have relaxation time. We went to Williston, got feed, found a Laundromat for the future, had lunch; got a new tire for my trailer, put it on. Milt hooked up his 53 foot long cattle trailer that we will be using to transport horses. The horses have to go up a metal ramp to the main floor. It is steep and noisy. We took 3 horses and Jeff brought his mule so we could practice and see if our animals would even get in this trailer. They all did well and we loaded and unloaded twice. If these 4 animals would load we figured all would. Milt and Clarissa fixed hamburgers for dinner for us and Del gave us a concert. Thanks Milt and Clarissa! Jeff and I brought veggie burgers for us vegetarians. Tom announced that we are now on Central Time so we have lost an hour. Nancy J got a kitten from the Madison Ranch. She has been wanting one. Add one to our Pet List!

 Thursday, August 27, 2009 Nancy Marcus said she would pick up Janis in Williston when her plane lands at 3:15. Funny thing though. Williston is on Central Time but we have been on Mountain Time for this whole ride. Dickinson, where Duke will fly into is on Mountain Time and is the stop just before Williston. We were up and saddled in the dark and everyone was bleary eyed from lack of sleep. It is just like going off daylight savings time.

 I rode Dakota as we rode out of camp. We went cross country so we could spread out, and then got to some hills. Dakota was feeling good, started jumping around, going sideways or backwards down the hills. I knew I should whack him with the reins to tell him to behave, but I was holding on! Soon Bobby and I changed horses. Dakota got a good lesson in behaving and was well mannered when we went up a steep narrow trail. I was glad to be on Vegas. We changed horses again when we were on flatter ground and I had fun riding Dakota again. Now I know to discipline him when he does the smallest out-of-line thing so he doesn’t proceed to a larger thing. I’m learning about my horse. Julie taught me to give Dakota something else to do and to think about before he whinnies or jumps around. This is like diverting a child’s attention away from something he wants. Today was our last cross country ride as we will be on dirt roads or roadsides the rest of the way to Canada. Milt met us with his 53 foot long trailer. We loaded horses in this and returned to the Madison Ranch. Janis was not at my trailer so I drove to Michael’s trailer to see if he knew where Nancy Marcus was. He said she was not back yet. So I drove toward Williston. I got to talk briefly to Janis who was in Dickinson. The plane had problems and was not leaving Dickinson and they were looking for a bus to bus the passengers to Williston. I called Nancy M. but cell service was almost non existent. We each knew the other was calling but that was all. Then I saw her on the side of the highway! What a fluke! I stopped, backed up and got in her truck so we could talk – finally. She knew Janis was being bussed to Williston. I told her to go back to camp and I would get Janis. So I continued to Williston, got propane at Wal-Mart, fueled up the truck and met Janis at the airport. The terminal actually closed at 6:00 but the cleaning ladies let Janis is to use the restroom. We loaded up her suitcase and headed back to camp. I missed a turn but soon knew we had gone too far. Turned around and found camp. Our little group had dinner mostly made so I cooked my salmon and we had a late dinner. It does not get dark until after 9:00 Central Time. I like Mountain Time better….

 Friday, August 28, 2009

 We got Cisco brushed and saddled using one of Nancy J’s saddles. I helped Janis adjust the stirrups. Then I got Dakota ready for me to ride. Milt and Clarissa, owners of the Madison Ranch where we were staying hitched up a team of horses to a wagon. They led the ride out of camp and along dirt roads. The scenery was not spectacular but rolling hills and occasionally an antelope, mountain lion, coyote, or owl showed up. We stopped for a water break and Janis decided to give up horseback riding for the day and climbed into the wagon. I could tell that Milt was proud to lead this group of riders into the town of Alexander. We had lunch in the City Park. We were delighted to have picnic tables to eat on, public restrooms, and a City artesian well to fill water bottles. After lunch Janis, the Water Lady, joined my friend Janis in the wagon as we continued but this time we were riding along the highway. Milt’s big trailer was waiting for us some 6 miles out of town. The horses were loaded and we were taken back to Madison Ranch. Janis had fun in the wagon, talking to Milt and Clarissa.

 I needed water for the trailer so I drove up to the main house where the water is found. Now Janis and I have water for showers and coffee in the morning. I also got the flat  tire off as I was afraid it would cause damage if left on.

 Saturday, August 29, 2009 Today we moved rigs first, dropping off our saddled horses at the place where we stopped yesterday. Then we drove into the town of Williston and found the Fair Grounds. We were trucked back to our horses and rode along the highway for 19+ miles. I rode Dakota again. He is settling down more and more – and I am learning how to control him. We had our lunch break at the Panger Roadside Park. Years ago, the Panger family helped wagons get up the steep embankments of the Missouri River by hitching several fresh teams together for the pull. They went out of business with the introduction of railroads and automobiles.

 The mosquitoes were terrible when we were in the marshland by the river. They got into our mouth if we talked our noses and ears! Yuck! We had a police escort when we crossed the Missouri River. You know, the Missouri River is the northernmost river in the lower 48 states. It flows west to east until it empties into the Mississippi River. We rode off a service road until we were met by Milt’s big trailer. We trucked the horses across town to the Fair Grounds. Freda did not ride and reserved pens for our horses. Pens with water are a treat. It was 5:00 by the time we got horses fed and watered and were ready to sit down and relax. The ??? Casino had sloppy Joes and corn on the cob dinner at 5:30 for us but we decided to go to the Mexican Restaurant instead. Janis did not ride as we were told that the ride would be 24+ miles and there would be no lunchtime pickup for those wanting to ride a shorter distance. Janis cleaned up our trailer and went to Wal-Mart and lunch with the girls. I think she had a good time visiting with other ride members.

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