Spring Travels: Day 2

Last night was rough! The wind was powerful and really hard to sleep through. At times, it blew hard enough that the tent was flattened and hitting Allen and me in the face (the tent is usually tall enough for even Allen to stand in). A few times, it bent enough that a pole popped out of position, so Allen and I shoved our feet in shoes and hobbled out in the dark to fix it. By morning, we were really fast at taking care of it.

Our major event of the day was horseback riding. Maddie, who was terrified to do it several years ago, had been telling us for weeks she was ready to participate this time. She insisted she was brave... right up to the moment we saw the horses we would be riding. Then she parked herself behind Allen and refused to get on a horse. Since it was just one family riding at a time, she didn't have a choice because we all planned to ride and no one would be left to be with her (the others were not at that part of the park with us). The guide picked her up and put her on a white horse and pointed out to her that her jacket matched the saddle blanket. That calmed her a little bit.

The boys all LOVED being on the horses. Ben didn't stop talking for awhile, and Will was beyond thrilled that he didn't have to have an adult holding his horse on a rope.

The guide led our group down hills into the canyon. Every time Maddie's horse went down ANY hill, she squealed or screamed. Every. Time. ... And each time she let out a squeal, MY horse was startled. Allen and I tried to explain that when she was a bit nervous, she should talk gently to the horse instead of squealing in terror. She eventually understood and did that. After about 30 minutes, Maddie was calmer and enjoying the ride through canyon.

the only photo of ME riding

As we started the ascent, she was still pretty calm, but she relaxed a bit too much. On the last big hill up, she relaxed enough that her heels went over her head and she landed behind the horse on the dirt. She cried a little bit -- more scared and startled than hurt, then she rolled out of the way so she didn't get trampled. Again, my heart stopped a bit when I watched her fall and not move or speak for a few moments. Again, she turned out to be fine. Though she refused to get back on the horse, the guide picked her up and plopped her on again, telling her, "You ALWAYS get back on after you fall off." Since we were the first group to ride, we swore the kids to secrecy -- telling them NOT to tell the Browns or Brodys about Maddie's fall until AFTER they rode (we didn't want to frighten the kids or moms.) Sure enough, as soon as they got off the horses, Jon and Ben ran to tell the other kids what happened. The Brodys rode next, then the Browns did. Our crew headed back to camp to change out of our sandy clothes and to let the kids play. After lunch, all of us were back together. The kids played some, then we all headed out for a trail hike.

It wasn't too long into the walk that Will and Kaleb started slowing down. They weren't bored or tired... just curious. I walked with them for awhile, and, after stopping to investigate some paw prints in the dirt, we got the Track and Scat guide out of the Junior Naturalist Backpack that we had checked out at the Ranger station. They worked together to identify the print (coyote), and then they read through the guide a bit. Afterward, I think the three of us stopped at every pile of poop we came to -- a lot! We learned to look at the scat and determine if the animal was carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore... cat or dog family... big or small animal. Before we caught up to the group, we knew many animals had used the trail for more than just walking -- coyote, fox, mountain lion, bobcat, wild pig, raccoon, deer, and more! When we caught up the group, there was plenty of "Why are you guys going so SLOW!!" from the other kids. As we walked together, though, we found another pile of doo and Will and Kaleb we anxious to teach the others all they learned. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the learned it all. We may have been moving slowly, but I know they learned a bunch that day!