The pics Dad showed above are of yesterday and today. The top one shows me practicing lassoing a fake bulls head. It's harder than it it looks! But really fun to try.The gray horse is Rock (or Deek), Daddy's horse. At the bottom shows Eva throwing horse shoes. Last night I played a game of shoes with Mr. Kinsolving, Mrs. Kinsolving, and Eva. Mr. Kinsolving and I were on a team, and Eva and Mrs. Kinsolving were on a team. Eva and Mrs. Kinsolving won, 10 to 3. I am not that good at throwing the shoes, but getting better.
The morning ride today was SO fun! Earlier, our wrangler took me alone on a couple loping (which means cantering, the western way) rides, but today he showed all of us how to trot and lope. Eva and Isaac love to trot, but I think they still need to get used to the lope. Mom and Dad like loping better than the trot, because it's smoother (same with me). Boy, were we flying down those trails today!
This afternoon, I was taught to do some pottery. It is really fun! Then Dad took me out to a rope swing in the woods. We had to wear gloves, because the ropes give you splinters. But the swing was great!!
Instead of going on an afternoon ride today, we chose a sunset ride. We will leave after supper, and be gone for a couple hours. The sun has been so pretty every night when it sets, so it will be fun to ride and watch the sun.
It's almost time for supper! I will write more tomorrow.
So far, it's been a great day at Medicine Bow Lodge!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
It's Time to Ride!
We met our horses today!!!! After a filling breakfast of eggs, bacon pancakes, and toast Mitchell (a staff worker, or wrangler) took us out to mount our horses.
I mounted first. I was so excited! My horse's name was Raindancer. Isn't that the coolest name? And guess what, he is a paint! My favorite breed! He doesn't have much color designs, but he has a few white splotches here and there. After I mounted, Mitchell told me how to handle Raindancer, then let me walk around in the field while the others mounted their horses. Next Eva mounted Pringles, a white-gray horse. Then Isaac mounted Hector, a bay. Then Mom and Dad got on theirs, Mason and Rock, white and chestnut horse. Then we were off on our first ride! Almost the first thing we did was walk through a mountain stream!! My dream!
Isaac and Eva just LOVE to ride! I was surprised Isaac was so excited. Eva's horse has a hard time seeing, so Eva loves to talk to talk to him. Eva tells us that he is the perfect horse for her, becuase she can comfort it when it has trouble on the trails. She was telling Mom, "Pringles must be scared becuase he can't see very well. So i must comfort him and make him feel better."
There are normaly two rides per day. During our afternoon ride, we mostly rode through thick, tall pine tress. Isaac cracked a joke while we were riding. He said, "There is nothing out here but a bunch of bodiless elephants."
"Bodiless Elephants?"
"Yah, all you can see is their trunks!"
Dad is calling me to go to bed. I must admit, I m pretty tired.
Another day as has passed at Medicine Bow Lodge!
This is Eva and Pringles after our fist ride. She loves to be with him!
I mounted first. I was so excited! My horse's name was Raindancer. Isn't that the coolest name? And guess what, he is a paint! My favorite breed! He doesn't have much color designs, but he has a few white splotches here and there. After I mounted, Mitchell told me how to handle Raindancer, then let me walk around in the field while the others mounted their horses. Next Eva mounted Pringles, a white-gray horse. Then Isaac mounted Hector, a bay. Then Mom and Dad got on theirs, Mason and Rock, white and chestnut horse. Then we were off on our first ride! Almost the first thing we did was walk through a mountain stream!! My dream!
Isaac and Eva just LOVE to ride! I was surprised Isaac was so excited. Eva's horse has a hard time seeing, so Eva loves to talk to talk to him. Eva tells us that he is the perfect horse for her, becuase she can comfort it when it has trouble on the trails. She was telling Mom, "Pringles must be scared becuase he can't see very well. So i must comfort him and make him feel better."
There are normaly two rides per day. During our afternoon ride, we mostly rode through thick, tall pine tress. Isaac cracked a joke while we were riding. He said, "There is nothing out here but a bunch of bodiless elephants."
"Bodiless Elephants?"
"Yah, all you can see is their trunks!"
Dad is calling me to go to bed. I must admit, I m pretty tired.
Another day as has passed at Medicine Bow Lodge!
This is Eva and Pringles after our fist ride. She loves to be with him!
Dad took this picture while on his horse. This is one of the trails we rode. All of our horses look so pretty!
This is me and Raindancer. Tomorrow we will try to get better pics of the horses faces.
This is me and Raindancer. Tomorrow we will try to get better pics of the horses faces.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Arriving at Medicine Bow Lodge
We are here at Medicine Bow Lodge!!! I really can't believe it!
The drive was so exciting today! Since we left the hotel, everyone's eyes were pealed for any mountains rising above the horizon. It took a little while, but finally some very faint blue snow capped mountains rose in the distance. From then on, we were all filled with jittery excitement (me, especially). I was squealing and laughing and jumping in my seat. I just couldn't wait!
And now here I am, sitting here in the cozy dining room at the ranch after a big meal with Mr. and Mrs. Kinsolving, with one full stomach! It is so much better than I imagined here! How cozy and friendly it is here! I love it! All the staff and owners feel like family. In fact, Mr. Kinsolving, our family and another family are basically the only guests here! We have the whole place to ourselves!
We haven't ridden any today. Tomorrow we will be matched with our horse, and have our first ride! I have looked in the coral and field behind our cabin and imagined which horse would be mine. I can't wait to find out!!!!!!!!!
We are still getting used to the high altitude here. Mom, Dad and I still feel a little light headed, but we are pretty sure it will get better tomorrow.
I am ready for another day at Medicine Bow Lodge! After a good night sleep.
This is the lodge. It has a dining room, a ping pong and pool room, and a living room. It is very cozy!
These are wildfloweres I picked. They are everywhere, and very pretty.
This is the Red Ant cabin and we will use it during our stay. It has two bathrooms, and two bedrooms with two double beds in each. The names of all the cabins are all really strange, the one next to us (Mr. Kinsolving's cabin) is named Horse Fly.
I took this photo while in the car at about ten thousand feet. Aren't the mountains beautiful? The air is really thin up there, and there are huge patches of snow everywhere. I threw a snowball in the summer!!
The drive was so exciting today! Since we left the hotel, everyone's eyes were pealed for any mountains rising above the horizon. It took a little while, but finally some very faint blue snow capped mountains rose in the distance. From then on, we were all filled with jittery excitement (me, especially). I was squealing and laughing and jumping in my seat. I just couldn't wait!
And now here I am, sitting here in the cozy dining room at the ranch after a big meal with Mr. and Mrs. Kinsolving, with one full stomach! It is so much better than I imagined here! How cozy and friendly it is here! I love it! All the staff and owners feel like family. In fact, Mr. Kinsolving, our family and another family are basically the only guests here! We have the whole place to ourselves!
We haven't ridden any today. Tomorrow we will be matched with our horse, and have our first ride! I have looked in the coral and field behind our cabin and imagined which horse would be mine. I can't wait to find out!!!!!!!!!
We are still getting used to the high altitude here. Mom, Dad and I still feel a little light headed, but we are pretty sure it will get better tomorrow.
I am ready for another day at Medicine Bow Lodge! After a good night sleep.
This is the lodge. It has a dining room, a ping pong and pool room, and a living room. It is very cozy!
These are wildfloweres I picked. They are everywhere, and very pretty.
This is the Red Ant cabin and we will use it during our stay. It has two bathrooms, and two bedrooms with two double beds in each. The names of all the cabins are all really strange, the one next to us (Mr. Kinsolving's cabin) is named Horse Fly.
I took this photo while in the car at about ten thousand feet. Aren't the mountains beautiful? The air is really thin up there, and there are huge patches of snow everywhere. I threw a snowball in the summer!!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Lot's of Car Time
875 miles down! What a ride!
Boy, were we in the car a long time ( a little over sixteen hours total). We started driving this morning at 5:00 a.m. All of us were excited and ready for the drive, but as the trip wore on, the excitement wore away. There were some tired, grumpy, hours I must admit. But overall, Mom says we all did pretty good.
Our meals were interesting. For breakfast we pulled over at a Burger King. I had gluten-free coffee cake (thank you Grandma Alice!) and french fries. It was confusing figuring out if every little bit of food e ordered was gluten-free. But, this is a learning experience.
All the scenery was beautiful. Mostly flat farm land land, with some hills. In the morning, we all saw a beautiful sunrise. The sky was so was filled with awesome colors. We also drove through some huge windmill farms with mills all around us. They were much bigger than i thought!
Today we drove through Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Now we are in North Plate, Nebraska, relaxing in our hotel. Tomorrow we will finish the rest of the rest of the driving to Medicine Bow Lodge (about a five hour drive).
Time for bed! I can't wait for tomorrow!
Boy, were we in the car a long time ( a little over sixteen hours total). We started driving this morning at 5:00 a.m. All of us were excited and ready for the drive, but as the trip wore on, the excitement wore away. There were some tired, grumpy, hours I must admit. But overall, Mom says we all did pretty good.
Our meals were interesting. For breakfast we pulled over at a Burger King. I had gluten-free coffee cake (thank you Grandma Alice!) and french fries. It was confusing figuring out if every little bit of food e ordered was gluten-free. But, this is a learning experience.
All the scenery was beautiful. Mostly flat farm land land, with some hills. In the morning, we all saw a beautiful sunrise. The sky was so was filled with awesome colors. We also drove through some huge windmill farms with mills all around us. They were much bigger than i thought!
Today we drove through Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Now we are in North Plate, Nebraska, relaxing in our hotel. Tomorrow we will finish the rest of the rest of the driving to Medicine Bow Lodge (about a five hour drive).
Time for bed! I can't wait for tomorrow!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Let's Head for the Dude Ranch!
Finally, done packing! Time to relax (at least until 4:30 am).
Tomorrow we leave for our thirteen hour car drive to Nebraska! Then we will stop for the night, and drive the rest of the way to Wyoming (another five hour drive). I can hardly wait until we get in the car! I am so extremely excited!!! Since the day when Mr. Kinsolving called me to say I had won a dude ranch vacation, I have never really believed it was true. I will be amazed if I ever start sleeping tonight!
I already miss my friends and family I will be leaving behind, and Sadie and Dungy too (we dropped them off this afternoon).
It's almost time to head for the dude ranch!
Tomorrow we leave for our thirteen hour car drive to Nebraska! Then we will stop for the night, and drive the rest of the way to Wyoming (another five hour drive). I can hardly wait until we get in the car! I am so extremely excited!!! Since the day when Mr. Kinsolving called me to say I had won a dude ranch vacation, I have never really believed it was true. I will be amazed if I ever start sleeping tonight!
I already miss my friends and family I will be leaving behind, and Sadie and Dungy too (we dropped them off this afternoon).
It's almost time to head for the dude ranch!
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