Horseback Ride, another 30 Before 30!

I know, I know, I missed an entire MONTH. In my defense, I've been busy checking things off my 30 Before 30 list, though not necessarily blogging about them :) I'm going to do one now, and then in the next few weeks I'll be able to tell you about 6, that's right 6 others that I've checked off of late. I am so behind!

So on to today's list item. Go on a horseback ride. This ride actually took place on August5 (so I'm not quite a month behind, phew) in Estes Park, CO. Taylor and I left New York on July 29th and flew to Denver to see his parents in Estes Park, CO, where they have a home and are spending the summer. We got to Denver late on July 29th and drove straight to his parents' place about an hour away. Then, we got up first thing the next morning and drove about 6 hours to Riverton, WY to visit my aunt and uncle out there. We had a great time, but were only able to stay one night before heading back to Estes Park. Here are some highlights from Whyoming:

Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Geoff's new house they built:

Their Horses!

We even went to a rodeo!


Gary, Gwen, Sheryl and me (clockwise from top)

We headed back to Estes Park and spent the week there hiking, visiting with Taylor's family, and enjoying the fantastic scenery. Here are some highlights:

On top of a mountain

Beautiful views

Elk!


Snow in August at 12,000 feet!
  

A moose with two babies!

We hiked for 3 miles, part of it up a mountain, and at the top we were rewarded with this beautiful waterfall!

So anyway, on to the business at hand, the horseback ride. The ride was a 2-hour stroll through some beautiful meadows and mountain paths. Taylor's parents accompanied Taylor and I, so it was fun to have everyone there. We also had another family with us (2 parents and 2 kids).

Here I am after just getting on my horse, Old Bay.

He was a good looking, but somewhat jumpy guy. The 10 of us headed out of the horse barn and onto a highway for a quick walk across a bridge before turning off onto the trail. Here we are:

 

Probably right as this picture was taken, I looked up to see the younger daughter of the family that was with us being thrown off her horse and landing on her butt in the MIDDLE OF THE MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY! That's right, this poor girl got bucked off not 2 minutes after starting the ride. Thankfully, the first person who came along the highway stopped and waited for the girl's mother to get off her horse and go console her crying (and we later found out 7-year-old) daughter. Now, if you notice in the photos from Wyoming, there's one of my Aunt's sister-in-law Gwen with her arm in a sling. That's from getting bucked off a mule. Bucking is no small deal. Luckily, this little girl was wearing a helmet and landed on her tush, so she was fine except for being really upset, but she was so lucky.

Once she fell off her horse, of course our whole caravan stopped. And I happened to be on the bridge, and my horse kept wanting to walk backwards, and I was so afraid that he would back himself right off the bridge. It was quite a traumatic start to the ride!

Overall, the rest of the ride was uneventful, though I have to say, I wasn't a huge fan of the route. They basically took us on a straight out-and-back route, which means we saw everything twice. Also, the path had a lot of rocks, and I kept worrying that my horse would lose it's fitting. The saving grace, though, was the beautiful scenery, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Here are some more photos:

Taylor self portrait with me acting goofy:

Taylor's Dad, Reggie

The caravan

Certified cowgirl!