Back In The Saddle Again-Pretty Valley

We had a extra rider with us on this trip McKaela decided to brave the 17 degrees of freezing cold temperatures to tag along with us I must admit me who hates to be cold at all did pretty good it was not till the last 30 minutes of the ride down I even got cold. Not much wild life again got a shot of one little deer off in the distance but it is hard for me to shoot on top of a horse who is panting from carrying me up the side of the mountain and by the time I got to a spot where I could get a picture the horse was heaving so hard I could not get a good focus and I knew if I tried to get off the deer would take off and I would loose the shot. The first time I was taken to Pretty Valley was in 1972 Dennis and I and some of his friends rode the horses up there if I remember right it was Christmas day, it was the first time I had ever been on a horse in that deep of snow it was almost up to the horses belly but what great fun we had. Then the second time I was there it was that summer in July when Connie who is Dennis's sister and another friend and I decided we would ride up there on our horses one hot July night and sleep over up in the little Valley just like real cowboys do, it was great fun until during the night a big thunder storm moved in on top of us drenching us and scaring the life right of out of us at the time with the thunder and lighting so close it was a wonder the horses had not taken off, I remember trying to put the saddle back on my horse the blanket was swollen up with rain water and my hands being so cold trying to tighten up a cinch it seemed impossible at the time almost like putting on a girdle.








Got to admit this is one of the best times to be last in line, the first one has to go through and knock the snow off the second one gets all the snow dumped on them, and the third one which is me gets to stay a little warmer and dryer. I was wondering why Dennis kept asking me to be in the lead like it is some kind of honor but now I know better.