2007 Adventures
The first few months of 2007 didn't offer much for riding. We had a huge snowstorm in March and I took advantage of the snowdrifts and rode Cora through some of them.
Platte River Riders started back up in early April. I've made a few of the rides and so far have enjoyed Two Rivers with our kick off ride and Powderhorn by Scribner.
The Friday Before Mothers Day Ride was a huge success again. It is an annual ride from Valparaiso to Loma along the Oak Creek Trail. The day didn't start off that well though. I was on the road by 7:30 and 15 minutes into the drive, a hen turkey decided that she needed to cross the highway NOW. Didn't matter that a Dodge was coming at her going 60mph. Luckily, she didn't come through the glass! I made it to Fremont to see if I could get the glass replaced and get back on the road. Unfortunately, the glass place had to order it in. But, they were able to get it repaired later that afternoon. Made some quick phone calls and Sam came to the rescue.
Saturday, I met up with some friends at Two Rivers again, but called it a day with just 2 hours of riding. Everyone was still dehydrated and tired from our ride the day before.
I didn't get near as much riding done in June or July as I had wanted. It either rained, was too hot or too muggy for our comfort. There were some Wednesday Night rides that I made, favorites were Powder Horn and Turkey Creek along with the usual Two Rivers. Lake Cunningham closed for renovations so that put a major damper on riding near home.
Camp Moses was fun and we did get there to celebrate Robyn's birthday on July 2nd. Got hot towards the afternoon but was nice in the woods. Cora is truly my "Yellow Rhino" and would push through a lot of brush to find trails that were overgrown.
The end of September was our annual Cowgirl Weekend camping trip. Turkey Creek was the destination
The first time I was on this spot, I was having visions of "The Man From Snowy River" as to the right of this photo is a pretty steep drop off into some cedars and Cora was thinking it look like fun to try to kill me. Reality was that she saw camp and wanted to get there in the shortest distance possible.
After 2 days of gorgeous riding, it called for RAIN on Friday evening. Sure enough, we got hit and we got hit hard. Flooded our campground and ruined the trails for any riding.
Towards the end of October, we decided to try to hit Turkey Creek one more time before it got too cold to camp. The weather was perfect, full moon at night, and near perfect trail riding during the day. Great Pot Luck meals-as if our riding group will ever go hungry! Electric blankies to help keep the body warm in the camper to top it off.
I did one more long distance haul before the end of the Riding Season. The Nebraska Horse Council sponsored a ride near Cairo Nebraska. I knew the bluffs that it was going to be held in and had always wanted to get back there and explore. My Grandma used to tell me stories about my Dad going back there and hunting or helping to plant trees. My Grandpa made it out to see us before we took off for the ride. Unbeknownst to me, that would be the last time that he got to see me ride as his Cancer got the best of him in early 2008.
Yes, I went from freezing the weekend before to riding in shorts the following weekend. I believe we had a high of 80 on that November day. Had a cold front come through that night though and temps dropped to near freezing. Sure glad I decided to head back home to sleep in the comforts of my own bed.
The rest of 2007 saw us hit Two Rivers for the Platte River Riders final ride, hitting Camp Moses for a few more rides and then just sticking close to home as the weather turned cold and snowy. I am fortunate enough to have some fun riding in my back yard and a good solid horse to ride bareback at my leisure. Our last bareback ride found us trotting through the bean field at a nice pace until the wind changed and the clouds came up. Made for a cold ride back to the barn!
Some 2008 goals are to ride our first CTR in April at Indian Caves, get to Central Nebraska to ride on some of their Platte River Rider rides, discovering Fort Robinson in June with Horsetalers and getting good quality ride time in with best buds. I don't ask for much :)
Check out Cora's past adventures: