Last weekend Sarah and I and the horses (Rambo and Murphy) went camping. We rode from Wyckoff Farm down several miles of dirt road to the Interloken and No-Tan-Takto trails that took us into the Finger Lakes National Forest. We ended our ride on the Backbone Trail, which led to the Backbone Horse Camp.
I outfitted Rambo with a lariat just in case. He felt very proud and handsome; definitely the best lookin' 30 year old horse on the trail!
Right away we attracted the attention of this curious draft mule. Sarah thought about cutting the wire and taking the plunge into horse thieving. The flies were pretty bad on the way out, so the boys wore their fancy leopard print fly masks, which are completely ridiculous, but make the ride much more pleasant.
After a couple miles on dirt rodes, we entered the woods. Saturday was gorgeous and the woods were absolutely vibrant in the strong sunshine after a couple days of rain. It was great to be able to water the boys from cool rivers along the way.
The trails (especially Backbone) cross through several fields that are leased to cattle ranchers and it was especially fun to feel like we were on something grander for a little bit.
Rambo and I stood back and kept an eye on Sarah and Murph, watching for wranglers along the Goodnight-Loving Trail, western most of the major cattle trails out of El Paso.
The boys were great with the cattle, taking them in stride and only starting once when a large cow stood up out of the tall grass right next to the trail. If I'm being honest, Rambo was probably only reacting to me jumping out of the saddle in surprise!
When we got to the camp we walked the guys around a bit to cool them down. They were pretty sure we were deliberately torturing them, taking out their bits, but still not letting them eat all the great looking, lush grass.
But eventually they did get to eat. There are a dozen campsites on the campground and they are all reserved for riders. It's quite flat with open spots surrounded by woods and very pleasant.
There is one corral, which we were able to grab since we had the whole campground to ourselves. I think it was nice for the boys to not have to be tied up for the night, but I'm sure they would have been fine either way.
I got right to work on making a fire and doing some whittling.
Of course I couldn't stay out of the corral very long and went to visit with the boys.
We really have great horses. They're playful, curious, and gregarious. It's so much fun to work with them and hang out and watch what they do.
That evening we roasted hot dogs (actually pig dogs) from the Piggery...
and some marshmallows, too.
The trails (especially Backbone) cross through several fields that are leased to cattle ranchers and it was especially fun to feel like we were on something grander for a little bit.
Rambo and I stood back and kept an eye on Sarah and Murph, watching for wranglers along the Goodnight-Loving Trail, western most of the major cattle trails out of El Paso.
The boys were great with the cattle, taking them in stride and only starting once when a large cow stood up out of the tall grass right next to the trail. If I'm being honest, Rambo was probably only reacting to me jumping out of the saddle in surprise!
I got right to work on making a fire and doing some whittling.
Of course I couldn't stay out of the corral very long and went to visit with the boys.
and some marshmallows, too.
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