The issue of David's LD ride being 
  entirely flat across the desert reminds me of a day on Applegate-Lassen ride 
  when a rider came into the vet check halfway through and said, 
  "BORRRING!"  Yes, the day's trail (actually a road) was flat all the 
  way, but I believe boring is in the mind.  I've ridden that stretch of 
  trail (road) about 10 times and I've never found it boring.  How can 
  anything be boring with all that scenery around?  I just put my horse on 
  auto-pilot and trot along looking at mountains, gulches, vegetation, looking 
  for animals, thinking about the pioneers who endured such terrible hardships 
  on that trail.  Never boring!  And the area around Ballarat on DVE 
  is highly variable, even on the flat stretches.  It's all in a person's 
  perspective, isn't it?
   
  Barbara
  
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    
    
    Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 10:59 
    PM
    Subject: RC: Death Valley Rant
    
    <<Nick, knock off fluffing our pillows and yank your 
      head out of the sand.
You can save the chocolate kisses for somebody 
      else. #1, impeccable
weather? how about cold and overcast the entire 
      time we were there, didn't
miss my sunblock at all.
#2, and most 
      importantly: my 25 on the second day was pretty much what I'd
call an 
      airport ride circumnavigating a dried up piece of lake bed, pretty
much 
      a yawner no matter what the weather.>>
This seems 
    a little bit uncalled for.  Even if your rant about people cutting 
    trail and missing vet checks IS true, why does Nick have to pull his head 
    out of a pillow and quit eating chocolate kisses (or whatever)? He had a 
    great ride on a great horse!  If you have a problem with the ride, file 
    a formal protest. Basically put up or shut up!
Also, if you want 
    scenery, ride the 
50.
Sylvia