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[RC] Old Pueblo - Kathy Kelly
I just got back from Old Pueblo, and want to thank Marilyn McCoy for hosting such a wonderful ride!
From wine and chocolates at the check-in table to the beautiful Trial of the Painted Pony coffee mug completion awards, it was a first class event. I just rode Saturday, but the trail was well marked, water was plentiful, and it was just all-around fun. This is the first day it has been a 2-day ride, I'm looking forward to reports from riders who headed up into the mountains for Day 2!
I was really disappointed when my propane ran out just a few hrs after I arrived, it was cold at night and I was kicking myself for not checking it at home. But Marilyn came to the rescue and had "the boys" deliver AND install a propane tank in my camper, it was alike a miracle!! And they came and got it the morning I left, talk about going the extra mile!
Gabriel and I both reached 1000 miles at the ride, and Marilyn had a special surprise award for us, part of which was a bucket, but not just any bucket, it's a PURPLE bucket she picked out knowing that Gabriel and I do purple. The extra touches like this made this such a wonderful weekend. I so love this sport and all the people involved who go out of the way to help each other, my endurance "family" is as important to me as the ride.
The BLM has put in a permanent bathroom (very nice!) at the ridecamp, and Roger Taylor spoke about AERC's work with BLM on this project. Its so encouraging to see something positive happening with our trails when so many others are being lost. We can thank folks like Roger and Marilyn and of course Jerry Fruth and the Trail Fund for making it all happen.
Gabriel still has a heavy winter coat and it was a warm day, so we set out to ride alone all day at the back of the pack. He was unusually calm, he just seemed to be very relaxed and enjoying the trail, as I was. It was weird not to be fighting him to slow down, but he looked great and had all As all day, never giving me any worries. It was really cool to spend a long, quiet day enjoying my special horse as we reached our 1000th mile. And it was a long day, we only finished 45 min before the 12 hr cutoff , but I enjoyed every minute of it. In the early evening we were riding down the trail and came upon a large hawk perched at the top of a small scrubby tree. That hawk just stayed there. He was at eye-level to me and we looked at eachother as we passed, getting as close as10 ft at one point. I could see the detail in his feathers and marveled at his huge claws gripping the branch. I'll never forget the feeling of oneness with my horse, that hawk and the
desert that I experienced then.
Kathy Kelly
Parks AZ
Kathy Kelly
EarthLink Revolves Around You.
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