Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Barbara  - what an exciting trip! Send photos if you can (surely one  
of those yurts will have wireless :)

Steph

On Aug 7, 2007, at 4:26 PM, Barbara McCrary wrote:

> I'm busy today, packing for our trip to China and Mongolia.  We  
> leave Friday for an 11:45 hour trip to Beijing.  This trip is the  
> reason we cancelled Swanton Pacific, but we'll be back next year on  
> August 16th.  We return home from our trip on Sunday, August 26th.
>
> First, in China, we will go to the Great Wall, the Chinese attempt  
> at keeping the Mongol warriors at bay in the 13th century.  It  
> didn't work, of course.  The Mongol warriors were so successful  
> because, among other reasons, they could shoot six arrows a minute  
> from the backs of their galloping ponies.  They once had conquered  
> more land in the world than any other army in history....from the  
> Pacific Ocean to central Europe.  Pretty amazing.
>
> There will be opportunities to ride Mongolian ponies, see the  
> Mongolian celebration called the Naadam, where very young children  
> race the ponies across the steppes.  We will be sleeping in  
> Mongolian gers, which most people call yurts.  Yurt, being a  
> Russian word, is a no-no in Mongolia now, after the Russians  
> occupied the country for so many years.  We will also have the  
> opportunity to ride camels.  We will be going to the breeding  
> station of the Przewalski horses, a Mongolian native wild horse  
> which came very close to extinction.  I think they were killed to  
> offset starvation of the people.  Some were discovered in a zoo in  
> the Netherlands and breeding stock was brought back to Mongolia  
> where the population is being increased.  These are very primitive  
> horses.  I've never seen one.  We will be eating native food,  
> whatever that may turn out to be.  Lots of sheep, I understand.  We  
> will hike, we may fish or swim in a very large lake, should we  
> chose.  We are told this lake has some of the world's largest salmon.
>
> I, for one, am going to go wild with my digital camera and savor  
> the experience of being in a very unique land on the other side of  
> the world.  My father told me once that there was a very good  
> chance that he (and therefore, I) have some Mongolian blood....way  
> back somewhere from the 13th century.
>
> I'm really excited!  Can you tell?
>
> You can reach me after August 26th.  Meanwhile, everyone have a  
> continuing wonderful riding season.
>
> Barbara
> P.S.  My new horse Jess and I finished the Fireworks 25.  Jess  
> could have done 50....I couldn't.  I was so out of condition!  Jess  
> was great in all ways.  And thanks to Nick Warhol who rode with me  
> and mentored me and Jess with his very kind and steady horse, Wabi.


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