On the Trail

So I finally was able to get Kip to go on a horseback ride with me- and I remembered to bring my camera along. The picture above is obviously Kip and his horse Archie. All of the pictures shown here were taken from horseback, so I apologize if they aren't that great.

This is the start of the 4UR ranch property just past Wagon Wheel Gap. It is about 20,000 acres from what I hear. They kindly allow us to use their horse trails during the summer.






I love this picture of the Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo depending on what side of the border you are on). There are always people fly-fishing at this spot. Believe me- the water is freezing!






Obviously this is our group- led today by John who is the head wrangler. He's been working at Cottonwood Cove for more than 20 years. I'm learning a lot from him.

The rest of the pictures are just some of the things you would see on the trail ride- there also is a cave there that I haven't gotten a picture of yet.

I figured Addie would like to see some pictures of the horses. This one is my horse Scout. I would have to say that he is my favorite by far. We've become good buddies over the past few weeks.

This is the other horse that I use for the rides. He belongs to Ronnie, who is the other wrangler that I work with. His name is Charger-which fits him well. He bullies the other horses around all day. He can also open gates, take the bridles off of the other horses, and bite holes in saddles. He's a handfull, but has a great personality.

As soon as I can get my mom's camera to work on my computer, I have some pictures of the bear and the cabins. Hopefully I can post those soon.

Update...

Well, it has been a crazy few weeks, with the next few only going to be even more so. Kip and I have been working a lot doing many different things. I have finally moved away from restaurant work into the horseback rides. I am now called the "Assistant Wrangler" or the "Out Rider". It's pretty buff. I have been able to go on tons of rides, repair torn-down fences (long story), and shoe a few horses. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to take my camera with me- but will be getting pictures from some of the other workers to post on Tuesday. We have also had a couple bears roaming around lately. They havn't been too much trouble- they both are only about a year old or so. We think that their mom got hit by a car last week and are hoping that the DOW will soon relocate and feed them. My mom got a funny picture of one that I will post as well. Kip has been spending his days off going fishing and working on model planes. I think that he is enjoying his summer so far- he is working mostly with the rafts and in the restaurant. Most of my free time is spent with the horses. I'm definitely taking a ton of pictures tomorrow- so keep checking back.

Creede

Well, we arrived safely in Creede last Sunday and have been really busy at Cottonwood Cove. On Wednesday, both of us had the day off, so I decided to take Kip to one of my favorite places in the area. It is a waterfall about 25 miles West of Creede called North Clear Creek Falls (aka- Silver Thread). The water level was unusually high so we weren't able to wade in the water like we usually do. I love this place particularly because of the scenery- which is absolutely amazing. Here are a few of the shots that I took.
I'm still not used to taking my camera everywhere with me, so I hope to have some pictures in the near future. So far, I am working as the second wrangler on the trail rides and Kip is just doing a little bit of everything- from restaurant work to maintenance.

What I've been up to lately

With a few weeks before we have to go to Colorado, I decided that I would spend my time customizing my car. Not many people do this, but I felt that I needed a hobby-so why not? I have painted the interior and the tail lights. Overall, it took about a week and a half to complete the whole project. Here are a few pictures of what it turned out like. Also, I have added a link on the right side of this page to my cardomain web page, with details of the project and more pictures.

















The dash was by far the hardest part of the whole project. I had to remove almost the whole assembly, sand it down, and then paint it. Originally, the dash was a ugly gray color, so I think this definitely added a sporty look. I am still in the process of doing touch ups. I am planning on painting the exterior of the car white in a few years so it will match the interior.
















I especially like how the taillights turned out. Originally, they were completely red, and very boring. I'm still not sure if this is even legal in Utah, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. I also don't know why the car looks pink-ish in this picture, it hasn't faded that bad yet.





That's mostly all I've been doing lately, and hope to do a few more modifications as soon as I can afford them. Car parts are ridiculously expensive, and I have considered trying to get a sponsor to help pay for them. Not really sure how to do that, or if that's even a possibility in Utah, but it would definitely be worth it, even if I had to go to a lot of car shows.

It's all over- for now...

Well, it is finally the end of winter semester, and I am absolutely enjoying life. I have spent the last few days sleeping in, catching up on my reading, learning how to cook, and playing computer games (well, just one game actually). Life is great. Kip still has about a month left of school, so needless to say, the apartment has been pretty quiet lately. My little sister is coming up to Utah for EFY the last week of May, and then we get to hang out for awhile until we go to Colorado for the summer. Because we don't have internet access at home and I am no longer on campus very much, I think that my frequency of blogs is likely to dramatically decrease (hard to believe, I know), but we will have internet in Colorado, so I will try my best to post pictures and keep everyone updated on our summer activities. I just can't wait for the weather to finally decide that it is Spring and therefore should not be snowing.