Just Keep Moving

It's hard to stay home when it's this nice out.  We've been doing some exploring.  I sure love where we live!  You can drive for hours out in the mountains and not see many people at all, especially on a weekday.  

Do you see the little fish here?  And of course you can see the pretty garnet sand.  This is near the Emerald Creek Garnet Area, where you can use the sluice to find your own garnets.

I got bored one evening and figured I had three saddles and three horses, so why not?

Standing patiently.  Bella is on a diet again:

Duncan on a lazy woman's high line (tree branch):

Scout really wishes he could eat that grass:

They all stood quietly for at least an hour while I did some chores inside.

I just thought this was cute.  Tight knit.  Duncan is there too:

We found this cute/creepy miner's cabin on our last trip.  I think I know the guy who owns this claim.

Collapsed.  If you look closely on this side of the bright spot you can see the tiny railroad type tracks that carried the mine car across the trail to the creek.  I wonder if they found much gold.

I'm not sure, but I think they're telling us to jump off the mountain:

Lots and lots of lupines:

Bald Mountain Lookout.  You can rent it for the night but you have to bring your own bedding and supplies.  I think it's a bit steep at $45 a night. 

A couple weeks before my car got totaled we bought my parents' old Prius.  It gets around almost as well as the Echo did on the back roads, but the ground clearance is a little lower.  We had a group of 4-wheelers telling us we shouldn't continue on these roads in our tiny car, but we did fine.  We hiked the last bit to the overlook but maybe we could have driven it.  Maybe...

We had intended to have the Prius for John to drive, and of course the Echo for me to drive, keeping gas costs low and leaving the truck only for hauling, to keep it young.  After the accident we weren't able to replace the Echo with the tiny settlement, and now the truck keeps having little issues.  Glad they're little.

I got a SCREAMING deal on this saddle.  It was supposed to be for Scout but it fits Duncan like a glove. It's nothing fancy but it's decent quality, has been really well cared for, it's not super heavy, and it's comfortable to ride.  Not that I'm riding Duncan.  I took it on a trail ride with Scout and it was a great fit for me but not for him.

My great big custom saddle that does fit Scout is hurting me since the accident, so I'm on the search for a saddle again. Not complaining, I love saddle shopping.  I'm going to sell the barrel saddle I bought for Duncan now that I have the saddle pictured above, and try to find a wide treed saddle with a narrow twist to ride Scout in.  Until then I'll keep riding even if it hurts. :) I just have to get down and walk sometimes, which is probably better for me anyway.  And that's what I'm off to do right now. Happy Trails!