horseless trips

A not so short catch up post, on our much needed Fall trips...

Instead of driving all over in search of beauty, we opted to stay close to where we were staying on both trips. Sooo much beauty to be found nearby, if you look with open eyes. We did bring house building related "homework" but didn't let it get in the way of our purpose. To relax & take in nature, and on the second trip also learn.

On our first trip we reconnected with our northern establishment friends, and laughed. A lot. It had been 365 days since we had a chance to escape from our overflowing to-do list, and yet they all remember us. Not all know us by name, but they do know us by face and what brings us north. Horses & snowmobiles. We normally travel up there 4-5X a year. However between the weird winter, horse & human injuries, and now the building fiasco, we just haven't managed to get away. 

Some people have a hard time figuring out why we often return to the same vacation places year after year. I do love new experiences & exploring sights, but I love reconnecting more. It's familiar. When one of our northern friends came running over in the middle of customer craziness & to give us each a heartfelt goodbye hug - well, that makes getting away more meaningful. This couple does know us by name, and we consider them friends. Read about the last time we saw them, well one of them. We didn't know if we would ever see them together again. The end of that story is happy, she made it :) 

There are things we can do when we are horse-less, like exploring the rapids. I have a short video with beautiful sights & sounds of mother natures crazy power, but for some strange reason it won't upload. I know you've all seen and heard rapids, but they never get old to me.

I could watch water move & listen to the sound,
for hours and hours (iphone)

our best twosie
The others are too damn funny (iphone)

We also did some things that we do when the horses are with us, but it becomes an entirely different experience with out them. Hiking trails we typically ride, gave me a whole new respect for Koda and trail riding in general. Let's just say I was sucking wind on the inclines.

You may recall WI had waaay too much rain over summer, and all the state & county trails were closed for a couple weeks. We were stunned to find several sections of trail rutted out so bad, that had we been on horseback we would have turned around and not ridden up to the lookout. It's my favorite trail ride. The sad part with remote public trails, is there is no funding or manpower to repair them. Maybe someday?

heading up to the lookout
it appears like you could ride up along the side,
but it was pretty steep with no where to go
(iphone)

It's always a welcome sight, when the climb levels off and opens up. You can catch your breath, while in turn it takes your breath away...

the beginning of the rocky lookout
is on the path to the right

I've always wondered what was beyond
and below the top flat area of the lookout

I heard a lot of "where are you going" and "be careful"
(see Brad?) eventually, there is a drop off

view to the north, from a lower portion of the lookout
colorful trees are as far as the eye can see

the reward is always worth the hike up
I wasn't going to share the above photo, because apparently my spare tire didn't deflate! But what the hell, it's us.
Note to self: press the timer, run, AND suck gut in!!

Late Fall we took a second trip to a weekend photography gathering. It brings like minded people together to learn more about shooting the Northern Lights, and other night shooting. I've been obsessed with Northern Lights since I first saw them when I was 15. Story for another time. Brad doesn't have much interest in learning about the night sky, but he really enjoys the area. Lake Superior is a phenomenon in it's own right. Powerful and beautiful, all at the same time. 

It's become an annual vacation for us. See, we do expand our horizons! This was our second year. Conditions were not right for viewing the Aurora Borealis. Last year we saw the lights as a group on the shore. The Duluth area got hit with an early storm, so we hunkered down and stayed put. SO thankful we arrived a day early. We enjoyed other amazing sights during our stay this year, it's not all about the Northern Lights.

View from our room, the day after the storm:

We snuck out for a short drive during a break between the learning sessions, also taken during the calm after the storm:

Since the Aurora Borealis didn't want to come out & dance, we took it upon ourselves to see some different kind of lights at night at the nearby waterfalls. Brad assisted the wool spinner.

I soooo LOVE the North Shore area, and can't wait to go back!! It's as close to an ocean as I'm going to get, at least for a while. 

If you've read this far, I am totally impressed! Next up, a barn update.

unexpected experiences

Our Fall trail riding trip up north came & went. It is one we will not soon forget, for different reasons...

We headed out with Cierra & Koda in tow, leaving Nemo behind for the first time. Brad's trusty trail horse. Our rock. It just wasn't going to be the same with out the big guy. Here is an update on Nemo, incase you missed it. However, life is meant to be lived and we looked forward to making new trail memories. We saw multiple rainbows on the drive up. I didn't catch it while doubled up, but here is the tail end of the wonder...

What lies at the end of our rainbow?

We arrived at the cabin later then usual, too late to get much of a ride in. We prefer letting the horses settle in anyways. Got them fed & watered and then it was our turn. We headed out to one our favorite local restaurants. We pulled into the parking lot, and it was closed? Weird. It's a popular bar eatery. A car had followed us into the lot. As I was calling to see what was going on, the owner greeted us at our window. Yes, they were closed but told us to come inside. He needed to talk to us and I didn't need to be crying in the parking lot. My heart sunk to the ground. This couldn't be good news. With suspense, we walked through the backdoor, through the kitchen, into the bar area. It really was terrible news, but at least there was still hope. You see, his wife is a Type 1 diabetic. We knew that, and of her struggles. We listened to the heart wrenching emergency story, and learned she was in the ICU fighting for her life. It is nothing short of a miracle she is still with us. 

We aren't particularly close friends, in fact we are regular seasonal customers, but there has always been a connection between us. Over the years we've gotten to know each other through our shared stories. When we walk in we are greeted by name, and frequently leave with a hug. 

He was hungry, we were hungry, and he needed someone beside doctors and hospital employees to talk to. We walked across the road, ordered some food & beverages, and simply listened. Poor guy had a couple tough weeks. First burying one of his best friends and now almost losing his wife. This man is not a touchy-feely kinda guy, and is always joking. There wasn't much to laugh about that night, but he still managed some. Between the tears. Have you ever seen a grown man unexpectedly cry? Broke my heart. His wife is one year younger then I. At that moment he needed a friend, and we are so thankful we could be there for him. We've since been in contact. She pulled through, is progressing and doing as well as can be expected. Our first night of this trip will forever leave a lasting impression on how delicate life is.

We woke up to a new day, and headed out on the trail. It's been years since Cierra has been trail ridden, but she took it all in stride. We started north, and ended north. It was a nice looong uneventful ride... 

Cierra is trained to move out. We had to catch up, a lot.

Puddles, puddles, everywhere. 

Everything looks better together
Cierra (L) Koda (R)

We weren't always behind

It's been an odd year for color, you'll notice a lot of green trees and yet many had already fallen. I hate pictures of me, always look terrible. But whatever, I need to get over it. Not sure what's worse the helmet or my rolls. Since Koda acted up on these trails last time, I decided to wear a helmet for the first ride & see what horse I had. The rolls, well unfortunately I wear those all the time these days. Note to self: suck your gut in - good grief!!!

Hmmmm, which trail is the right one?
Koda "chomp, chomp, chomp" just pick one!

Taking my picture?
Here's a picture for you, said with tongue sticking out

That night a brisk cold rainy front moved in. We waited for it to pass before heading out the next day. The rain did, but our horses were feeling the weather. Koda in particular. He was spun up, in a way I've never seen him. We decided not to head out on the trail, and instead worked with our horses at the ranch. Sure we could have cowboy'ed up, they eventually would have calmed down. Maybe. 

We enjoyed an early evening meal, and a warming campfire afterwards. We couldn't see either of our dark horses. It made us miss Nemo all over again, we can actually see him. He does the most soft campfire knickers!

When the weekend arrives, we are usually ready to head home. Sometimes we get one more ride in, and sometimes we don't. The flood gates open up and people arrive by the trailer full. This year every cabin, paddock, arena and area capable of holding horses was taken at the ranch, most doubled or tripled up. The four wheeler traffic rolling down the multi use trail quadruples. It gets really busy and noisy up north, it's a great time to leave!! 

Surprised looks arise from many when we talk about our one really nice long ride, but we don't trail ride to reach benchmarks. Honestly we don't care how far, how often, or how many hours we ride. If that's why you trail ride, in my opinion you are completely missing the beauty of it all.

When we head north, it's for an experience that encompasses everything the area has to offer. The beautiful woods, tranquil trail rides, cozy cabins, quiet campfires, relaxing, eating great food at family run restaurants, visiting with the locals etc. We had a wonderful trip! Full of colorful memories, some unexpected experiences, but all of them treasured.

things can easily change

With the first horse show behind us, we focused on our next adventure - camping with the horses!! A long awaited horse trip, that almost didn't happen... 

I had an awesome weekend ride on Koda, even at the lope. Monday we rode out in the pasture, and I thought Koda was short striding. Nah, I thought to myself, it must just be the lumpy ground. The second half of our ride was in the arena and at first trot, I got off. This time I was sure, he was limping!! Again. Just days before we were to leave for our trail trip. 

Brad thought I was exaggerating. But I could feel that Koda was off. He was sore on the foot that wasn't recently lame, his right front. The other foot. How can this even be happening so soon...things were just starting to get good again!! I was reminded how easily things can change.

The following night I tagged along for Brads lesson on Cierra, needing to see for myself how my boy was doing. I walked Koda around, and didn't see any favoritism. So I tacked up and headed out to the arena. Koda was fine at the walk, but at first trot - once again I got off. Our trainer saw it too, his right front was indeed sore. It appeared like another horseless trail riding trip was in our immediate future. I was not happy, more so for the thought of poor Koda having to potentially be stalled again. I had barely started regular riding, and feeling connected. I can't do another loooong lameness, making my horse crazy, disconnected recovery phase, so soon...

We changed our departure time in order to see the vet, and waited until early afternoon to leave. Before heading to the barn, we packed everything we needed for a horse, and a horse-less, trail riding trip. Who knew which one we would be taking? 

Koda's lameness exam showed no soreness on his (recently lame) left front, and slight soreness in the front area of his right hoof. Key word slight. The vet felt it was okay to take Koda up north trail riding, and recommended giving some bute. We all know it can just mask things, but he assured me I wouldn't cause any further injury by riding him because of where the soreness was located.

Our thought was if Koda did end up proving too sore to ride, as long as he can comfortably haul 3.5 hours, he can hang out with us just as easily as he can hang out at the barn. We had already planned on shorter trail rides anyways, to ease our way back into trail riding. 

It had been close to two years since the boys have been camping with us, but they seem to remember the place. We let them settle in over night and headed out in the morning...

Koda was up and on fast forward. The bugs were pretty bad, wish I had put Koda's fly mask on. I found myself riding a high headed, non-stop tail swishing, irritated horse on high alert. At some point we started leading, the longer we rode the more his energy grew. He became prancy. We came across a lot of down trees and branches from the high winds and storms earlier in the week. We rode around, over, ducked and blasted through them. 

It was shortly after we stopped and turned around to watch Brad & Nemo move a large branch from the path, that we rode into a swarm of mosquitos and saw multiple even larger branches blocking the trail ahead. At that point Koda felt so tight, I said "my horse is about to come apart, I think he's had enough". I was going to get off and walk him through it, but instead we turned around to head back to the ranch and switched horses. Sometimes all it takes is a change. 

They know when they are heading home, that alone somewhat eased Koda. But he continued leading on fast forward, spooking several times at what appeared to be nothing. Brad did a good job redirecting his energy. Nemo on the other hand was as cool as a cucumber the entire 1.5-ish hour ride. Overall Koda did good and listened to both of us, even through his edginess. 

We woke up the next day to this...

It took a little convincing that we weren't just here to relax! Our second ride was in the opposite direction, and turned out to be much less buggy. I put Koda's fly mask on, there were spots where I was really glad I did. Guess who was still on fast forward, altho much less edgy...

Everything is really lush and overgrown this year! We rode up the rocky boulders on one of our favorite rides! The Lookout, where you can see across the top of the Nicolet National Forest for what looks like infinity and beyond... 

Someday I would like to explore riding across the top a little further, without getting too close to the drop-off!!

We noticed a lot of changes in the forest, in just a couple years. The ride up/down to the look out rocks is still steep, but now it's all sand and kinda slickery...

We had a great second ride, about 2.5 hours - the boys were sweaty and glad to get back to the cabin! We passed several deer in the woods and a few four wheelers on the multi use trail, they took them both in stride. 

Our last night up north we got hit with a storm and lost power. A first for us. We tucked the boys into covered stalls, and when it blew over the four of us enjoyed more of this...

where yellow leaves dance in the sunlight

We returned from our bi-annual trail riding trip to the north woods, where spending time exploring the Nicolet Forrest lends itself to quiet and peaceful introspection... 

We continue finding the familiar trails to be ever changing, and discover new trails to explore. Fall colors were noted as being in "full color". The locals however agreed with us, the colors aren't necessarily full color. They are changing differently this year, and taking longer. We saw bare tree's, that had dropped their leaves, providing a colorful cushy blanket and crunchy sound for the horses to shuffle through. We also saw plenty of gorgeous full color trees, and yet there were more then the usual unturned green trees in the mix. Even our Maples at home are changing differently this year. It's a colorful mystery...

surround sound in color

Koda & Nemo were sporting a fresh trim, which found us frequently walking the edge of the trail. The northern trails are much less rocky then those we've ridden in our area the past few weeks. However, the combination of the trim, frequent smaller rocks often hidden under leaves, as well as some gravely trails, made for less then desirable footing for our barefoot boys. The dirt and the soft sandy trails found off the beaten path, deeper in the forrest, were a welcome respite and even more enjoyable. My hubby and I keep talking about getting boots for Koda & Nemo, but get discouraged when none of them seem like they would be right...we haven't settled on any, yet.

No water crossing for us on this trip, unless you count mud puddles. Koda avoided those, apparently he didn't want to get his pretty little feet dirty. Fine with me, the forrest mud puddles are slickery and yucky. I didn't want to ride in them either. Nemo got to avoid all of them, but one that wasn't bad...

We found out there is an actual water crossing for the horses on one of the Nicolet trails not too far from the ranch. Who knew? It's been years since we've ridden that particular trail, maybe next year. 

The weather was perfect on our trip, sunny with fresh Fall crispness in the air. We enjoyed our favorite eateries, local company, and quiet campfires with the horses. By the time the weekend rolled around, Spur of the Moment Ranch was the busiest we've ever seen. When we left, it was plum full. Horse trailers were lined up, every paddock was taken. There were mega four wheeler's in town for a cancer benefit weekend ride, some stayed at the ranch. Altho everyone is nice and respectful of each other, we were happy to pack up and leave the hustle and bustle the weekends bring. Truly thankful that we are able to enjoy the forrest in all it's glory during the quiet weekdays. The only living things we run into on the trail are a couple deer and turkey, and while heading out to the forrest an occasional local four wheeler on the main corridor.

Much of our ride is under a canopy of trees, where yellow leaves dance in the sunlight...

...and filtered light is magical...

...in between the quiet times, we share laughs...

laughter is good for the soul

a maple leaf landed on Nemo's hip
and stayed so long I had to snap a picture of his unique Appy spot!

...the pines speak for themselves, if you listen...

riding the pines

taking a break

heading out of the pines

...the mixed tree areas are some of the most colorful, and entertaining. My cowboy randomly twirls his rope reins throughout our rides. He unknowingly starts and stops at any given time. I was able to catch a short clip of the twirling, altho he usually spins the reins up tight and then unwinds them. Funny guy.

A Fall trip to the Nicolet wouldn't be complete without riding up to The Lookout. In order to get to the winding paths that lead up to the ginormous rock formation, we ride the Bonita Grade (pictured in the video above). We know we are getting close to the top when the familiar drumming echoes up from the ground with each step the horses take, as we ride up higher and higher for a breathtaking colorful view that overlooks the entire forrest. The trees go in every direction for as far as the eye can see...

Brad getting ready to take some photos

soaking up the view, from as close as I'll get to the drop off edge

I took a short video clip so you could see the amazing view, of course it doesn't do it any justice - and blogger makes it worse. I was surprised to hear how windy the video turned out! The view starts to my left of where Koda & I are standing above, and ends somewhere behind me where Brad and Nemo are heading down in the photo below...

heading down from the lookout

Koda's interested lookout ears

Thanks for riding along. Happy trails to you, 'til we meet again...

it's not all about the ride

Earlier this month we made the trek up north for a trail riding trip with Nemo & Koda in tow. The change of pace, different surroundings, friendly faces, and spending time away with our horses are memories we always look forward to making, and hold near and dear to our hearts.

Koda

As many times as we've ridden the same Nicolet National Forest trails, they always feel different. The ecosystem is ever evolving, and this year it offered a very lush forest. It was as if someone dumped buckets of different shades of fresh green paint, everywhere. The forest also offered something much less appealing, the worst mosquito/gnat/biting fly infestation we've ever experienced! Apparently after such a looong cold hard winter, the sudden hot weather hatched 5 out of 7 mosquito varieties all at once. Fun-fun, or more like swat-swat!!

We heard the bugs were bad beforehand, and armed ourselves accordingly. We picked up a couple Thermacell clip-on's, loaded up on fly spray and brought along fly masks for the horses. 

Nemo had started showing signs of trouble with his allergies the week before we left, and got checked out by the vet. The fly mask seemed to keep whatever was irritating him at bay, so we didn't medicate. Some years his seasonal allergies are an issue, some years not.

The bugs weren't too bad at our cabin site. We decided to head out late afternoon on arrival day to see what the buzz was all about. That didn't last long. We never made it off the main multi use trail, and turned back home shortly after leaving the ranch. The horses got swarmed by pockets of mosquito's, not fun for any of us. Koda was thrashing his head from side to side so bad that he actually yanked one of my reins right out of my hand. I wasn't very happy that he didn't whoa, and continued being an antsy-pants while spinning in a one rein stop fashion...I know he was understandably in a frenzy from the bugs, but still...whoa means WHOA!! We finished our ride in the much less buggy outdoor arena on the ranch, and called it good.

After going out for a quick bite at one of our favorite local bar eateries, it was campfire time!

ifire

The paddocks are right outside our cabin. It feels like the horses are all but sitting at the campfire with us. We love, love, love our campfire time!! 

where siesta's happen

Listening to the soft sounds of our horses munching hay, fire crackling, evening chirping, and the clear expansive star filled dotted sky....sigh...it's SO relaxing, and puts everything into perspective.

smoke follows beauty ;)

We tacked up and headed back out on the trail in the morning. This time it was Nemo that was clearly miserable, his head tossing was hard to manage. Poor guy. Nemo's allergies hit full force as soon as we left the ranch. We didn't get much further then the day before, and turned back around. Wondering if we should load up and take the horses back home? or just not ride?? We decided instead to see if we could get a hold of some medicine, and when/if it calmed Nemo's allergies down - then we would try trail riding again. 

We played telephone tag-n-text with our daughter, who works at our clinic, who got a hold of our vet, who called the local vet the ranch owners use for their horses, then we called, she called, they called - all to help Nemo be more comfortable, and make a difference. Altho everyone was super helpful and responded asap, this all took hours - including our little adventure we had picking up the medicine. Finding the north woods vet proved to be harder then we thought. No thanks to our phone GPS. At one point the GPS told us to get out and walk the rest of the way to our destination (not kidding!!) in the middle of nowhere...say what?!? We called the local vet, and found out we had another 30 miles or so to go. That would have been one heck of a looong walk! Needless to say we turned off the dumb@ss GPS. Guess we should have accepted the directions we were originally offered back at the ranch!

We gave the allergy medicine a chance to work overnight, and savored a nice dinner at one of our favorite supper clubs on the lake. I had my usual, walleye & scallops ~ mmmm! Of course we also enjoyed another p.m. & a.m. relaxing campfire, shared with our horses!

Brad's iphoto with caption that he sent to a few friends

"6:00am, horses eating breakfast, fire going,
 sitting back with a cup of coffee with my best friend.
Wish everyday started like this."

At first we were somewhat disappointed that we had barely ridden through the forest on this trip, but Nemo's comfort was more important. We truly enjoy being up north. It's not all about the ride...our trips are so much more then that to us.

Nemo

On our last full day we headed out on the trail, going the opposite direction. It's got more hardwoods, so we figured it might be less problematic for Nemo's allergies. There was only one way to find out if he was better - and whala - the allergy med's worked! It felt good to be back trail riding in the depth's of the serene forest! 

The cooler weather made for less bug activity, so it was enjoyable. Altho Koda had gotten a taste of turning around from the prior attempted rides, and gave me some challenges. We worked through them, without dismounting. Some were easier then others, each scenario was resolved differently. Thankfully there were only a handful of "I don't want to go that way" and eventually he quit the sudden spin to change directions. 

Koda was on forward march the entire 3.5 hour ride. Needless to say we lead most of the way, and at times worked on rating his speed. Sometimes we do a little trotting on the stretches, but otherwise we walk the winding trails and soak it all in.

being one with the pines

sauntering through a sea of green

On leaving day, we opted not to ride. Some years we pack everything up before heading out for one last ride, and some years we don't. The boys were sooo relaxed, and comfy in their sandy paddocks... 

chillaxin

...so much that Koda attracted another camper who stood watching him lying flat out on his side sleeping for the longest time, and took pictures of him. 

It's wonderful to see that even the horses settle in and enjoy our trips. Everything moves at a slower pace in the north woods. Not that the local folks don't work hard, because they most certainly do. But when surrounded by vast nature, eventually relaxation sets in - if you let it. 

We had a wonderful trip, and wouldn't change a thing (minus mosquitos). It all serves a much larger purpose.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder