Thursday, February 28, 2013

A Perfect Vacation


I just returned from one of the best vacations in my life.  I took my horse, Indira, and rode in Big Bend State Park with two friends.  We had a guide, Armando, and he led us on one of the most challenging rides of my life.  We rode along narrow trails with sheer drop offs. We had lunch in a creek bed with high walls providing shade.  We rode through a movie set.  It was like stepping back in time 100 years.

The next day we went to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Alpine, Texas.  I was amazed at the talent.  They recited the poems from memory and some of them were 10-15 minutes long.  The music was original and from people who really experience life on a ranch.  That night we met friends from Utopia and had dinner at the Reata.  It was good food, good wine, good company.

We rode in Big Bend National Park the next day.  It was a bit windy but Indira did well. I love riding with friends that enjoy their horses and being outdoors.  We sang How Great Thou Art as we rode along and my heart was happy.  We rode for several miles until we found a cut off to a primitive campsite near the Rio Grande.  We found shade under a mesquite tree and had our lunch there.  We walked the horses down to the river to water them.  It is so quiet and isolated.  It is the desert and you don't even see or hear a bird.

Our final full day was very windy so we made the decision not to ride.  Wise choice, as Indira ran circles in her pen like a crazy horse.  June and I drove to the Chisos Basin in Big Bend and hiked up to the Window.  It is almost a 1000 ft. climb from the beginning of the trail but it was worth it.  You can see for 100 miles when you make it to the window.

That evening God gave us the best view of the full moon from the deck of the house we stayed in.  It rose over the mountains and it was the perfect way to end a perfect vacation.

No comments:

Post a Comment