Rough Riders at Escalante 2011

This spring ride was in the fabulous canyons around Escalante. We boarded our horses at the abandoned race track which worked out really well. It was great to have Lisa back to remind us all what real riding is all about. This was her first ride in 13 years!

We had a bigger than usual group, but the more the merrier!

Lisa, Matt, Larry, Carol and Bruce Selk, Richard, me, Legrand, Dave and Todd.

We rode the beautiful Casto and Losee Canyons the first day. They are called "little Bryce Canyon without the crowds."

Then on to fantastic Coyote Gulch, which may be one of the best places to ride on the planet.

It was a little tough to get in.

But then it was just magnificent. I'm not sure that Matt and Lisa noticed though, because they were so focused on each other!

This is jacob Hamblin Arch. I don't know if it is the biggest arch in the world, but it is certainly the biggest that I have seen, and beautiful.

It was really fun to gallup along the smooth sandy stream bed.

There is miles of wet sand that the horses love.

Todd's Lady is 24 now and still going strong. She is the oldest equine Rough Rider.

Matt rode Dave's horse Silverado who was really rough at first but Matt got him right under control and rode very well. It ain't easy to find a mount to match Matt's size.

For years I had heard about "Muley Twist" and it was a kind of "bucket list" item for me, so we trailered down the Burr trail to get there. They say that the pioneers used to drive wagons down here, but they must have hauled a lot of rocks to get past places like this.

I wonder what Richard's back surgeon thinks about this?

After a short struggle in the lower Muley Twist, we went on to the upper branch and it was superb! This is where we had lunch, overlooking the "Waterpocket Fold".

Here is the other view of that remarkable geologic formation.

We found several nice arches and rock formations in the upper part of the canyon.

The trail was really fun with some nice variety.

Another view of interesting rock formations and a prety Lady Rider.

Coming back Legrand and I galluped our horses for the last 3 miles and they loved it.

On Saturday we took a short ride in the mountains above Bryce. The cool mountain air and majestic Ponderosa Pines were nice.


There were a few low points on this trip; like the 34 mile washboard Hole-In-The-Rock Road, Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches in the bottom of saddle bags, a crumby restaurant next to our hotel, lost horseshoes, a balky truck, the impassible lower Muley, etc. But the beauty and fun far outweighed all that stuff and we now have another great memory!