We're here!! And, it's Michael and Kennedy's Birthdays!

We arrived at the LA Equestrian Center. Wahoo! The drive was crazy with 5-7 lanes of traffic.  Beautiful fruit trees, warm weather and loving it. We're stalled next to the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Wells Fargo Stage Coach hitches. The center is amazing, arenas are phenomenal, the staff is  welcoming and friendly.

But, the best part of our day was celebrating Michael and Kennedy's birthdays.  They are 22 and 17 years old.  We had a party in the camper. The fire alarms went off when we lit the candles on the cake.  A fun time was had by all.  Go MN Vikings!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blythe, CA

5:00 (CA time) - just arrived at the Choat Equestrian Center.  The crew is unloading the horses and getting them settled in, fed and watered.  Wow, the wind the last 100 miles was crazy and it hasn't let up.  Glad no one blew away (showers are a must tonight with all of the sand in all different places).  It is putting a damper on my grilling plans though! We had an awesome day.  Stopped in Tucson, AZ for lunch with MariLynn and Ed Pedley (JoAnn's sister and her husband). We had a great visit and many thanks to them for treating us! We fueled up in Phoenix and Daryl's brother Russ and Roger and Arlene Wilkison (Carol's aunt and uncle) and their family, Mark, Julie, Jamey, Hannah, Caden and Scotty all stopped by to see us. That was too fun! We seen some ostriches and a whole lot of cacti. The first cactus was pretty cool, we almost had to pull over and take a picture. But then there were so many, it was like, whatever, another big huge cactus.  John and Joe both seen a roadrunner and the rest of us are still looking!
8:41- just got back from supper. Thanks Daryl, very yummy!  We broke through the sand drifts (yes, like MN snow drifts only sand!!) to get back.  Horses got blanketed and the wind is not letting up. No showers, but we are all laughing at how crazy this really is!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony, NM

What kind of trees? Pistachio and pecan trees, pretty cool. The owners of Open Heart G Farms have pecan trees which they will start harvesting soon.  They gave us a big bag for the road. Beautiful facilities and the bunkhouse was awesome. After 3 days, a shower never felt so good! A blizzard is on the way, so we hit the road just after 6.  And we're off, like a herd of turtles!

Merry Christmas!

Santa made it to Texas!  Wyatt thought last night that maybe he would just leave presents in MN, but he found us! Presents, fed, watered and loaded ponies.  Santa hats for everyone to wear and we hit the road. I guess when they say everything is bigger in Texas, they really mean it.  We've seen cattle yards that are more like cattle acres. Stopped for lunch in Roswell NM. Thanks Sara and Josh for the yummy smoked pork loin and turkey. No aliens there. New Mexico is full of brush and cacti that Billy the Kid used to love to ride through.  We also went through Lincoln County where he used to ride.  We thought we seen Pepper Lewis's ranch (from the movie The Cowboy Way, a must see). Definitely lots of great conversations on the road.  Merry Christmas!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunshine Stables - Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at Sunshine Stables in Dumas, TX.  Paul, the owner, can't recall ever having anyone stay on Christmas Eve before.  He taught us about cutting and cattle sorting, a little different than showing Shires. He was a great host and the facilities were amazing. Sandy made us another delicious supper (chili and ham and cheese sandwiches) that we enjoyed in the shop.  It had a wood stove, indoor plumbing and a cowboy bar.  We taught Daryl how to play liar's dice and he proved to be a quick learner!

On our way to Dumas, TX

Snowy start to the day. We had to sweep the camper off to get the slide in. Put a couple pails of sand under the semi tires to get moving.  The horses didn't mind it though.  Only had to drive about 40 miles in the white stuff. Gorgeous drive through Kansas, sunny and 40s.  Just into Oklahoma, we believe they call it the Panhandle. Hope to make it to Dumas, TX late afternoon and settle in early so Santa can find his way to us. Also, so we can find a church to keep in good graces with Grandma JoAnn!

 

 

First Night Arrival - Geneva, NE

Loaded and on the road! 

We made it to our first destination after only one turn-around: J Bar D Ranch in Geneva, NE.  Ponies are unloaded, fed and watered. Dinner was awesome for the crew as well. Sandy made some delicious beef stew.  Gonna have a few adult beverages and play some cards until we call it a night.