Impromptu Weekend Getaway -or-

Rich Can Ride a Horse too!

Last weekend it hit 101 both Saturday and Sunday in downtown Denver. Laura and I wanted to escape the heat, so we drove up to Beaver Creek ski area. Neither one of us had ever been to Beaver Creek in the summer. We'd only been there in the winter for skiing.


The place looks a lot different in the summer. The lifts were running hikers and bikers up to the top. Man, I wished I had brought my bike! We're talking about going back next weekend with some friends to do some downhill biking! This time, however, we came to ride horses. After hanging out in the village during the day, we decided to do an early evening dinner at Beano's Cabin.



During ski season, you take a horse drawn sleigh up the mountain to the cabin. Today we were taking a 45 minute horse ride up to the top where a fabulous dinner awaited us. Laura had been to Beano's, on a family ski trip, quite a few years ago. So, she knew we were in for a great meal!

The plan was to spend Saturday night in Eagle (WAY less expensive then staying in BC!) and get an early start, Sunday morning, to the 4 Eagle Ranch, where we were going to do a cattle drive.

Laura, myself and our "wrangler" Hannah had the job of finding the cattle herd (somewhere out on 500+ acres) and getting the group of 50 head back to the ranch where they would be checked out.

It took us about an hour to find the herd up on top of a mesa sunning themselves. Most were laying down and not too happy to see us! Our first priority was to get them all up and headed into the general direction of the ranch.

Hannah is supervising me grouping the herd together!

Below, is my view from the cockpit as I trot the stragglers to keep up with the rest of the herd.

Laura guides the herd towards a watering hole, before moving them towards the ranch.

Hannah got this shot of us as we waited for the herd to get their drinks in before making our final push to the holding pen.

The cattle drive was a great experience! With Laura's help(remember, she took a herding clinic back in June) I almost looked like I knew what I was doing. She used plates and salt and pepper shakers, back at Beano's, to demonstrate how to approach the herd and individual cattle to get them to move the way you want. The tips worked like a charm too!

Stay tuned for downhill mountain biking from Beaver Creek, next weekend.

-Rich-

A Different Kind of Rodeo

I had originally planned to go to a gymkhana in Ft. Lupton this weekend, but I found out that the gay rodeo was in town, so I told Rich to grab his camera and off we went.

The main reason we went is because Little Horse's turnout mate and BFF (best friend forever) is Reba, who's owner, Ken is active in the circuit. In addition, the president of the Colorado Gay Rodeo, is Ty, who boards her 2 horses, Leo & Hersey, where I do. I wanted to go see them to their stuff. Most of the rodeo was regular rodeo stuff, barrels and poles, but the people watching was something else. Here's a pic of one of the "queens":









Since Reba is relatively green and not used to the rodeo scene, Ken just did a practice run on the barrels and came in with a 29 second run. FYI....LH and I have done 27 seconds....not that we're bragging. Reba is the same age as LH, but she's only had about half as much training. She even jumps when she hears the 'snap' of a carrot breaking in half. But she's lightening fast! Here's a couple shots of Ken & Reba (Dashin Cash Reba):
















Ty has 2 horses at Coal Creek, Hershey and Leo. Hershey is gelded...fully, but still drives the mares crazier than any stallion ever has. I walked LH up to the gate when he was in the indoor arena one day. She sniffed him, then screamed and reared up! Here's a pic of Hershey doing the poles:
















And here's a pic of Ty on her other horse, Leo....who always pins his ears at LH:










They also had riders from Trick Riders Unlimited doing awesome stunts:






































This one got a big cheer from the crowd:












This was my favorite picture of the day:






-Laura

Spud Gun Fun!

For Gary (since you asked)! All of this can be found at the Dangerously fun website





materials

* A. Flint igniter (lantern lighter)
* B. 4" PVC cleanout plug
* C. 4" PVC fitting cleanout adapter
* D. 4" PVC coupling
* E. 4" x 24" PVC pipe
* F. 2" x 4" PVC increaser reducer
* G. 2" x 48" PVC pipe
* H. PVC cleaner, primer, & cement
* I. Sack of potatoes
* J. Hair spray (aerosol)


how-to

1. Cut the PVC components to length and clean and prime the joints. Cement components C thru G together. ( A comment on their website suggested going to 60" barrel "g". I did, not sure if it made any difference?)

2. Drill a hole for the lantern lighter in the middle of pipe E and then install the lighter with its included hardware. These lighters are very compact and use flint to produce a strong spark. You can find them in the camping section of large department stores. (I put the ignitor in the bottom of the end cap "B" easier to work with)

3. With the file, sharpen the circumference of pipe G. This makes shoving the potato in easier because the pipe will cut off the excess potato.

4. You’re ready to launch!
1. Find a very large, open area to launch the gun. (Yes, we were launching them into Lake Huron!)
2. Load a potato. Use a stick or rod to plunge it most of the way down the barrel.
3. Spray the hair spray (Use Aqua Net aerosol, trust me!) into the fat end of the gun. If you use too little the potato won’t go far; too much and it won’t launch at all because there is not enough oxygen in the chamber (we found an 8-12 second blast of hairspray gets best results, yours may vary)
4. Quickly screw on the plug (part B).
5. Hold the gun at your side, aiming in a safe direction. Give the lighter a quick flick, as if you’re snapping your fingers. (we were getting anywhere from 150-250 yard distances with the gun, again your distance may vary, have fun!)

-Rich-

Independence Holiday in Michigan

We spent the past week back in Michigan, making the rounds, visiting with family. Here's the highlights:

Fireworks!

Lexington parade!

What's a parade without queens?

The Shriners'

Dirt bikes with the nephew!

Homemade woodfired pizza!

Homebuilt Potato cannon!

Uncles 1946 Piper cub!

Lots of time here!

Lot's of good food & drink, good company, fun activities and relaxation... Yep, doesn't get much better then that!


-Rich & Laura