Time Out for a Little Vacation

Niamh, Derry and Beau might not agree, but it was definitely a nice break for Ruth and the Barbs -- the annual trek to Fort Robinson, Neb., for a few days of riding, relaxing and goofing off. We even had a fellow traveler this year, Pam Larson of Stillwater with her horse, Tajj. She, too, is a Fort Rob veteran, but her ride had fallen through, so she threw in with us, the poor woman.

As always, we left just after midnight and arrived at the park at about 3:00, full of candy, truck stop food, candy, coffee, candy, water and ... candy. We checked in, of course — yes, you have to wear a name tag! — got the horses settled and called dibs on the bathroom in our cottage, which used to be officers' quarters when the park was a military installation. This is the view from our door:


This is the view from the stalls:




Over the next few days, we caught up with old friends and made a few new ones. If you ever need some inspiration, remind yourself that there were at least three riders over the age of 70, including Carleton, who we corraled into sitting with us at dinner:


The first day was spent riding up and down hills, through water, despite Niamh's best efforts otherwise. We had lunch in the field — great soup! — before some more ups and downs and more water on the way back to the barns. That night? Team penning! Guess who had a blast:


Rain on Friday thinned out the ranks


— not Barb A. and Derry, however — and on Saturday?

Cattle drive! The ratio of riders per long horn guaranteed success. We all broke off into smaller groups, fanning out behind the 30 or so cattle, which slipped had through the net during a previous move to the winter pasture and had found themselves a tidy hiding spot among the bluffs. One group pushed them down and the rest of us — mostly the flatlanders who stayed on the easy terrain — kept them heading toward the gate and the road.

Once they were all headed in the right direction, our job became to keep them that way. Guess who had a blast:


How can you top a day like that? Breakfast on the bluffs the next morning, naturally. No pictures, unfortunately, but believe us when we say that the pancakes were enormous and the ham was smoky good. And the scenery? O ja. As breathtaking as always.

So. Everything and everyone packed up and, with the sun behind us this time, we hit the road home, chasing that big juicy moon as it rose over the South Dakota horizon.

Candy, anyone?

p.s. For pictures from the trail, click here and look through the first three albums at the top.