K3 and Toad's Big Adventure

 Subtitled: We took the oldest grandkids to Colorado.

Not ones for much spur of the moment stuff, DH and I began planning a 'big' vacation with K3 and Toad several years ago, back when they were our only grandkids.  The idea honestly came about when Toad was in preschool, and I babysat him several afternoons a week.  DH had recently left for a work trip (out to Colorado), and Toad asked where Papa was.  I explained that he was out in the mountains, driving cars for work.  Toad asked how he'd gotten there, and I said that he'd flown on a plane.

That afternoon, Toad used some small pieces of scrap paper, and some stickers, to make plane tickets for himself, Papa, and I.  He told me he wanted to fly on a plane too, and those were the tickets we'd need.

Of course, when DH checked in later that night (when traveling for work, he tries to call me at the end of each work day, if it's before 11 p.m. here when his day has finally wrapped up) I told him about Toad and the 'plane tickets'.  And an idea for a vacation was born.  A plane ride.  And mountains!  Big, rocky mountains unlike any K3 or Toad have ever seen.

In 2019, DH asked the kids if they would like to fly on a plane out to the mountains for vacation the next year.  We'd hike, and ride horses, and with the words "plane" and "horses", they were hooked.  So DH and I began planning dates and location for a 2020 trip with K3 and Toad to Colorado.

But then, as you all know, 2020 was the year of Covid and lock downs and nobody going anywhere that summer.  Our big trip would have to be postponed.  

Honestly, this year they were probably a much better age for this type of trip than they would have been last year.  They weren't always patient waiting (in the airport, on the plane at the arrival gates, driving in the car), but at 9 and just turned 7, they didn't whine or fuss about it.

We had to drive to Detroit, where we had a non-stop flight to Denver.  On that flight, we only had one window seat, so K3 got it first, then half-way through (when she needed to use the bathroom) DH had her and Toad switch seats so that Toad also got a turn.  They were both very good on the plane, and were excited about the entertainment screens in the backs of the seats in front of them.

In Denver, we spent the night, swam in the hotel pool--which became a nightly tradition--then got up the next morning and drove to Breckenridge (last Fall, DH and I took a trip to Breckenridge that was a scouting mission for this trip with the grandkids).  That drive was a little rough, as the kids had spent most of the previous day sitting, plus K3 had altitude sickness with nausea and a headache.  When we got to Breckenridge, we checked into our lodge, did a little walking around the downtown, and then after dinner DH and the kids went swimming in the pool.

The main focus of the trip was hiking.  Hiking, hiking, hiking.  The first day we did a short and pretty interesting hike to a waterfall (as a way to get the kids exciting about hiking). They grumbled at first, but fairly quickly got interested in seeing what was around the next bend, over the next rise, through this clump of trees. . . 

And then big rocks!  They loved climbing up the big rocks to get to the waterfall.  DH took them, one by one, out to the edge to look down at part of the waterfall.

On the drive back from the waterfall trailhead, a yearling cow moose ran across the road in front of us.  K3 was delighted to be the first one to spot it.

Near the end of another hike, which took us through downtown Breckenridge on foot, Toad spotted a Lamborghini.  This kid has been calling every sports car he spots a Lamborghini for two years, but this time he actually found a real one. A red one at that. So I took his picture with it.  I wish I could draw his grin as huge as it actually was.

We hiked at least part of everyday.

Sometimes the hiking mojo ran low.

Other times they were happy wanderers along the mountain trail.

They discovered that peaks are chilly and windy at the top, and there was always higher mountains in the distance.

Sometimes, at the tops, there were meadows with streams to investigate.

Another trail didn't have a lot of elevation to climb, but had an interesting surprise.

There were two mornings we didn't hike.  On one, we took a guided trail ride instead.  K3 and Toad were very excited about that, and a little apprehensive too.  As Toad confided in me on the way to the stables "Grandma, I've never been on a horse.  They'll give me a nice one, right?"  I assured him that I would let them know it was his first time riding, and they would give him the nicest horse.

When the ride was over, Toad had another great big smile.  "I rode a horse!  She was a good horse!  I love riding horses!"  He exclaimed.  K3 had a little bit less reliable horse, as she told the wrangler that she'd had a few riding lessons.  But she did a good job staying on even when it wanted to take a slight detour through some small trees that I thought she might get rubbed off on.

Another morning we drove to Georgetown and rode the steam train that goes from Georgetown to Silver Plume and back, including over a tall trestle.

On the final night of our vacation, we tried to drive up to a good spot to hopefully see the Alpenglow.  Unfortunately that day had been very hazy from wildfire smoke, and there was no Alpenglow to be found.  We did, however, see a young mule deer buck, a great blue heron, fish jumping in a small lake/pond, a red fox, and a moose cow with her calf.

Did You Know?

 Did you know that you can smell corn in bloom?

I'm guessing probably not.  As, well, corn is a vegetable, we don't think of it as having flowers, and you have to be near a big field of it at just the right time to pick up any aroma at all.

Several years ago, in late July, I noticed a really lovely flowery smell one evening as I was driving home from the horse farm I was boarding at at the time.  I can't really describe it, exactly, but if I say kind of like the sort of smell that lilacs have, or hyacinth, hopefully you'll get an idea.

It took me a few days, and a few more exposures in the evening as the sun was going down and the night air is coming in, to figure it out.  The corn was fully tasseled, and the delightful smell was coming from the cornfield!

Now I look forward to that smell every summer; I eagerly await the night that the corn first smells like the best floral perfume you've ever experienced.  This week, that night happened.  And for the last several days, when I go out in the evening to shut chickens in their coop for the night,  I take big breaths and savor the smell of the corn in bloom.

We Went to a Show (and Didn't Die!!)

Camaro and I went to a show last month.  Our first as a team, my first in 30 years, and his first in several years.  Also, his first as a dressage horse and my second dressage test ever.

We were supposed to ride one test (Intro A) on Saturday, and one test (Intro B) on Sunday.  Except about two hours before our ride time on Saturday, the heavens opened and it poured.  And poured.  And poured.  The dressage arena flooded.  I watched horses and riders that were much more seasoned than Camaro and I slip in the saturated footing while riding their tests.  And I decided that I really didn't want to die that day.  No way were Camaro and I going splashing and sliding around to perform our very first test. He was all ready pretty wired, and I had a wonky left knee giving me pain.

At first, I thought I would scratch Intro A.  But then a friend suggested that I see if I could reschedule my ride from Saturday afternoon to sometime on Sunday.  That would mean seeing if there were still slots available for Sunday, and if so, riding two tests in one day.

So many people scratched on Saturday afternoon and just hauled their horses home that I was able to reschedule my Intro A ride to Sunday morning.  There was a slot available an hour after my Intro B ride time.  Which is how we rode the harder Intro B as our debut test (which Camaro was waaayyy better than I could have hoped) and Intro A as our second test (in which Camaro was about as distracted as I'd feared he would be).

Oh, and Sunday was a beautiful day weather-wise, as you can see by our picture below.  And the dressage arena had mostly dried up, with only a few wet spots to splash through.

 

As I said, Intro B went well.  Intro A, however, was a challenge.  The judge was kind, and gave me a pointer after the final salute in Intro A.  She pointed out to me that I had fallen into one of my old nemeses in riding: burying my hands (see in above picture).  Ugh!  As soon as I repaired my position, Camaro rounded nicely through his back and onto the bit.  And with that correct connection, his brain was less distractable by the things around us.

Camaro sporting his home permanent forelock once I took out his braids.

We had to wait until the end of the show on Sunday to see our test sheets and find out how we'd scored. Once the final rider had finished the final test, and scores compared in the show office, the test sheets were available for pick up.  And I was honestly amazed at what marks Camaro and I had received.  To read the tests, with the scores for each movement and the judge's comments was really great.  Really affirming that I do, actually, know what I'm doing and my horse is capable of his new career.  

We scored mostly 7's and 7.5's.  Honestly, I'd been hoping we'd at least get a 5 on everything.  I dreaded anything less than a 5, and was quite happy to see our lowest score was a 6, on our rough Intro A ride.  We totaled a 70.94% on Intro A, coming in 3rd in that class, and a 72.19% on our nicer Intro B ride earning 4th in that one.  Oh my goodness, I hadn't counted on taking home ribbons!! 

                                                                                        

                 

What have we been up to since our show?  Well, earning scores in the 70's on our dressage debut tells me that we can't keep showing the easy walk-trot Intro A and B tests.  That we really should be upping our game and cantering.  There is another show in September that I would like to go to, and my goal is to show Intro C, which has cantering in it. Maybe even going out at Training Level too.

I've bitten the bullet, and since the beginning of July, Camaro and I have been cantering.  Some days he's really balanced and relaxed in his departs, and some days he kinda falls apart and stresses to the right.  But he always nails the correct lead, and his balanced canter is beautiful, smooth, and I'm really looking forward to developing it further.

The picture I sent my barn owner/friend the first day we cantered.

I'd told her to hold me accountable and ask me at the end of July how many times I've cantered him.

She offered to print out a calendar page for July and tape it above my saddle rack for me to put stars on for each day we canter.

Where Have I Been?

 I just realized it has been an entire month since I posted here.  Oops.  Certainly not what I intended.

Where have I been?

Well. . . 

. . . I've been to a horse show, but I'm going to post about that next week in the upcoming horse-related update.

. . . I've been in the garden a lot, and have no photos to show for it, but trust me, it's looking great. We've eaten asparagus, radishes, and the first green beans so far. Peas were late, but should be coming on soon.  Harvested a handful of hot peppers yesterday, and the first zucchini is plumping up in today's rain.

. . . I've been knitting very little, and obviously didn't post a knitting update for July.  I finished Toad's hiking socks, and started on the second Christmas stocking (of the 3 I need to make by December)

. . . I've been sewing a bit, but didn't quite get my Fourth of July banner finished an hung in time for the holiday.  It still needs the hanging tabs sewn on. I also didn't post a sewing update this week because, well, busy.

. . . I've been strawberry picking,

and mulberry picking--using the tractor to lift Toad and K3 high into the tree--and making mulberry muffins and mulberry pancakes.

. . . I've been selling hay off the wagon (90 bales) and putting about 125 more into the hay loft. First cutting yields are way down all over this year.  We've had a lot of rain since the fields were cut, so hoping second cutting will be a bumper crop.

. . . I've been to my parents' house to load and haul home some box elder trees they had cut down (that I used to climb as a girl and sit way up in the top of, reading a book while swaying in the breeze.)

. . . I've been raising some broiler chicks, and took them to the same Amish processor that I used last year.  Another batch of meat chicks are due to arrive at this little place here next week.

. . . I've been in the chicken coop, taking care of my hens, and letting one try to hatch a few eggs of her own. (Mainly because she is aggressively broody and I got tired of her pecking my hands every day when I gathered eggs).

. . . I've been driving the trusty rusty Suburban to over 278,000 miles--only 22k to go until I hit my goal!

. . . I've been hanging out a little with Rascal, the busy, curious 2 year old;

and a little with Faline, who is crawling and pulling herself up and beginning to furniture walk (and just turned 8 months this week);

and with K3 and Toad, whom DH and I took on a vacation to Colorado this month (and why I didn't post a knitting or sewing update).  That trip will definitely get it's own picture-heavy post.

In short, I've been really busy!