Road Trip: The Painted Desert

Originally I was going to do a single post about our trip to Northern Arizona, but when I started going through pictures, it was REALLY hard to narrow it down, so I decided to break the pictures up in the places we went. There's no Truby here, but you'll get to see some incredible views of Arizona!

We ended up leaving a day early (YAY!) 

 Auri was not happy

She thought if she hid the directions we'd stay home with her.

Leaving Tucson, these are still the Catalina Mountains

Asked the husband to try and tailgate this guy so I could get a pic

That's a steer skull 

Driving through Salt River Canyon was TERRIFYING 

A whole lot of nothing

This area almost gave me an anxiety attack, no joke.

 The Painted Desert

 The views are okay, I guess

 If you like sweeping vistas, this is your place

 There were quite a few petroglyphs 

This is supposed to be a waterbird eating a frog

I really enjoyed all the different piles of rocks

That sounded sarcastic, but it's not.

Roooocccccckkkkkssssss!

 I think those *may* be rivers during monsoon season, but yeah, they're dry.

And then there's Blue Mesa

Which is breathtaking and amazing and no pictures did it justice

What I imagine some barren planet to look like

"Rockslide" of petrified wood

Blue Mesa is part of the Petrified Forest, but the parks are RIGHT next to each other and connect

By the time we finished hiking Blue Mesa, we were chasing daylight.

We went back the next morning to see more of the Petrified Forest.

Spoiler Alert: it was amazing!

19 Years

 The prettiest (and dustiest) princess

Today is Truby's birthday! My pretty princess is 19 years old. NINETEEN! Today we celebrated by eating cookies, getting a good grooming, and then rolling in the dirt. And maybe some more cookies. We're totally having a birthday party for her, but because of life events, it's going to be next week.  

Moar cookiez plz!

Wanna see some cute Truby pics? OF COURSE YOU DO! Truby was such a cute little baby horse. Here she is at 4 days old. I got this picture from her breeder, back when it was easier to mail physical photos in the mail, rather than email them. This post is really being to make me feel old.

This is the picture on her sale ad that made me buy her

Here's her being an adorable yearling. Spring, summer and winter. She was so gray!

Just a few years ago, in Pennsylvania

Happy Birthday, Truby!

I love you, you can have all the cookies!

Happy Truby Day!

sleepy unicorn

Today is National Unicorn Day Which means it's basically National Truby day!

baby unicorn

Not every pony can be a Truby, but I'm pretty sure every pony can be a unicorn! Sometimes you just gotta open your mind and squint really hard.

silly unicorn

Go out and hug your own, personal unicorns!

I hear they like cookies, too.

snuggly unicorn

Let's Never Go Outside Again

This past week has been dull. I discovered I'm allergic to...something...and for the first time I'm having to deal with allergies. Figuring out which medicines help and which ones don't is not good times. Unfortunately, while I found something that takes care of most things (the sore, itchy throat being THE WORST!) it makes me really dopey. I think I'm acting pretty normal, maybe a little dizzy here and there, but if I talk to someone, it quickly becomes obviously my brain isn't working right.

Doesn't care if I'm dumb as long as she gets snacks

This was really good times to discover at work, because I sounded like an absolute idiot! Luckily my actual grooming skills didn't suffer, just my ability to talk to people. Also lucky, most people were totally empathetic when I apologized for being super ditzy and told them I was dealing with allergies and allergy medications for the first time. I've been grooming for over 16 years, and it's astounding that I've lost my easy chatter and typical client interactions. I always thought I could say all that in my sleep. Guess not!

Truby's enjoyed a week off, just living life and getting snuggles. She's a horse that's always happy just to hang out, and not one that needs to think or be exercised all the time. The new mare, Annie, is finally out with her and Cinco, and they're getting along without any issues.

It's really nice to have such an easy going horse! I'm a bit spoiled, I think. Husband and I are heading north to the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest/Painted Desert tomorrow. I'm really excited about it. I went there many years ago for a family Christmas vacation, but I must have been 12 or so. I can't wait to visit as an adult in the spring! We'll be staying near the Painted Desert one night, then a couple nights at the Grand Canyon, right in the park! It's going to be awesome!

Today I was out to visit Truby one last time before we left. She got her tail washed and conditioned, and her udders and hocks washed. Then a nice little walk out on the Backyard Trail. I gave her a couple hugs and told her to be good. I drove through the driveway gate and noticed something in the road. I was pretty sure it was a snake. It's starting to be Snake Season, and I've been putting extra effort into looking for them when I'm walking around. But I haven't actually expected to SEE any.

Other than seeing a rattlesnake way outside of town several years ago when I first interviewed for the job that moved us out here, I haven't seen any snakes. Well, one non-venomous night snake slithered past our apartment. But that was okay. I just closed the door, and went to bed. Never saw it again.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

So OF COURSE, I pulled over, got out, and went to investigate. Showing more sense than usual, I didn't get too close. It certainly was a snake, and I believe it's a diamondback rattler. Yikes! I watched it slither away, up towards the neighbors drive.

Then I got in my car, drove home, and I never plan to leave the apartment again. I hope husband lets Truby move in!

Wut?

Happy Trails

 Someone asked me what Truby looked like, and I said "a unicorn"
they replied, 'no really, what does she look like"

I showed them this picture, and they said "OH, she does look like a unicorn!"

Last week was...interesting. Huge drama, but thankfully nothing actually important. I might have to write  a post about it, but not today. I need a break! The good news is that Truby is happy and healthy, and drama didn't involve her, or our barn, or anything of real importance, although it was the backdrop for it. 

I was telling Cinco's owner, M, all the gory details Friday afternoon while she was brushing Cinco. It was a beautiful afternoon, and she decided to tack him up and go for a ride on the Loop before heading off to a weekend clinic. 

I asked if Truby and I could join, and of course she said yes! As I pulled Truby out of her stall, I made a snap decision to tack her up. I figured if she was calm I could ride, and if she was silly I would just walk, and she could just be saddled.

Spoiler Alert!

She seemed pretty calm and content on the walk over, so I hopped on. The first stretch of trail, she seemed determined to try and spook at a big flock of Gambril's Quails that like to hang out on the right side of the path. I made sure to breathe, relax my thighs and my buttcheeks and feel confident. And it worked!

Truby led Cinco and M on the first bit, but once we turned the corner (where it backs up to our barn) and started to walk directly away from home, she got squirrelly and tried to spin back around. We ended up looping drunkenly back and forth across the trail, but I kept my leg on, and her nose pointed North. Cinco pulled ahead of us (mainly not to get sideswiped) and before too long, Truby gave in and we followed Cinco.

Heading away from the barn, grumpy, but no longer fighting

 One of my most favorite cactus ever.

Yup, I have a favorite cactus!

It didn't take too much longer for Truby to get over her snit and put her cute little ears up and enjoy herself. I was pretty pleased with myself, for being brave and handling her well, and Truby, for being brave, and getting over herself. ONCE I rode her the short stretch and turned around at the end by the barn. ONCE. She believes that we should turn around there every time. Sigh.

Two good ponies enjoying themselves

Leading again

I did opt to dismount about two thirds of the way around. Things were going so well, that I didn't want to ruin it by trying to ride into the little mesquite thicket and past the stables. I think she probably would have been okay, but the thicket can be spooky, and the stable yard can be hectic. That day there was a horse galloping around in one of the turnouts, so it was probably better to have gotten off early. She was unconcerned and calm with me on foot, but I think she would have gotten overexcited if I stayed on. 

All in all, a wonderful ride! We've put in some time and miles to be able to be calm and confident on the Loop, and it's really starting to pay off!

I've also been taking her on short little rides on the Backyard Trail. She's been excellent about that, and I'm starting to incorporate that into the end of our arena rides as a nice reward.

I love the path leading from the gate, it's so inviting

'Go on an adventure!' it practically begs us

Neighbors put up a Super Scary windmill, but she's almost used to it

This is her other reward for being a great Truby

Two wonderful trail rides were just what I needed to end a stupid-crazy week. Truby has gotten so steady and brave (although I think warmer temps and more sunshine help keep the spookies at bay!) and I'm really enjoying being able to ride her outside the arena. We're slowly making opening the arena gate from her back and walking out around the barn a new normal for her. The first bunch of times she got prance-y and silly, but today she walked out and back to the Backyard trail flat footed and relaxed. I'm so proud of her, and so happy to see all our hard work paying off! 

The best desert unicorn!

Spring is Springing

Just a quick post because I've gotten quite behind! After the fun of the snow all those weeks ago, I've mostly just been trying to get back into some sort of rhythm. My ankle is finally back to "normal", which now includes a new patch of puffiness, but I can use it and it no longer hurts, so yay?

 Yay!

I also spent almost two weeks being sick. And not interestingly sick, just boring sick. I caught the cold going around,  and while I was lucky not to be Super Sick, I was Super Exhausted All the Damn Time, which was way worse.

I still found some energy to ride, and Truby and I have had some very pleasant times. Mostly bareback to keep any strain off my ankle. We're up to 45 minutes of mostly walking, and even added in some trotting! The most exciting part is that we can even trot bareback!!! We can only hold it together for about a quarter way around the arena, but it's really exciting to start having back the ability to ride. I took way too many years off of serious riding, and to be able to start rediscovering those skills is thrilling!

Truby is staying sound, comfortable and happy. So in general, life is pretty good! She also has a new friend, a little Arabian named Annie. They're getting along well, and are so relaxed together. I love watching them explore the turnouts together. Spring has come to Tucson, and the property is covered in a knee high weed, but it's super pretty. The horses won't eat it, but the bees seem to enjoy it.

Enjoying a beautiful afternoon