Riding On the Beach! Day 2

Saddle-up time

Our first full day at the beach dawned warm, sunny & windy!  Everyone slept in & you could have heard a pin drop!  Even Farah laid out flat on her side, while the dogs were upside down!

Farah & I wait while she helps the park rangers with some vegetation control.

Butch had his camera & headed up the trail before anyone else, to get some photos as we arrived.  Without a clue as to where the trail would lead, Farah decided she was tired of waiting & started up! 

Most direct trail to the Ocean

Not ever one to stop forward, I thought OK girl - you'll get a surprise!  The sand was very deep & she let out a couple snorts as we climbed up at a nice walk.

Farah's first view of the Ocean!

Was she ever surprised when we crested the hill!  It was a "mixed" expression, because with her first look at all that water, there was Butch sitting on a log about half way across the beach between us & the rolling waves :-)

Above is a short video clip that Butch took as we came down the hill.  I was pretty amazed that she was as brave as she was - since water has always been her big bug-a-boo!  I know it was only Butch being there that gave her the confidence to go as near to the incoming tide as she did :-)

Our friends appear!

I took Farah out north along the beach & we did some very animated trotting into the wind!  My helmet kept trying to blow away!  I had to stop, dismount & tighten the strap until I was choking & even then it was a battle.  Farah started going around me in circles...  I Do Not like that!  I remember it well from my early days in endurance.  This time I just said;  "Do you want a cookie?"  She Stopped, Waited & Got her cookie!  It wasn't long before some of our friends appeared over the dune & how relieved Farah was to see those other horses!

We join our friends!

Such a glorious morning!  Everyone so happy to be where we were, when we were, feeling like the luckiest people on the planet!  The wind though - was brutal.  We made it to the inlet at Mazama, which was the farthest north we could go before the cliffs.  Making the turn to go back was a relief, putting our backs to the wind!  We all headed in for lunch - afterward I decided to head south & see how far we could get.

Jetty at the mouth of the inlet south

The tide was still going out, so we had plenty of beach to ride on!  It was cold too, with the non-stop, hard blowing wind!

Looking at the east end of the Jetty~

With dark storm clouds rolling around, we started back the way we'd come.

We did some running on the way back!

Even into the wind, hanging onto my helmet to keep from being choked to death & with the wet footing, it was a blast!  When I returned I asked Butch if we wore helmets when he & I used to race on the beach...  his answer?  "NO!"

GPS tracks

I was experimenting with my GPS, I wanted to save all the tracks from each day, each ride too, but this day I just used the "lap" setting.  The photo above shows our first ride to the north, then our second ride down the the jetty & back by way of beach~

All together we did just over 11-miles.  I had to look to find that sign-post to take us back to camp!  :-)  This day was a special one for us.  It was exactly two-years to the day from when we brought Farah home to the Homestead!  The time has flown by - both of us have changed - thinner, fitter & I hope I speak for Farah when I say happier too!  I did set a new goal out there on the sand - to still be riding Farah on my 80th birthday when she will be 25!   Fingers Crossed!