With Sandy & Ody!

Our friend Sandy pulled in shortly after we did on Wed. evening.  Of course she brought Odysseus - Farah's sire with her!  As you can tell from my smile & Farah's too - they are two of our very favorite riding companions - even if we only get together once a year!

We're ready to head out~

From a star filled night - we woke to an overcast morning.  Very mild temperatures & no wind!  Perfect riding weather!  Both horses recognized each other instantly.  I'll mention again that Farah treats Ody totally differently from any other horse she's ever been around.  It's obvious she likes him - maybe because he can keep up with her & yet she isn't intimidated when he's along side.

Out to the dune trails~

Our plan - was to ride out the dune trails, over to Nehalem Bay - then cross over to the beach side.  Low tide was about 10:30 a.m., so we'd have plenty of wet sand to ride on!

Farah & Ody, watching a boat on the bay~

We just couldn't get over our luck at the good weather window.  Even though both horses were full of energy - they were giving us a fine time :-)

Sandy & Ody~

We went as far as we could along the tide flats of the bay - the first time the tide had been so low - allowing us to follow along the south side of the jetty right up to where the ocean comes in.

Signage~

We turned back, following the jetty back to the trail across the end of the dunes.  There - we crossed over to the ocean side!  I called Butch, to let him know that we'd be heading north along the beach & hopeful that he'd come down to get some photos!

Rockaway from the jetty~

I zoomed in - to get this photo.  Cape Meares is just beyond~  We trotted all the way down the beach!  Just too much fun for us & our horses too :-)

Butch was waiting!

These two are so perfectly matched!

Every time we get them together - we wish we lived closer - what fun it would be to teach these two to move as a team :-) 

Heading north on the beach~

We rode on north - met up with friends - chatted - then continued on to where the small creek enters the Ocean at Mazanita.  Finally, since the day was getting darker by the minute, we turned back & met Butch heading back to camp with Nika & Rascal.

The Man behind the camera~

Almost a twelve-mile ride, with the trails we'd taken on the dunes & going north to Mazanita.  Once back, we had enough time to unsaddle before the rain came.

Rainbow over camp~

 We retreated to our respective camps - soon rewarded by a rainbow~  Butch built us a nice fire, we sat out & enjoyed a star filled night.  I'd let Farah loose to graze around our spot, but soon Butch said;  "Farah's gone."  I went looking & found her with Ody - they were rubbing each others withers.  I picked up Farah's lead, just as Ody must have made an inappropriate move & was rewarded by a loud squeal :-)