We got our horses out on the trail today. The original plan was for El to ride Cynthia’s 34 year old mare and for Cynthia to ride her Palomino. I was to ride Tyra and Pete was to ride Raudi and pony Hrimmi. As is often the case, sometimes the best plans go awry. El’s mare wasn’t into going for a ride and Teddy Bear was fractious , so plans changed. El ended up taking Ryder for a walk and Pete, Cynthia, and I went for a ride. I rode Hrimmi, Cynthia rode Tyra, and Pete rode Raudi.

It was a wonderful trail ride, on trails close to Cynthia and Tom’s place. We climbed a hill and had a bird’s eye view of Spokane. Idaho was also at the distance. It was so hot that we could smell the pine tree pitch. We also went in the opposite direction and

saw an owl. And, we showed Cynthia that going around the scary rock was no problem.

The horses did wonderfully. Hrimmi was a bit grass obsessed, but she did not attempt to unseat me by rubbing against brush or trees, this being something she did at home. There was one steep, downhill section, no problem.

We returned to the stead, hosed and sponged down the horses and put them back in their temporary quarters. I was pleased – our three did quite well considering they have thus far been ridden just twice since leaving home. They were not jumpy or overly forward, either. Smart, calm horses, these Icelandics. They are obviously good breed ambassadors, especially Tyra who seems to be thriving on this more adventurous lifestyle.

Later in the day, Cynthia mentioned to me that an eleven year old was coming to visit who was horse crazy and might I spend some time with her? I said yes, of course. Isabelle and her mother arrived shortly thereafter. By then it was dusk. It was too late to saddle up a horse and get it out, so I gave Isabelle an impromptu lesson in the pasture, bareback, first on Tyra, then on Hrimmi, and lastly on Raudi. It was a lot of fun. The horses all followed one another – again, this was just like out of the Hobbit movie.

I will keep going over today, in my mind, for some time.

We are now gearing up to take off. El did stay an extra day, this morning she said “you know, I can do this if I want to. I don’t have to leave. And, Pete and I said the same thing. Yes, I could easily stay here and have the place be a summer base camp. But no, Pete who is the motivator says that tomorrow we will head to Idaho. There we will contact Peter Lynn, who is a guide. We met him at the trailhead where we found Ryder. This, then, could be the completion of a circle.

Think ahead, this is what I must now do.

Next: 149. 5/31/19: Selway-Bitterroot National Forest