If you missed Part 1 you can view it here!
I couldn't have been anymore wrong that I'd not get to experience all that I'd ever hoped to whilst out here. But that's another day...
Monday:
With the horses in tow we headed back to the ranch and were given our ride for the duration of our trip. Poor Hugh was given the job of driving the truck and trailer back - which I must say is so very different to our trailers and horse boxes in the UK. I just had to take photos to show everyone back home how many horses they put into one trailer here. It really made me think how much we nanny our horses back home.
I was given a gorgeous appaloosa mare called Tina that was no bigger than Ceaser but apparently was "all business" and liked to get on with a job. Once we'd become acquainted to our rides, we were shown how to tack up Western style and headed to the round pen to get used to this completely different way of life.
Once comfortable we had to go and move some cows from near the ranch further into the fields. Tina was absolutely awesome and quite possibly I think that's the only way to describe her. She had to be up the front of the herd as she hated being at the back and was somewhat of a pro when it came to herding horses and cattle, so she knew exactly what to do. As soon as her eyes spotted the cattle she anticipated what was about to come and started to stride out ready to focus on the job she knew she was going to be asked to do. I had to pinch myself as were pushing the cows forward into a spot where we wanted them. I couldn't quite believe I was there in Wyoming. It just goes to show that dreams can come true.After riding and getting to grips with everything Hannah had arranged for a couple of local cowboys to come over and show us how to rope. To begin with I had absolutely zero hand-eye coordination, but I knew I would! It took me a good 15 minutes to get to grips with the swing of the rope but thankfully one of the cowboys, Justin was very patient with me and before long we had something that resembled the correct way to do it and I managed to rope him.
I've no idea why Hugh objected to me using him as target practice after I declared I couldn't rope with my eyes open and I was much better at it when I had my eyes closed! I wonder why!?
Result - you might make a cowgirl out of me yet!
Before long it was time to head into Meeteetse which is about half an hour away for a couple of drinks and to play some pool. The bars are just like you'd imagine a true cowboy bar to be like - on one side of the room you've got various animal heads hanging on the wall and on the other you've got several cowboys sitting at the bar either with their cowboy hat positioned closely next to them or on their heads where they belong. From the corner of the room you can hear one country song after another playing out the Juke Box which each cowboy almost takes it in turns to go up and put some dollars in. Several times I found myself taking a moment to stop, look around the room and simply breath everything in. It's almost as it time would stop still for those few seconds and each time I did it over the next three weeks I spotted something different about this town, the way the cowboys lived and then I thought of something else I'd miss once it came to returning home. Home, that seemed a million miles away from this place that had so much more to offer.Tuesday
When I entered todays entry into my handwritten diary I seem to have gone overboard on the amount of exclamation marks I used. I think today consitutes as one of the 'best days' I'll ever have, but I have a feeling I'm going to be saying that about a lot of my days on the ranch.
MaeCile, Paul and Hannah were all stumped as to where the horses were escaping from so it was up to us to put an end to the mystery once and for all today. We were required to ride and keep on riding until we found out where they were escaping. Initially when Paul pointed to where we would be riding I anticipated we would be riding around the mountains, not over them! At one stage riding up to the mountain I questioned with Hannah that we would be riding over "that". "Of course" she said, a little wearily. At that moment I must admit my heart stopped for a second. At home I'd never even imagine asking a horse to navigate its way up and down the mountain Hannah was adamant we were tackling! One of the ladies with us was scared of heights so making our way up was interesting. I wasn't panicking too much until I asked Hannah which route we were taking and she quietly replied "I don't know, I've never been this way before!". It was one of those moments where you know you have to keep calm, but inside you're absolutely bricking it. After what seemed like eternity we finally made it to where we wanted to be and Paul and Hannah went off exploring to find the route the escapees were taking. When they found where it was we all couldn't believe the horses would even contemplate going down there - and to say we were worried about going up the mountain we'd just gone up; it was nothing compared to what they were going up and down to get to the hay field.
After a few photos it was time to head back to the ranch and have an afternoon of relaxation. Cowboy Paul said he had to nip into the local town, Thermopolis to send some text messages and run some errands, so Hugh and I decided to head out with him whilst everyone had a nap or just relaxed.The three of us had such a lovely afternoon going in and out cowboy shops, playing pool and grabbing some supplies such as sweeties for our rides out. Everyone back at the ranch had given us a list of what they wanted so our small shop resulted in one large one!
Hugh and I had a fantastic time in the cowboy shop trying some hats on, looking at chaps, spurs and varying types of ropes. I made it my aim to buy a rope before I left to go back to England; I was determined to take one back home for all the Pony Club kids to have a go on. Overall it was a really nice afternoon spending time with the boys and listening to Cowboy Paul's stories, which never cease to amaze me.
On our drive back to the ranch Hannah text me to say the cowboy who had helped me with he roping from the previous evening wanted to know if I'd be interested in going out for dinner with her and the boy she was seeing as they were brothers. We had a fun evening, and it was great to experience how different America was to England.
Wednesday
We were supposed to be doing the long ride to Cow Camp today, but because Hannah had college we rescheduled it for another day. Instead we went on what is known as the windmill ride with Paul, who I'll never get tired of riding out with. Tina likes being up at the front so I'm quite lucky that I got to ride with Paul for most of the time. I think he knew I was quite keen to learn all there is to know about America and living out here in the wilderness, so tested me on certain droppings and what animal I thought they came from and so on - needless to say I only got about 1 out of 5 correct. I'm so English!
As we were riding along Paul began to talk about my bucket list and what else was on it. At first I was sceptical to talk about it, I wondered if he was asking just to be polite, but it turned out he wanted to help me cross as much off as I could whilst here at the ranch. I'll never forget his kindness and willingness to help me, as well as offering a friendly ear to listen to all I had to say. I told him I wanted to herd cows and have a faster ride on Tina at some point or when given the opportunity.
As if by magic as we were riding out we saw two neighbours cows that were loose and had escaped from their field. Paul explained that here, all neighbours help one another and because we had spotted the cows we were going to get them back and check they had water. He looked at me and said "here's your chance, go get your critter to get those cows!". (Here in America, they seem to call all animals critters; it took some getting used to as I wasn't sure what he meant at first!). I squealed with excitement as I sent Tina cantering up the hill in an attempt to round up the two cows and couldn't help but shout over to a fellow intern that this was the best holiday ever - to which she agreed! Tina knew exactly what she was doing and before long we were back with the rest of the group pushing the cows forward in a steady walk having got them on the right track.Paul thought the cows were escaping because of lack of water and wondered if their only source had dried up due to the hot weather, or if the pipes weren't working correctly. In the distance we could see a corral where we thought the source of water would be and when Paul mentioned we could ride up to there but it would take a while I gave him a cheeky smile and he replied "Oh go on, but pick someone to ride with you!" so I shouted to Clare and off we galloped to check for water. Tina is amazing, she just gets right on with the job in hand and I now know fully what MaeCile and Hannah meant about being a pony that's all about business. Clare and I had the best half an hour - we cantered around the corral looking for water, got stuck opening a gate as I couldn't manage it, cantered back to Paul, only to be sent back again and so on - it was as if time stood still and I didn't want the afternoon to end. Thankfully we found that the cows did have water and the two stragglers had simply escaped. We were all on cloud nine, especially Clare and I whom had both had the chance to do some faster work; in fact we were like cheshire cats grinning from ear-to-ear and keen to tell everyone else about our experience!
After lunch, albeit a little tired we all hiked up to the North fence to fix the fencing at the part where we thought the horses were escaping. Between us we carried all the tools, fencing posts, wire, cold drinks to keep us hydrated and so on. It was so great to see everyone rallying around together and helping one another. It was a long way up to walk carrying all the heavy tools, but we all kept each other in good spirits. It really made me realise the things we take for granted in England; we don't have to trek several miles up a mountain carrying tools because we have a jeep or quad bike and the hills aren't at all like the ones in Grass Creek. However here it's second nature - Paul didn't think twice about having to walk up there and was confused as to why we all emphasised "WALK, carrying all THAT?!".Soon enough we were done with fence fixing and all rushed home to have a shower and get ready before making our way into Meeteetse for dinner again. It was nice to have Nate and MaeCile join us for the evening, as well as Hannah's cowboy friends that taught some of us how to two step. Oh, I also managed to cross number 15 off my bucket list and get a photo of it this time. For those wondering what I'm on about, go on and check it out!
Thursday
Time is going far too quickly, I wish it would slow down. Today was another of those incredible days that will just stay engraved in both your head and heart forever. It turns out when Paul was asking me about my bucket list the day before, he had been listening with interest and intent to help me cross more things off. I'd told him I wanted to learn to shoot something like clay pigeons or similar and have another go at roping. Never in a million years did I expect him to throw a surprise in to our day on Thursday afternoon.....
To be continued...
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