Tevis 2010--Prologue and the Trip West

Prologue

2010 found me again contemplating Tevis. I made the trip west in 2008, arriving in Auburn 24 hours before Tevis was cancelled due to fires. The trip was not a total wash as I headed back east and hooked north to ride the Big Horn 100 in northern WY that was scheduled for the same weekend as Tevis that year. Boomer completed the 100 with 40 mins left on the clock. He hit some really low points between 60 and 75 miles on that ride but had come back to life in the final 25 miles. It was an awesome ride and one I want to repeat.

Still, the Tevis dream lived on. I again entered in 2009 after battling saddle fit problems most of the season. I thought I had them licked but a final 20 mile conditioning ride on July 4th showed me I was wrong. I cancelled without ever leaving the driveway and put Boomer out into the pasture for a few months to let his back recover so I could again start the process of getting a good saddle fit. It took a good portion of the next year but I finally got it about 97% right. A tough 75 on a north GA mountain on Memorial weekend was the final test and Boomer passed it with flying colors. I sent the entry in that following week and began the final preparations. It happened rather quickly and not within the plan I had laid out the previous summer when I had decided to aim another horse towards Tevis. She, however, had some issues over the ride season to include a tie up and I never was able to get enough miles on her to feel comfortable with such an event as Tevis. So, sometimes Plan B turns into Plan A and turns out to be the better plan in the long run.

During the trip in 2008, the unexpected "dry run" Boomer had not eaten well and had lost a considerable amount of weight by the time I got him to CA. He did start eating once I started the trip back east and had traveled well since then but none of the trips had been longer than a day. It would be nice to travel with another person and horse but I wasn't sure if my rig could handle hauling 2 horses that distance. My riding buddy of the past few years and on all 75 miles of Longstreet's Charge started mulling over Tevis herself. Chris and Farley are an awesome team and Farley and Boomer share the same "no rush, we'll get it done" attitude when going down the trail. This is not always a good thing as they sometimes seem to really get into a "no rush" mood and keeping them motivated can be tough. But they do get it done and sometimes even faster than we thought.

We discussed using Chris' rig as she has a living quarters trailer and mine consists of a pop up camper that decided it had popped up for the last time prior to Memorial weekend (the final "pop" was not a good sound as I started to put it up at that ride and once I saw that a bracket had pulled away from the frame, I quickly closed it back down and called it good). The problem became one of time away from work--Chris' workplace just couldn't be without her for the 3 weeks the trip would require. We were bummed and that was that. Or so we thought. A mutual friend suggested to Chris that I take her horse out and she fly out to ride, thus only needing to be away a few days instead of 3 weeks. After a suspenseful week, Chris' boss agreed and we were scrambling to coordinate the plans. Chris had a flight booked in less than 30 mins after getting the OK and this was AFTER she faxed the entry form! There are very few horses I would be OK with hauling as a 2nd horse to my own, especially when going alone but Farley is a chocolate lab dog in disguise and truly one of the easiest horses I've ever handled in 35 years of horse ownership. I felt honored to be trusted with Chris' best friend Farley and relieved that everything went well over the 3 weeks. I could not have lived with myself had something happened to him.

The Trip West

I drove up to Hahira, GA after work on Friday, July 9th. Chris was to meet me at the Linahan's farm where we would spend the night and get everything ready to roll the next day. I was worn out from a hard week at work plus the numerous last minute preparations. It seems that no matter how long of a lead in time I have, I am always scrambling with things at the end. This time was no exception. I had to excuse myself and leave Chris to finish packing stuff into my trailer. I was so tired that I was asleep within minutes and didn't even hear Chris going in and out of the trailer. The next morning everything was ready, all neatly packed. And I don't think anything was forgotten!

I got rolling up the road with a destination of Mount Vernon, IL for our overnight stopover. I used the same stopovers that I used in 2008 since I knew the ins and outs of them from that trip. This was the longest leg of the trip--about 585 miles. Atlanta went by easily but not too many miles north the interstate slowed to a crawl. Nothing worse than a traffic jam with horses in tow on a hot day while driving a stick shift truck. I listened to an audio book as we inched along. My phone rang and it was Chris. She asked out the traffic jam was going! Seems another friend, Shelley Scott Jones, who has a summer home in north GA was heading south and recognized my rig. She called yet another friend (Jackie Baker) who called and left Chris a message, telling me to "stay right" as the accident was in the center of the interstate. Sure enough, when I got to the source of the backup, there it was in the center of the interstate--an Expedition that had been towing a cargo trailer had rolled. It was on the wrecker as I went by. As bad a day as I was having dealing with the traffic, it wasn't as bad as that guy's. Traffic quickly got back up to speed and all was good. I went up and over Mount Eagle, TN without any problems, boistering my spirits that my truck could handle the load. And it continued to do so throughout the trip other than one occasion. I had just entered southern IL when again the interstate ground to a halt. Another accident ahead.

This time I could see the emergency vehicles so I was a lot closer to the incident. But instead of creeping along, we were completely stopped as a medical helicopter flew in. It sat on the ground for at least 20 mins. I never saw if anyone was loaded into it or not. While we were parked, I opened up the trailer some more for better air flow. The horses were entertained by some donkeys in a pasture on the other side of the interstate. You'd have thought they'd never seen such creatures! At least the boys were alert! Finally we were moving again. I had called the barn owner to let him know I was going to be later than expected and he was fine with that. Nice stopover--Richardson Stables in Mt Vernon, IL. VERY clean and large stalls and super nice owner.

I enjoy leaving early in the morning and watching as the day comes to life. The scenery along the interstate between Mt Vernon and St Louis is one of fields and farms. Very pretty and restful. Then once you hit St Louis, you are greeted with the sight of the magnificent arch. Several years ago I had the opportunity to do some sight-seeing in St Louis and the arch was my first stop. The views from the top are spectacular and the ride up in the little tram carts are interesting and not something for those who fear tight places.

I hit rain as I went through Kansas City. And there was construction on the interstate. Not a fun combination to deal with when towing a trailer. This time the accident was on the other side of the interstate. I was impressed with the construction of a bridge over one of the big rivers (you cross the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Missouri rivers; some of them you cross more than once, something I've yet to figure out!).

The next stopover was in York, NE at a private overnight stabling farm, Diamond B, out in the middle of cornfields. Farley got a shock when he looked out of his stall window only to find a large cow standing right there. His expression was priceless! The next morning showed rain on the radar and sure enough, it was raining once I got on the interstate. Fortunately, the rain was moving east while I was heading west so it only was an hour or so before we were out of it. Nebraska is a long state to drive across but it's interesting to see how the terrain changes from the flat fields of corn in the east to more rolling terrain (with corn still) and then to open prairie at the west end of the state. I-80 follows the Platte River so most of the trip is flat and easy driving. There were numerous signs and even monuments to the past as I headed west.

I used the Cabelas in west NE as my long stop for the day, refilling hay nets and water buckets before doing some shopping. Only bought a few things but enjoyed the break looking at cool Cabelas stuff. They have a few pens set up for horses, something I didn't notice until after I left.

The next overnight stop was at the fairgrounds in Rawlins. I was able to use 2 of the pens near the area for the horses so they had plenty of room to walk around and roll. You pay for the use of the place by placing your money in a little lock box-- the honor system. Not the fanciest place around but do-able.

So far, everything was going well. Nice and uneventful, until the morning I was to leave Rawlins. I was stepping out of the camper for the 2nd time that morning, on the way to boot and then load up the horses. Instead of stepping down onto the step stool, I failed to stay in the moment and stepped across to the tongue of the trailer. I'd done it many times before without a problem. This time was not one of them. I rolled my right ankle, coming down with my full weight. There were a couple of loud pops as the ankle gave. Stars lit up the morning and nausea swept over me. I could not believe what had just happened. I had potentially ruined my chance to ride Tevis by being stupid and careless. As I rocked and gasped in pain, I fumed over the incident. Eventually I was able to hobble and get the horses ready to travel. I was so thankful that Farley was easy and that Boomer cooperated and didn't drag me as I limped along. Of course I couldn't find the elastic Ace bandage I knew I had somewhere in the rig. Nothing to do but drive on so I did, 100 miles to the next town of Rock Springs which had a Walmart. I bought an Ace bandage plus replenished my ice for the ice bag I had. I was thankful the cruise control on the truck worked. And I was thankful that the day was only about 520 miles of traveling. I had called my workplace and they felt I should see a doctor but I declined, worried that a doctor would want to cast my leg, thus really ending my Tevis ride plans. I figured that I had 11 days before the ride and that with care and use of the splint and pain meds, I'd manage. It's not always a good thing being a nurse who works at a military clinic servicing the Special Operations community . . . some of their hard headedness rubs off after a while! The photos below are how things looked 2 days later. The colors only grew more extenstive before bigging to fade.

To take my mind off my ankle, I tried to take in the views. WY is a ruggedly beautiful state. It's also a very windy state and I saw that they had taken advantage of those winds by putting up windmill farms. Those white windmills creep me out for some reason and there were plenty of them to see.

After leaving WY, you enter UT. Red rock lines the interstate. When hauling horses, you must stop at the port of entry in UT and complete a form. Failure to stop can result in a fine, just like in FL. Over some mountains and down into Salt Lake City we traveled and then we were crossing the salt flats. I always stop on either side of this stretch because it is long and desolate and I don't trust fuel gauges!

Once across the flats, it's NV time. Climb over a mountain, drive across the long flat basins, climb a mountain, repeat several times.

I reached Elko, NV and stopped at a CVS pharmacy. There I found the ankle brace I was envisioning. It was the same type that let me finish the Big Horn when my left ankle had decided it no longer wanted to play, flopping over and not bearing weight for no obvious reason (although after discussion with a neurologist about the left hip/buttock pain I had that same day we decided it was due to sciatic nerve impingement). I got the horses settled for the night, propped my damaged swollen bruised ankle up on a pillow, took something for the pain, and went to sleep.

The final day of the trip was a short one of about 400 miles. The Nevade miles were easy ones. I made a stop just east of Reno at a Walmart and bought a pair of cheap sneakers that were wider than the trail running shoes I'd been wearing. Made it a lot easier to get on and off. I checked on the horses and was startled to see Farley's eyes looking back at me. Not only had he gotten his fly mask off but he'd also gotten out of his halter somehow. I was able to lean over the divider and retrieve both items; neither was damaged nor was Farley other than a small scrape over one eye that may not have been there prior to starting the day. One of those weird horse "how on earth did you do THAT?!" things. Got him set back up and away we went.

At the NV/CA border, there's construction. Seems it was there 2 years ago as well. The interstate narrows to a single lane west with barricades on either side. It was a white knuckle drive for me and I'm sure there were many drivers behind me cursing. I was happy when I caught up with a semi--now it was HIS fault we were going slow!

I'd forgotten how rough I-80 is over the Sierras and how scary it is for a Florida driver. I looked over to the south of the interstate and thought about how the ride across those very mountains as I soaked in their beauty. Those CA miles crawled by as I cautiously drove along but soon the ups and downs eased and the signs for Auburn came into view.





With relief I had made it to the fairgrounds without anything more than a damaged ankle. Gene, the Tevis "greeter" was waiting and directed me to the barn where Boomer and Farley would call home. Livestock 2, probably the best barn to be in for the horses although the humans would tire of the hikes up and down the hill. I quickly settled the horses and then made a run for shavings and hay. Once I got the shavings spread into the stalls, the horses rolled in appreciation. And the hay! Boomer LOVED the California grass hay. He isn't much of a hay eater ordinarily but he was enthusiastic about the west coast stuff. Farley had been eating hay quite well while picking at his feed. Both were drinking well and seemed to settle in just fine. Now the wait would begin.