We started off on Sunday morning to catch a flight out to Vegas and began our week long adventure with a toast of Bloody Mary's on the plane.
During the flight, the weather was nice and the pilot was able to point out the Sandia Mountains and then the Grand Canyon for us. We got to Vegas early in the day, had no desire to visit the strip so we just walked over to the Hard Rock Hotel and ate at a fabulous Chinese restaurant called "FU" which means luck in English. The service was over the top and the food was awesome. We shared it family style between the three of us.
We met our fellow riders in the lobby of our hotel at 7:00pm and then the trip started feeling real and we were ready to get started bright and early at 5:00am the next morning.
DAY ONE
Zion National Park
41 guests loaded on to the tour bus the next morning ready for a wonderful week. We drove till 7:00am and stopped in Mesquite, NV for a hearty breakfast at the casino buffet. Back on the bus and according to our host, Robert, we will cross the Virgin River 7 times. He keeps up a running dialog of history and jokes to keep us entertained. After a while, we pull in to Zion National Park for our first ride. Pete asks us a couple of questions and matches us to our mount for the week. My only request was for something under 15 hands; I didn't care whether I got a horse or a mule. I was matched up with a cute little bay QH gelding named Sanka. Cathy got a tall molly mule named Geraldine and Jenny was given a funny colored nice gelding named Snowy River.
We were separated into two groups and each group was assigned 3 wranglers. Our awesome wranglers for the week were Hank, Swaney and Curley. We were assigned to "A" group and our group rode out about 20 minutes ahead of "B" group. We rode for 3 hours in Zion on single track trails up and down with wonderful views. We scrabbled up one narrow, steep trail that had been reinforced with concrete. It was a little slippery with metal shoes, buy my pony did well. It was hot, but not crazy hot. We crossed 2 creeks - one was flowing pretty quickly. Back at the corrals, we were asked if we wanted to continue using the same horse and I said yes. We sat down in the shade to enjoy a sack lunch and a cold beer while we waited for the second group to come back.
Jenny on Snowy
Back on the bus headed to the ranch with a quick stop at a country store for some ice cream. Within an hour we were at our home for the next 4 days. Red Rock Ranch is on the Mangum's property. A big open barn structure for meeting, eating and dancing, a row of cute little log style cabins with converted horse trailer shower/restrooms at each end.
We end day one with a shower and a wonderful steak dinner by the Houston's.
DAY TWO
Bryce Canyon
Hot breakfast at 7:00am and load on the bus at 8:30. Short 20-30 min trip to beautiful Bryce Canyon. We find our mounts and our wranglers get us on our way. Within the first 10 minutes of our ride, we went down a steep switchback that had my heart thumping. We were told that the animals like to walk on the edge so they can see where the drop off is. When you are turning back, it looks as if you will walk out into thin air. That took a little bit for me to settle in and trust my horse. He did so well taking care of me. He stepped carefully downhill and dug in on the uphills. I have no words to describe Bryce so I will let our photos do it for me. We saw trees that were thousands of years old, delighted at the hoodoos and new views around every corner. There was one tunnel/opening that we went through with a quick, steep switchback that was called Devil's Slide that was pretty skeery.
After an amazing 3 hours, we stopped for lunch on the trail. Believe it or not...we were treated to lasagna, salad, fruit, rolls and cold drinks. We were given the option of going on for another 3-1/2 hours on a fun trail through BLM property that they call the Man from Snowy River Ride because of a couple of really steep descents..... or..... a quick 1-1/2 hours straight back to the bus. We chose the longer ride and I'm glad we did. We were able to spread out and not have to go single file for most of the rest of the ride. The terrain was varied, lots of sagebrush, with a very steep ascent at one point and two scary, slidey descents. It was loads of fun. Cathy's mule, Geraldine, stumbled and went down on her front knees just before our lunch stop and then tripped several more times, so she asked for a new mule for the next day. When we got back to the bus, we were greeted again with coolers of ice water, soda and beer.
Cathy on Geraldine
Another relaxing evening back at camp with another generous meal and a talented teenage girl from the local high school providing our entertainment by singing and playing spoons. I know...spoons?, but it was pretty cool.
DAY THREE
Butch Cassidy Trail
Cathy is assigned a new john mule named Bill and they hit it off great. He has a personality to match Cathy. Group A was going on the Butch Cassidy Trail today after dropping of the B group to do the Thunder Mountain Trail. We will swap tomorrow. The Butch Cassidy Trail had a lot of western folklore concerning Butch Cassidy and his hideouts in the local canyons which was relayed to us by our wranglers. Our wranglers worked extra hard...they ate with us in the morning, left early to get the animals ready, helped us on and off, made sure we drank plenty of water, gave us history lessons, entertained us with their stories and knowledge of the land, served us dinner in the evening and generally made themselves available to us. I guess their families just don't get to see them during these weeks. Back to the ride...this was a nice long 5-6 hour ride that made you imagine you were back in the old west and waiting for bandits around any corner. It wasn't too scary until bad weather rolled in with rain and lightning. I am irrationally terrified of lightning ever since a tree was struck very close to me and Stylin a few years back. I dismounted to put my rain slicker on and Sanka backed into a tree while I was getting back on. He started acting real antsy and kept running into trees - butt first or sideways. I thought it might be my slicker, so I just kept on riding and tried to calm him down. We had a potty break about 15-20 minutes later (try squatting in a pouring rain with a slicker on) and since Sanka was still acting out, I had a wrangler check out his rear and legs to see if a stick or something was lodged somewhere. We didn't find anything so I mounted up and kept going. He started to settle down a little and Cathy, who was riding behind me, noticed hives on his butt and not long after he got them all the way up to his neck. As we continued, he started slowing down, was not as responsive and began to have labored breathing. At our lunch break, we took his saddle off, the wranglers gave him some Benadryl and water and we let him rest. The whole group waited an additional 20 minutes past our regularly scheduled lunch break for Sanka to feel better. There was no way out other than to keep going. I felt really bad for little Sanka, but his welts went down and he seemed to be doing better. I rode him out slowly, let him choose his own pace and stopped to let him rest again. He looked normal but still had rapid breathing. We made it the last 4 or 5 miles and he was tended to at the barn. There was no way that I could have walked that distance on my own in the unaccustomed altitude. The staff think he had an allergic reaction to a bite or sting on his sheath. (No wonder he was dancing around)
This ride lasted about 4 hours. Our group loaded up on the bus and visited a wildlife museum and a gift shop on the way back to camp. Pete took us on a farm tour to see his whole operation. How the alfalfa is grown and cubed for all the stock. Pete and Keela have about 250 head of stock that work at Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon. We also visited our horses and toured the small town of Tropic, UT.
Thankfully, Sanka looked a lot better and he will continue to rest for a few more days. We had another big dinner then the guests performed (at least some of the guests, not me) in a talent show. Some cute skits and poems were pretty entertaining. Gotta pack up and get ready for a 30 mile ride tomorrow. We'll say goodbye to our cute cabin tomorrow and stay in a motel in Knab, Utah for the next two nights.
DAY FIVE
Paria Canyon Ride
30 miles; started at 7:30am, finished at 3:45 pm. This fun ride had lots of sand, mud and some quicksand.
We got to spread out today and mingle with our fellow riders. No single track trails today. The beginning of the ride was cool and shady but as the sun come over the cliffs we started cooking. Luckily, clouds formed before we roasted to death. The four mule hitch wagon joined us today. One fellow decided he didn't want to ride 30 miles so he rode in the wagon. I think he'll tell you that was a mistake. That wagon bounced, jounced, about tipped over and almost got stuck a couple of times. The wranglers pointed out petroglyphs made by ancient indians on the canyon walls and told of towns built and lost to flash floods. Cold beers, water, sodas and ICE CREAM waited for us at the end of the ride. This was the longest one day ride that I've ever done and I was surprised that I wasn't that sore. I really love these hard seat saddles that they build for the animals and am checking into getting one.
**** Edited to add some videos that Cathy took with her helmet mounted Go Pro ***
This is our first switchback and view of Bryce Canyon - LINK
DAY THREE
Butch Cassidy Trail
Cathy is assigned a new john mule named Bill and they hit it off great. He has a personality to match Cathy. Group A was going on the Butch Cassidy Trail today after dropping of the B group to do the Thunder Mountain Trail. We will swap tomorrow. The Butch Cassidy Trail had a lot of western folklore concerning Butch Cassidy and his hideouts in the local canyons which was relayed to us by our wranglers. Our wranglers worked extra hard...they ate with us in the morning, left early to get the animals ready, helped us on and off, made sure we drank plenty of water, gave us history lessons, entertained us with their stories and knowledge of the land, served us dinner in the evening and generally made themselves available to us. I guess their families just don't get to see them during these weeks. Back to the ride...this was a nice long 5-6 hour ride that made you imagine you were back in the old west and waiting for bandits around any corner. It wasn't too scary until bad weather rolled in with rain and lightning. I am irrationally terrified of lightning ever since a tree was struck very close to me and Stylin a few years back. I dismounted to put my rain slicker on and Sanka backed into a tree while I was getting back on. He started acting real antsy and kept running into trees - butt first or sideways. I thought it might be my slicker, so I just kept on riding and tried to calm him down. We had a potty break about 15-20 minutes later (try squatting in a pouring rain with a slicker on) and since Sanka was still acting out, I had a wrangler check out his rear and legs to see if a stick or something was lodged somewhere. We didn't find anything so I mounted up and kept going. He started to settle down a little and Cathy, who was riding behind me, noticed hives on his butt and not long after he got them all the way up to his neck. As we continued, he started slowing down, was not as responsive and began to have labored breathing. At our lunch break, we took his saddle off, the wranglers gave him some Benadryl and water and we let him rest. The whole group waited an additional 20 minutes past our regularly scheduled lunch break for Sanka to feel better. There was no way out other than to keep going. I felt really bad for little Sanka, but his welts went down and he seemed to be doing better. I rode him out slowly, let him choose his own pace and stopped to let him rest again. He looked normal but still had rapid breathing. We made it the last 4 or 5 miles and he was tended to at the barn. There was no way that I could have walked that distance on my own in the unaccustomed altitude. The staff think he had an allergic reaction to a bite or sting on his sheath. (No wonder he was dancing around)
Sanka
DAY FOUR
Thunder Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Today is our Thunder Mountain Ride. We pack our lunch and get on the bus. Sanka is still not 100% so I get assigned a nice, little QH mule name Jen.
The ride was challenging with lots of ups and downs, switchbacks and a hogsback crossing which was a ridge with both side sloping down away from us.
No incidents and no bad weather today. It started off cool and warmed up quickly. Many very beautiful vistas of Red Rock Canyon.
My new ride, Jen
Thankfully, Sanka looked a lot better and he will continue to rest for a few more days. We had another big dinner then the guests performed (at least some of the guests, not me) in a talent show. Some cute skits and poems were pretty entertaining. Gotta pack up and get ready for a 30 mile ride tomorrow. We'll say goodbye to our cute cabin tomorrow and stay in a motel in Knab, Utah for the next two nights.
DAY FIVE
Paria Canyon Ride
30 miles; started at 7:30am, finished at 3:45 pm. This fun ride had lots of sand, mud and some quicksand.
We got to spread out today and mingle with our fellow riders. No single track trails today. The beginning of the ride was cool and shady but as the sun come over the cliffs we started cooking. Luckily, clouds formed before we roasted to death. The four mule hitch wagon joined us today. One fellow decided he didn't want to ride 30 miles so he rode in the wagon. I think he'll tell you that was a mistake. That wagon bounced, jounced, about tipped over and almost got stuck a couple of times. The wranglers pointed out petroglyphs made by ancient indians on the canyon walls and told of towns built and lost to flash floods. Cold beers, water, sodas and ICE CREAM waited for us at the end of the ride. This was the longest one day ride that I've ever done and I was surprised that I wasn't that sore. I really love these hard seat saddles that they build for the animals and am checking into getting one.
Cathy on Bill
Jenny on Snowy (she renamed him Reverend for the week)
DAY SIX
Grand Canyon Ride
As we ride the bus, Keela gives us more history of the forest around the canyon and an awful time in 2006 when fire destroyed much of it and put their animals into danger. We hit our highest elevation yet... 8,840. We get an hour and a half to wander around the lodge and area surrounding. Jenny and Cathy get their first view of the Grand Canyon from the veranda at the lodge. Cathy is braver than me and walks out on a precipice with what looks like a rickety railing to get a better view. We sit and take in the canyon for a while, then browse through the gift shops. After a bag lunch we board the bus at noon for a short ride to where our mules for the day are kept. Luckily, Cathy's mule Bill, and my mule Jen are Grand Canyon mules so we didn't have to change mounts. Jenny was given a pretty mule name Ruthy who was just a little skittish of the hikers.
Jenny on Ruthy
We got on our mules and hit the trail at 12:30. The anticipations was much greater than the difficulty of the ride. There were a couple of turns that were wide open but otherwise there was vegetation along the trail that acted as our security blanket. We rode down for about an hour to a large ledge with water and restrooms for a 1/2 hour break, then back up the same trail. I was disappointed that we didn't get to go through the Supai Tunnel or see Roaring Springs. Don't get me wrong, it was very beautiful and maybe just what we needed to end our week of riding.
As we head back to Knab on the bus, we see SNOW on the ground between the trees. That was weird as the temp at the Canyon was about 85. We had a wonderful prime rib dinner at the Houston's restaurant. the wranglers brought family members and each guest was asked to tell of most memorable moments on the ride. My best and worst ride was the Butch Cassidy Trail. I loved the trails but hated the lightning and the fact that my pony got sick. After a wonderful evening, we were all presented with a Red Rock Ride photo from Bryce Canyon, a Muleteer Certificate and an embroidered denim jacket. What a nice finishing touch.
The wranglers took such good care of us and seemed to have a good time doing it. What a way to earn part of your living!
In wrapping this up, I would recommend this ride to anyone. It was fabulous all the way around.
Check them out at Red Rock Ride.
I took all but the group photo with my cell phone camera and here are the rest of the pictures I have.
Jenny took her good camera, so I'm hoping for some really nice pictures to add soon.
This is our first switchback and view of Bryce Canyon - LINK
