Zazo in Training

We have a new horse, a 6 year old Arab.  He's still in the learning and conditioning phase.

He's coming along well.  At the Strawberry Fields Endurance Ride, he completed 25 mile events two days in a row, no problem.  He'll be ready for 50 mile events soon.  He's a tall boy, so he'll be Steve's ride.

Sugar also completed 25's at Strawberry.  She loves to go, and she's already proven she can do 50 mile events.

While training on a mountain near home, we saw this rare white bitterroot.  There were only a few of them in a big meadow at about 8000 feet.

In the early spring, we saw a lot of Balsamroot, with their bright yellow flowers.

A week ago, Zazo discovered chicory in bloom.  He liked it.

On the Yellow Fork trail, an animal hid in the brush.  Can you spot her?

On a trail near Woodland, Utah, we found  the world's most pitiful excuse for a gate, shown above.  The feed bags are supposed to be a warning that wire is present, I presume.  The yellow sign says "Please close the gate".  The word "gate" must be someone's idea of a joke.

The mountains north of Strawberry Reservoir are at their wildflower peak in late July.  We took a lot of photos there.

With Zazo coming on board, we had to find places for Boss and Coco, who are both in the 18 to 20 year range, a little old for endurance, but still a good age for 4-H or general trail riding. Fortunately, we were able to find good homes for both of them.  Mischief is 27 now and doing great for his age.  We hope he'll be giving rides to the grandchildren for many years to come.

Waterfalls and Rainbows

Much of the hiking in the Wasatch Mountains is a challenge for kids, but we've found a few hikes in the foothills that are short enough to be fun for young children.  From the Rocky Mouth trailhead, a trail follows a gentle stream to a waterfall. 

Our daughter an her family at Rocky Mouth waterfall

The walk is mostly shaded, so it's acceptable even in hot weather.

Frothy stream below waterfall

The hike to Big Spring, up Provo Canyon, has pretty views.

The wildflowers were blooming along a stream in late June.

Monkeyflower

Monkshood

Western Polemonium

Another short hike is up Ferguson Canyon.  This is an area where our boys did a lot of rock climbing in their teenage years.  The big attraction for the little kids was the Rainbow Tree.  There's no rainbow color, but the shape is right and the kids were impressed.

After a rainstorm, this real rainbow dressed up the mountain in front of our house.

All in the Family

Sometimes we explore trails with kiddos instead of horses.
Around July 4th, we had the whole family in town.

With 8 kids ranging in age from 1 to 12, choosing an acceptable hike was a challenge, especially with daytime highs in the valley at over 100.
We chose a location up Big Cottonwood Canyon, near Guardsman Pass.  A shady trail at high altitude made for a pleasant activity.

The destination was Shadow Lake, where rock throwing and critter hunting were popular.

Baby Z had fun dipping her toes in the water.

One evening, we all went to a local rodeo.

Mostly, though, we just enjoyed each other's company.