Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Back to the Bighorn

Last week we once again headed west to the Yaha Tinda ranch. Unlike last time when we stayed at the Eagle Creek Campground this time we went right into the ranch and joined our friends, Ken and Verna Pohl, at the Bighorn Campground. It is situated alongside Bighorn Creek and the effects of last June's flooding were still evident, but still a beautiful spot.

The view from our campsite
The picture above not withstanding the first three days of our stay the weather was spectacular with warm temperatures and hardly a cloud in the sky. We got on the road early the first day so once we set up camp, said our hello's, we saddled up and headed across the Red Deer River and up to Hidden Falls. This is one of our favourite spots here in the valley and always a nice ride.

Always nice to have Big Ben along to scout the river crossings
For those who know Ken and Verna's ponies, Beauty didn't shrink, she is on vacation and Seeker is filling in.
Willow is thinking "Nope, not me, no way"

This is a good trail to remember your rubber soled boots on
Hidden Falls


Tomorrow's Ride

Wednesday we enjoyed a nice breakfast and a great campfire and then got ready to head up to the Sheep Cliffs. All the years we have been riding here we have never made the turn up towards the Cliffs. It is a long climb and the trail although not rocky has a fair amount of exposed roots that your mount has to negotiate.

Lots of up and lots of roots
Some of the rest stops come with spectacular views
Along this trail you climb out above tree line




And the views get better and better

And once you get to the top it is time to rest up for the ride down.


More and more beautiful views as we dropped back down the 3400 feet to our camp in the valley.


Fall is definitely in the air up here in the high country.

Day 3 we saved for one of my favourites rides on the ranch, the rest of the world call it Poplar Bluff, but we just call it the High Trail. It is not as high as Sheep Cliffs but it sure has some nice views along the way.


Beautiful ladies, fast horses and spectacular scenery

Brenda just had to let her go for bit!
Ken, Verna, and Penny enjoying the view from our lunchspot
The Pohl Gang
The next day a little rain came into the valley and the Pohl's headed for home. Later in the evening, well a lot later, actually early in the morning we got new neighbours, Mike and Shauuna Lewis. They, their horses and three dogs arrived in the wee hours and we spent the next day getting to know them and their dogs, Night, Ruger and Watson.


Mikes Yukon Candle

Here is a look at our rides on the ranch this year from Google



A couple of posts back I wrote about saying goodbye to our motorhome, well the deal went through and with a little horse trading our travelling style is changing but we are still travelling even though I think we need a little bigger turn around at both Dogpounds. We still have lots of room but with this rig we can take along a bunch of our four legged friends.



12 comments:

  1. The Big Horns are just incredible no matter what time of year you're enjoying them. We need to see some pictures of the inside of that rig - the human part.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm amazed at the incredible beauty of the Big Horns, so wonderful you can get out there and enjoy them and share those great pictures with all of us, too. :c)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome scenery! Looks like a fun time for you and Brenda.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your photos sure showed what a beautiful ride you had in the Big Horns. The horses must be pretty nimble to negotiate some of those steep trails - I guess it helps to have 4 legs.

    That's a long trailer you're pulling. Do the horses get the front or the back??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great photos of your journey. Those high vistas are truly stunning! I never tire of seeing the countryside and reading about your four legged journeys.

    Nice horse and RV combo trailer you guys now have.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JB that's a mighty fine looking horse wagon you got there.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What's your total length going down the road in that beautiful setup? The views & pictures are fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Paul, that is a question you don't ask!!! Ialways replied to that question by saying "I don't know, I never measured it"! Although seceretly I knew I was 90' long. Went coast to coast and border to border and never was stopped.

    Nice lookin rig John. However that being said, you need a bigger truck!! Like a Volvo 770, with the big sleeper cab and the 475hp engine and of course the 10 speed autoshift tranny...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like a fun excursion! Great pictures too! And I like the Google shot - haven't seen one like that before. Some of those horse and hiking trails looked a little iffy… great post!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great pictures. It definetely looks like you enjoyed yourself. I need to take a trip here as well after I find something as I search for new rvs in PA


    Keith

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just to clear up some misconceptions this ride wasn't in the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming, it was in the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies along Bighorn Creek on the Yaha Tinda Ranch in Alberta's West Country.

    ReplyDelete