The day after our trip to Jerome, AZ (Friday, March 2nd), Jack and I finally were able to complete our Valentine Day’s plans. We had booked a private sunset horse back ride for Valentine’s Day, however, it rained ALL week here the week of February 14 (the first rains we had seen here since we arrived on January 15). After all that rain, the temperatures were pretty cold for this area during the winter or cloudy with NO sunshine, so no pretty sunset. Therefore, we kept postponing our trip.
We found Corral West Horse Adventures located in Estrella (pronounced: eh-stray-a) Mountain Regional Park through Google, and it wasn’t too far from our RV park. Our guide’s name was Alex, and his horse’s name was Cuervo. I rode Gunsmoke, and Jack rode Bomber.
Our guide, Alex, and his horse, Cuervo.
Gunsmoke was really gentle and easy to guide and do what I wanted him to do. However, when crossing a dried wash (a wash is an area in the flat bottoms of canyons/deserts and drainages that lack water at or near the surface most of the year; they are subject to periodic severe flash flooding events), Gunsmoke liked to go down slowly then gallop up the other side rather fast. I rather enjoyed that!
My horse, Gunsmoke.
Bomber, on the other hand, was … well a hand full! According to our guide, Bomber needed a “firm” hand from the rider. He would throw his head one way or the other until he decided that the rider wasn’t going to let him get away with not obeying the commands given through the reins. Jack and Bomber “butted heads” for about the first 15 minutes or so. Finally Bomber gave up and followed cowboy Jack’s directions.
Bomber, Jack, and Alex.
We road for about 45 minutes up the mountain to a corral like area for a 20 minute dinner break. We brought ham, cheese, crackers, strawberries, and a bottle of Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante along with a couple of wine glasses. It was lovely. We didn’t really have a view of the horizon to see the sunset (I was a little disappointed), but it was so quite and serene and the sky was lovely as it became dusk. After the dinner break, we rode up the mountain a little further and headed back to the corral by a different route.
The corral area where they have campfire cookouts, overnight camp outs, cowboy dinner parties, and more.
L to R: Bomber, Gunsmoke, Cuervo
View from the campfire cookout area.
If you look closely on the top left side of the horizon, you can see the University of Phoenix’s stadium where the Arizona Cardinal football team plays.
L to R: Jack, me, and our guide, Alex.
While we were stopped at the campfire cookout area, Jack tried his hand at cowboy roping. They had a plastic head of bull mounted on a bale of hay. I must admit, I was pretty impressed with Jack’s roping ability. He roped the steer on the first try.
Cowboy Jack getting ready to rope the black steer head on the hay bale.
Look at that form!
I can’t believe I caught that loop right before it went over the black steer head!
I have loved horses all my life. My mom’s Uncle Herbie in Iowa had horses, and every time we visited (which wasn’t often enough), we would get to ride. Even though I grew up in the city (St. Louis – South County area), I still found a way to ride occasionally. I found a place out of the city on the way to Eureka. MO, that had trail rides, hayrides, etc. They even let frequent customers (like me) who they knew could ride fairly well, go out into some open fields and ride at whatever pace they chose (I loved going fast!). It’s probably been 25 or more years since the last time I rode a horse. I think the last time I was on a horse was in the mid 1980s when Jack’s cousin, Jim Boze, decided he would take this “city” girl on a horseback ride through this huge ranch and watch me struggle to stay on the horse. I think I pleasantly surprised and impressed him when I actually kept up with him and didn’t fall off or complain!
After our two and a half hour horseback adventure, I think it’s safe to say, Jack and I had a wonderful time, and we were both a little sore the next day! However, the fun we had was well worth it!
Jack with his horse, Bomber, and me with Gunsmoke. Alex’s horse, Cuervo, is in the picture on the right.
I can’t wait to tell you about the adventure we took on March 6!
So for now ….. “On the Road Again!”
Betty