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| Getting ready to ride at the Bill Cody Ranch |
Ever since my guys took their first horse ride in Canyon de Chelly National Park, they’ve been hooked on horses. And since you can’t really go to a dude ranch without riding a horse, I was thrilled that the Bill Cody Ranch offered trail rides of various lengths.
We decided on a two hour trail ride since our horse experience is minimal, but this was plenty of time for us to enjoy the amazing scenery of the Shoshone National Forest surrounding the ranch.
I have to admit that I was a little wary when I noticed large rifle slung along our trail guides’ packs to take care of “friends” that had recently been spotted along the trail. But our guide reassured us that it was far too hot for bears . . . the rifle was just a precaution.
Gulp.
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| Can’t see it, but the rifle’s on the other side . . . |
The horses knew the way along the trail, so there was little for us to do except admire the views and focus on keeping our horses from snacking on grass or drinking too much water . . .
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| Amazing views in the Shoshone National Forest |
. . . or getting too close to the horse in front of you . . .
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| Keeping distance between horses is always good . . . |
. . . which unfortunately my youngest guy discovered when he got kicked in the ankle by my horse. Thankfully, he was wearing long pants and his hiking boots, so other than some hurt pride (and some good-natured ribbing by my oldest . . .), he was okay.
I don’t think he’s going to be a cowboy anytime soon, though . . .
For wanna-be cowpokes, the Bill Cody Ranch offers longer trail rides of four hours (lunch included), all-day (with a cookout), and overnight trips for the adventurous. All rides are open to the public, so you don’t have to stay at the Bill Cody Ranch (though I highly recommend this low-key, no frills dude ranch) to enjoy the trail rides.
Sixty-seven places visited, 433 to go!
