Yoga Training

I will be gone October 4 - November 2 to the Sivananda Yoga Farm for Teacher's Training. It is in Grass Valley... I will come back a certified Yoga Instructor, and hopefully, my back will be feeling much better. Perhaps a new career? Maybe, but more importantly, a healed lower back. For more information: www.yogafarm.org

TRT - Big Meadow

On Sunday, Logan and I loaded the dogs PacMan and Smokey Mocha in the car and headed up to Tahoe. We parked at the Big Meadow trail head on the Tahoe Rim Trail and hiked for about 10 miles to Round Lake and Dardanelle's Lake. We had a lovely afternoon mountain rain shower come in. I really hope we get a lot of rain and snow this winter. The aspen leaves were fading to gold and the bushes were brightening to red. Lots of water in the creeks still, lots of water in the lakes. Lots of people hiking on Sunday, and lots of dogs. I can't wait to ride this section of the TRT with my horse, the footing is fantastic and the trail is so well maintained with lots of lakes and plenty of grass.

Photos: www.rosetrace.com/BigMeadow/BigMeadow.html

Echo Lake

Logan played hookie yesterday from work and we loaded up and took the horses to Echo Lake and the south side of the Desolation Wilderness. We picked up our friend Donna and her Spanish Arabian Venita on the way. We rode out from Echo Lake to Lake Aloha on the Tahoe Rim/ Pacific Crest Trail. The weather was perfect, the horses were perfect, and we had a blast. The leaves are changing colors quickly and we got a few good shots of the granite with the fall colors. This was a techincally challenging trail for the horses. Princess came with Logan, and I rode Feather. Princess is 22 and she handled herself wonderfully. She was very surefooted and even remembered to eat grass and dring plenty of water when it is available. We ended up just doing and out and back trip on the TRT/PCT trail and logged about 17.5 miles. The parking at Echo Lake is tricky for horse trailers. Good thing it was a Tuesday. I am going to try to talk Logan into playing hookie more often!

Photos are here http://www.rosetrace.com/EchoLake/EchoLake.html

Picayune Valley, Granite Chief Wilderness

We took a hike to the Granite Chief Wilderness and hiked through the Picayune Valley. This valley was unbelievably beautiful, quiet, and we think a great place to ride and camp. We took the dogs PacMan, Zelda, and Smokey Mocha (this was his first ever trip to a wilderness). Round trip we walked about 14 miles. The Aspen trees were spectacular and were just starting to have their leaves change gold for autumn. The trail we walked on followed the American River, so there was plenty of water for people and animals. Apparently there are petroglyps out there, but I was not able to find them. Bummer. The trip was an easy drive up past French Meadows Reservior and we parked at the Talbot Campgrounds. They have plenty of trailer parking for horses. Only downside is that it would be hard to make a "loop" ride here, it is basically just an out and back.

Here are the photos of the Granite Chief Wilderness. http://www.rosetrace.com/GraniteChief/GraniteChief.html

Loon Lake

Here are photos of Loon Lake located at the north end of the Desolation Wilderness. http://www.rosetrace.com/Loon08/Loon08.html We took Feather and Luigi. Logan rode Luigi on Luigi's first trail ride away from home. Notice the difficult terrain we choose for our little 4 year old.... We saw a bald eagle fly about 10 feet away from us as we were on the side of a cliff. So if you notice any random sky photos, look for the bald eagle. We rode out to Buck Island Lake, took a siesta, and rode back. Beautiful day, beautiful weather, perfect dog and horses!

Bryce Canyon Photos

Natalie Herman took photos at Bryce Canyon - you can see them here http://xprides.com/Bryce_2008/Bryce_2008.html. I am still kicking myself for misplacing my camera, which I found in the pocket of my windbreaker. Natalie's photos are gorgeous and they really capture the beauty of riding in Bryce.

Both of these photos were taken by her on the first day of the ride. THat was the warmest day. THe sky was so blue which made the rocks look so pink.