Arrowhead Ranch: Riding to Sonic on Route 66 Trail

Recently, my friend Loeta and I decided to plan a ride to the Sonic Restaurant located in our little town of Edgewood on Route 66. I had already mapped out our route many months ago when I put a ride to Sonic on my Bucket List, so we were ready to go. So, Loeta came over and we left from my house. And our fun adventure began!

Apache and I ready to ride to Sonic.

My husband thought it was a unique and fun thing to to do, and he was off work for the day, so he offered to stop and take some photos of us along our journey and when we finally arrived at Sonic. So many of the following photos were taken by him.

Loeta on her gelding Profe and me on my Apache mare on the Route 66 trail.

Believe it or not, Loeta and I did not plan or coordinate what clothes we were going to wear that day. So, when Loeta came over to my house, it was hilariously funny to both of us to discover that we had both dressed the same: Red vests with black shirts. It must have been serendipity, though, because I think our color-coordination looked great in all of the photos taken of us together.

The route we took is an old dirt trail that travels alongside the historic Route 66. It has been used by tractors, hikers, dog-walkers, dirt bikes, bicycles, ATVs, and yes...horseback riders. (If you look closely, you can see my husband on the far left, getting out of his truck)

The trail travels up and down hills on it's way into town.

The Route 66 trail has been so well used that it is easy to follow. Apache and I led the way for most of the day.

There are many scenic spots all along the trail. This is Apache and I with South Mountain in the background. Beyond South Mountain are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above Santa Fe, about 40 minutes away. And directly behind us is Route 66.....The Mother Road

There are many interesting things to see along the trail. Lots of opportunities for desensitizing your horse, too. We have to ride past several of these concrete culverts. Years ago they weren't blocked off, and you could ride under the road inside of the tunnels. Apache wasn't at all phased by these culverts. In fact nothing concerned her on the entire ride except the first boulder we encountered (we passed many during the ride, so she quickly got over any concern she had), and the painted handicapped logo on the ground at Sonic (more on that later).

The Route 66 Trail is really a fun and beautiful ride. Not boring at all, even though it travels alongside a main road.

Another photo of Loeta and I, and our wonderful equines, on the Route 66 Trail. My hubby took this photo from his truck on Route 66.

As we rode into the town of Edgewood, we passed many businesses, including our local Tractor Supply store.

Our dirt trail turned into a paved asphalt trail when we arrived in town. We let our horses walk on the softer wood mulch that lined the paved trail. (Notice all the boulders. I found it ironic that my mare could care less about seeing boulders when we ride on natural mountain trails, but on suburban trails boulders looked out of place and worrisome.) See the Sandia Mountains on the horizon in the far distance? Apache and I have ridden up to the very top and stood on Sandia Peak at 10, 670 feet elevation.

Apache and I standing beside Route 66 in Edgewood, NM. (That building behind us is our Edgewood Post Office. There's even a hitching post out front, so you can ride to the Post Office)

Seeing this church reminded me of the Circuit Riders or Saddlebag Preachers.

Apache, do you need a haircut?

We rode past one of our local feed stores, The Old Mill.

I dropped my reins outside the gate and laughed when Apache decided we should enter and ride up to the front doors. She was probably hoping I'd pick up some horse cookies.

We crossed the road and we were almost at Sonic!

Loeta and Profe at the entrance to Sonic

We rode right up into two of the parking stalls

I was grateful for my husband being there to take photos.

Apache asking, "When are we gonna order some food?"

Apache and I did it!!! We rode to Sonic!

Profe asking Apache: When is she gonna order some food?"

Apache: "I don't know, but I'm getting hungry"

Me: "Ok, Apache, I'm ordering now"

Apache: "Finally!"

After our food was brought out to our stall, we walked over to the side of Sonic to find someplace to sit down and eat. We discovered a few boulders to sit on, and Apache discovered her infatuation with tater tots.

Apache: "More, please?!"

Seriously, Apache gobbled up my entire bag of tater tots! Silly mare.

Apache: "I kinda like this 'riding to restaurants' thing. I wonder if they have carrots, too?"

After we enjoyed our lunch, we mounted up and decided to take a tour of Sonic. This is where Apache decided that painted handicapped logos on the ground were not for walking on. She probably knew a permit was required to park there and didn't want to recieve a ticket. Smart girl.

Riding around to the Drive-Thru

Apache: "Are we gonna order some more tots?"

We didn't order anymore tots (sorry Apache), but just rode around to the other side of Sonic. Here you can see the town of Edgewood behind us and South Mountain in the distance.

I appreciate my husband being there to take all these fun photos.

Here we are standing in the front of Sonic just before we began our ride back home.

Loeta and Profe led for a little while.

Then Apache and I led again.

Apache: "Aren't these beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains?"

Profe: "Did you happen to save me some tater tots?"

The Route 66 Trail is a beautiful and fun trail to ride a horse on.

Several sections actually have two trails to ride and explore. One of them travels right alongside Route 66 and the other is tucked behind a wall of thick trees. We rode both of them. One on the way into town and the other, on the way back out of town. We enjoyed them both.

Here we are heading west, on our way back home, riding on the section of trail behind the trees. It was easy to forget we were riding with a busy road only 100 feet away. And only about 300 feet away is Interstate 40, with huge semi trucks and lots of traffic. But we hardly heard them.

Happy to be riding my Apache mare! (Behind us, in the distance, you can see the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-40)

This is a great section for trotting or cantering.

This is one of the culverts along the Route 66 Trail, that diverts water underneath Route 66. This one can be ridden through, and if you continue on to the other side, there are two more culverts to ride through that take you underneath Interstate 40 to the north side of I-40.

Looking back towards the east on the Route 66 Trail.

Along the way we rode past a few pastures with various equine that seemed curious about us and would often come up to the fenceline to say hello and ride along the fence with us. I really liked this stocky mule and bet she would be wonderful to ride.