My 47th birthday was last month, so I organized a trail ride I had been wanting to do for a few years: Riding to our local BBQ Restaurant, Ribs, for lunch.
My dear friend Vicki can ride 12 miles round trip from her house to Ribs, so she offered to hostess the ride and invited everyone to park their horse trailers at her house.
My Apache mare helped me celebrate my birthday…and gave me the best gift of all!
After saddling up, we gathered together for a group photo. Vicki’s son took the photo.
From left to right, my friends: Loeta, Paula, Peggy, Karen, Vicki, Leeda, Me, Colleen
It was a gorgeous day for a trail ride!
We enjoyed beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains from most of the trail.
We even discovered some “Garbage Art” while on the trail. Peggy and I both let our horses check it out. The first time we walked up to it, Apache snorted, but when nothing moved or attacked, she was bored.
The trail from Vicki’s house traveled through some lovely meadows and small canyons.
Birthday Girl and Equine Self-Portrait
We dropped down from the first ridge and rode down into Guittierez Canyon.
We had to do a bit of roadside riding to reach the Open Space Trailhead. Apache, as usual was slow as molasses.
We finally reached the Open Space trails…and up we climbed.
The views were impressive and stunning looking south over Guittierez Canyon out towards the Cibola National Forest. Cedro Peak is in the distance, too. My kids and I have hiked to the top of Cedro Peak.
My barefoot horse rockin’ the rocky trail.
Beautiful trail with lots of trees and a blue sky above.
My slow-pokey mare and I were far behind our friends. I think we both enjoy feeling like we’re the only ones riding the trails.
Beautiful east side, the ‘green side’ of the Sandia Mountains in the distance.
We continued to ride uphill.
And more photos of the pretty east side of the Sandia Mountains. On the other side of these mountains is the city of Albuquerque.
Also, notice the light green metal roof in the middle left of this photo?
That is our destination!!
Ribs Restaurant in Cedar Crest, NM!
Very steep descent down a very rocky scree slope! Looking back behind us as we rode downhill.
Lovely tree-lined trails.
Fun little canyon to ride through….
We finally caught up with our friends and rode through this little canyon…..so close to our destination!
My dear friend Colleen and her mare Granola.
I love riding through this little narrow canyon, lined with tall ponderosas.
And we finally made it to Ribs Restaurant! We tied up our equines to the hitching rails at the trailhead….
But wait! One equine isn’t tied up at the hitching rails!
Can you see who it is?
Yep! It’s my Apache mare! I wanted to give her a place to rest in the shade of the trees. She seemed to appreciate her little grove of trees and enjoyed a nice nap.
Colleen and Loeta tied up their equines at the other hitching rail.
And then we all walked over to Ribs for lunch!
From back to front, to back: Karen, Peggy, Leeda, Vicki, Me, Loeta, Colleen.
After a delicious BBQ lunch and cold beer, we headed out to the porch for more photos.
From left to right: Paula, Karen, Colleen, Loeta, Me, Leeda, Vicki.
And another one:
From left to right: Karen, Peggy, Me, Colleen, Loeta, Leeda, Vicki.
After lunch we unhitched our ponies and rode them down into the little canyon where lush green grass provided a yummy pony lunch.
From left to right: Loeta, Me, and Colleen
We lost several friends after lunch: Peggy, Karen and Leeda. They either had other plans for the late afternoon or didn’t want to ride the full 12 mile round trip. So they organized together to have their trailers waiting at the trailhead near Ribs Restaurant.
Vicki was our ride hostess and knew the way, so she and her handsome boy Copper continued with us on our round trip trail ride.
Since Apache tends to be so slow and we always seem to be at the back of a group, Vicki invited us to set the pace on the return trip while leading our group.
Apache was so funny. She wasn’t slow at all when we were in the lead!
In fact, she was so well rested and so eager to step out, that when I asked her to trot, she did so eagerly. And it was such a thrill to be running through the forest with no one in front of us. Wheee!
We led the way up the steep scree slope……Apache wanted to run up and I mostly let her, since it is easier for her to have the momentum.
Leaving the Sandia Mountains behind us as we continue to climb up the steep scree slope.
When we got to the top I was thrilled to see a Mickey Mouse Prickly Pear!
This Open Space area is only a few years old and the officials and trail builders are still working on installing signage, but the signs that are already installed are wonderful and very helpful.
More trotting down the trail!
Happy faces as we rode up and over the final ridge.
From left to right: Vicki, Loeta, Colleen and Paula.
Beautiful views northward towards South Mountain and across Guittierez Canyon.
Riding downhill among rocks and boulders.
We all enjoyed the stunning views across the canyon.
Beautiful! And do you see that ridge over to the far right in this photo? That’s where we are heading.
But first we had some road riding to do. Thankfully this is fairly quiet, uncrowded road, and we only encountered about 4 vehicles, a couple motorcycles and a few bicycle riders. Apache took it all in stride, not worried or upset about anything we heard or saw.
And we finally made it off the road and into another small canyon that led up onto the last ridge.
And our last stretch of riding was on the gravel roads leading to Vicki’s house. I enjoyed riding beside my friend Paula and her handsome mule Tecumseh.
It was a wonderful 12 mile trail ride…the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. Great friends, wonderful equines, beautiful trails, and a delicious meal!
