Day #55

We rode with Vicky and Jeff up to the Cliff Dwellings area intending to turn around and come back from there because we didn’t think we should do a long ride with Pearl.

We rode to the area but did not tie off and go to the actual site. It is about a 40-minute hike and horses are not allowed up there. There were no places to tie the horses and although we had brought our high line, they didn’t have any way to tie their horses. I suggested they ride on without us, but they wanted us to ride with them further.

After we had ridden about an hour, we decided to turn and retrace our way, while rode the rest of the loop. They got back at 4:00, two hours after we had arrived at camp.

As soon as they had moved on, Pearl settled down and got calmer. It is too bad that she has the ulcers, but she is a high-headed horse. We decided to stop and eat our lunch in an open area that had large pines growing in it. We had noticed it the last time we had ridden here and thought it was a perfect place. It is off trail and park-like and I suggested going over to a log so we could sit to eat. Just on the other side of the log, we found a surprise! It was an old burial site. The marker on one end of the pile of rocks covering the body was obviously old and there was no writing on it to tell who was there, but on the other end of the rocks was a newer marker with an inscription.

It said, “William Grudgings waylayed and murdered by Tom Wood

October 8, 1893, Age 37 years, eight months.”

It was so neat. We would never have seen it if I hadn’t been wanting to sit down. This is one of the things we love about riding horses.

Until tomorrow then, Blessings,
Pam