Well, we did it! We rode in our 50th state!!! And our incredibly well-traveled horses rode in their 48th!!! Wow!! We saddled up later, but we got out around 1:30, heading towards the primitive horse camp and an area known as Hercules (not sure why), on a lovely, sandy trail that followed the river (which is dry because of all the drought they've had in this region), and weaved around tall cottonwood trees. After driving through so much desert to get here, riding amongst trees was truly a pleasure. After going about 3 miles or so, we decided not to do the entire length of the trail, but to curve around up to the "overlook," a spot with a picnic table and a gate that let us out of the park onto the dirt road that separated the State Park from BLM land. The road actually paralleled the original Pony Express Route, and for a while we thought we were actually on it, but it turns out we were next to it (not that the terrain changed much). In all, we did about 6.3 miles, the second half in beautiful sunshine, so I got to work on my tan as well as get in a ride! And our 50th state to boot!! It seems almost impossible to believe that we've been on the road practically full time for nearly 5 years!! It's true what they say, time flies when you're having fun! When we got back, I did some reading up on the Pony Express, and Buckland Station, which is just a mile from us, was a Pony Express stop, and there's a group area on the other side of Ft. Churchill State Park know as the Pony Bob Haslam Group Area, Pony Bob being one of the more famous riders on the Pony Express. Fascinating history, and what strikes me most interesting is that the Pony Express only lasted 19 months, yet it made such an indelible mark on our country's history. The route was eventually sold to Wells Fargo, and I noticed that on Google Earth, you can still see a lot of those original stage roads! Fascinating! A great day of accomplishment as well as learning!
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