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| Most expensive thing I'll ever drive |
The next day we went into Rapid City to buy things and pick up the rest of Steer #10 in Sturgis. We now have well over a hundred pounds of grassfed beef. We also went up through the Needle Highway and attempted to see the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately, the weather South of us turned out to be such thick fog we couldn't see anything at either of the sites. The Needles were cool though and Bear Butte and Custer Park, which we drove through to get there. We saw lots of wildlife including buffalo, which I later ate in one of the most delicious burgers I've ever had. Wasabi mayo, fried onions, and soy sauted mushrooms, Mmm Mmm Mmm. So fucking good. Spicy though, started tearing up three whole times.
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| Needle Highway |
The next day we worked with the horses nonstop. We started off lunging and saddling one of the new ones, Thunder, who we got back at the beginning of the week. He's got some bad habits and the trainer he'd been with all winter said he was real stubborn. The rancher's cousin, who we stayed with on our way out said he was a mean horse. I'm glad to say he hasn't proved to be either yet. We rode out and around the east pasture with the other horse Herman, just to give them the exercise and he was fine.
When we returned, we lunged and saddled the other two who we would like to be rideable by the end of the summer. Cheyenne, the black horse, has never been ridden and Abandon (named that cause she was just dropped off at the ranch by no one knows who) has had a saddle on once. Lastly, I rode Chap, who is the one I wrote about refusing to move a few posts ago. He didn't do much.
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| Thunder and I |
Today, we rode Thunder and Herman down to the Cheyenne River. It was beautiful and hot. I now know that I am neither dirty or tan. I am very much both. I pretty much live and breath a combination of horse shit and bug spray and I kind of love it. Is that weird? After the two and a half hour ride today, we took a break and I went out to work with the other two non-saddle broke horses while the rancher collected fencing materials. Afterwards, I met him to help work on the fence. Though I have learned many things while here, I am now coming to terms with the fact that I am not strong. So after last week of riding, realizing I am not in shape I am not met with this. We dug a three foot hole in the dirt, put in a post...yeah, actually when I say we, I really just watched. I did help dig the hole, but then he set the rusty barbed wire and when we stretched the wire to the other post where we broke the hole digging tool. He then went and got an extra handle he had, cut it to fit it into the brace, etc. Long story short it took forever, I definitely got a sunburn, and I'm incredibly NOT strong. Honestly, what the fuck does in shape mean, that you can run a marathon, or stop a crazy horse at a dead run, or nail a post six feet into the dirt? I can't do any of those things and I'm not skinny, so I'm stuck in a valley of uselessness inbetween the two. In my mind, I was thinking I'd return to boston looking like Paul Bunyan, not the case. I know when it's time for me to leave in nine days now, which is such a bummer, that I'll feel like I was just really getting somewhere, but some things are left unfinished so we can return to them later. In the meantime, I've decided I'm either really fucking cool, or absolutely batshit crazy and in serious denial. I hope I don't find out which one anytime soon.
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