Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wyman's Falls - the Holy Grail

Monday- perfect weather- perfect day for a ride.. but where shall we go ? Perhaps some of you blog followers remember our Watchtower ride, where Zoe and I rode for many miles and never found any particular destination. That was the beginning of my true quest for Wyman's Falls and the trail which would lead us to "it"-- having never seen the falls, I had no idea where or what they looked like. This became like the elusive Holy Grail.. so-- I suggested that we head over that way by road. This would be a long ride- but Zoe remembers a trail that MIGHT lead to the road which MIGHT lead to the falls ! Good enough for me :)

We started out traveling over Flamstead Road into Chester, cross the River - trot through a portion of Stone Village. This is where Keri's ears really perk up.. up until this point she was rather heavy and lazy. We cross Route 103 onto Church Street and duck into the trail that Zoe remembers from a long time ago.





This is a snowmobile trail that runs alongside the train tracks and the river. We are pretty certain it will take us toward the Falls.






The trail leads us in and out of woods and meadow - through a few hay fields, past grazing deer, a big pond to our right full of geese and other water birds.



we are not sure where we are .. but everything is new to us and exciting as we continue on our crusade.




We meet quite a few closed gates-- because it's a snowmobile trail, the gates are closed for off season. There is a sign at this gate marking this land as a gift to the town of Chester from Dr Hebert Adams and his wife- Josephine.





Per tradition, Zoe and I spin yarns of who these people are - and perhaps did they live in this cabin on the sidehill.. or is this a handy Hobo cabin for those men in the 20's that rode the rails as a way of living.

We are pressed for time since it took awhile to get this far and we don't know how far our quarry is -- otherwise, I'd ride up and take a closer look at this little cabin.



Snowmobile bridge- with instructions.. Public Highway- Keep Right single file. We exit out onto a road- Wyman's Falls Road ! which dead ends in a way- as it eventually veers off to the left- a class 4 road.. with warnings about safe passage.







I suppose the first problem one might have here is the bridge is missing. Not much of a safety issue for us. The stone work is beautiful where the absent bridge would have sat-- and I wonder about the history of this roadway and the long ago travelers.

But- now the tension is mounting-- are we close to the Falls ? Our faith is wavering.. are there truly falls here ?



We ride by a series of small falls... They are pretty but did we just ride eleventy-seven miles to view these ? But dedicated crusaders that we are-- we continue on.





That ancient bridge you see - completely in ruins... no crossing that. We carefully review our options- to the left of the bridge is mossy steep ledge.. to the right of the bridge is a way to cross but questionable.. wet slippery leaves and moss in this sunless area- Keri gave it a try, she has her shoes with studs so she made it.






Teasel is barefoot and he slipped and slid.. After that he was understandably reluctant to try again. Again- a moment of doubting... should we continue... turn back.. looking at our watches, brief discussion of time and return routes -- did we come this far in our pursuit of the possibly scenic, possibly mythical falls to turn back now ?

Zoe dismounted and led Teasel begrudgingly across.


Trotting and a little cantering up the trail-- The gorge created by the little brook is deepening ..









Actually the edge is becoming a tad scarey.. so photo's of how beautiful this is will be tricky.






Finally- we discover that Wyman's Falls is a series of cascades - each one more beautiful than the previous. If I hiked in here and actually got in the brook- you could see better the drop and the caves under the falls with the pools below eroded out of ledge.






This is the last one in the tier of falling water





This one is closer to the beginning of the sequence of falls.







Feeling satisfied.. we turn back for home-- we need to make good time now.

On our route to the falls and on our return- we cross the railroad tracks quite a few times.








I'm thinking of those hobo's and their eternal travels as the railways point into the horizon.
it was just a matter of time before we ran into the train.










This is a very long freight train - but you can see how pretty it would be to ride the passenger train once the leaves turn.




Finally- the 'caboose' -- we trot back on the same route we came on.. until the Cummings trail- which will give us something different to look at until we arrive back home- full of memories of a challenging adventure and contented with a quest goal completed.



we are planning our next ride - it will be fun but possibly not as demanding-- we'll see. Now that we've experienced the falls here- I am wondering about Cascade Falls ... I have never been there yet :)
Enjoy your day ~

Monday, September 28, 2009

Rainy Day at the show

Saturday morning when I woke up, the entire farm was frozen dew. Our first frost.. although not a bad one, as some of the flowers survived. When Zoe told me rain was forecasted for Sunday, all day- I thought.. it's going to very cold and nasty. Turned out, the temperatures were milder - so with thick socks and two sweatshirts I survived :) The grounds were a mess; the rings were wet, slippery snotty clay. Many horses were anxious about their footing- for good reason.



Zoe chooses to do warm up on the grass- usually schooling is in the "dustbowl" - which of course is not resembling its nickname today.


just a light foggy drizzle- not so bad I guess. Lots of umbrellas on the grounds, and brightly colored rain gear flapping..

This is our last show of this season.



here's a clever idea for a rainy day - but your horse has to be quite short.


This little fellow did the training level test-- what a cutie he was.














After the ride, the judge has many wonderful comments for our beautiful girl, lovely horse, good mind and nice movements.




You can see the little girl in pink to the right-- she ended up being our biggest obstacle of the day as she ran, laughed, and splashed through puddles ringside all day ! :) She even had an umbrella of her own.





By the second ride time, the rain picked up to become a fairly steady downpour. I am surprised there were not more scratches.




The judges all huddled in their booth like some Star Wars characters.


Some of the horses did not care for the plastic covering they rigged up to protect the scoring paperwork. Each time they entered a score or comment.. they lifted the plastic.. and a few horses spooked, almost going down on this sloppy clay.

Elektra and Zoe did very well in both tests, winning a first place ribbon for each. Their test scores were 10 points above the next below score-- which made us happy. And Zoe and Elektra missed the high point score of the day by 2 points. They scored a consistent 7 on their circles -- pleasing Zoe. A very good day and a great last show of the season.

I put together a short video of clips from each test --

While it would be fun to take Elektra and work our way up the levels - as a breeder I need to showcase more than just one horse... so Zoe will be riding a different horse for next year-- starting all over with training and conditioning. We have one picked out for her already. I think Elektra is going to miss the activities tough - so hopefully... she'll find a show home when she sells. But-- she does also make a superb trail horse !


Last week, we took the time to photo and video Zoe's son Dominic (age 6) on two of our ponies.. OYY Arcus - 12.2 hand curly pony who is 4 years old and OYY Pal's Job - a smooth coated curly pony, 13.3-14 hands and 5 years old. Dominic is a somewhat timid rider with very little experience... but he did well and so did the ponies. He started in the indoor with some pointers, moved out into the outer ring-- then on a small 'trail' course.







You can see the little video here :



















We also had a chance to get OYY Salvadore out for a quick schooling. He was glad to be out and pampered - it's been since spring that someone saddled him up-- we've been busy !





He is so handsome !! We just love this fellow. And he has not forgotten a thing.
he is always ready to put on a good show.















Today-- Monday... we are planning a nice pleasure ride out. Not sure yet where we are headed but after last week's river run-- we need to come up with something equally as exciting !


Enjoy your day ~

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Red Sky - Red Fog

Yesterday morning (Tuesday) my number 5 son opened the front door to walk down to the bus stop and yelled up to me... Get your camera, Mom-- the sky is beautiful ! And- here are those photo's.. taken about 6:20 am.. the sky was indeed uniquely beautiful- as the sun commenced to rise- it turned all the fog red.

The sun is rising directly behind this treeline.





This one to the right is across the way - where the fog settles in the little valley.






Directly west.






We had time for a quick ride yesterday afternoon. Zoe saddled OYY Ivan up as he has not been out on the trail for awhile. He was a little out of shape but happy as the proverbial clam to be out and trotting.







Seems a tad early for this much Halloween Hoopla !






This is the house where that little dog lives that we call Killer. I think he's a Schnauzer.





Ivan does not even take a look..


Come on Ivan- catch up... of course Keri- with all her riding this year is looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger on steroids :)





We squeeze through these two trees to get on a short trail, perfect riding for those occasions when we are short on time.











Ivan is such a versatile fun mount.. loves the ring and is great on the road or trail. His paternal brother OYY Dante left for his new home. I got so many calls on Dante... I asked everyone why. They loved the color-- he is black. I told Ivan if he had been born black he'd be sold by now too. Poor guy -



That was a quick but fun ride.

enjoy your day ~