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Pastimes : Techride -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KLP who wrote (6844)	1/6/2000 1:46:00 PM
From: Joana Tides	Respond to of 7442

HOLD ONTO THE BAR !!! Brings to mind another bar at another time and place "yesterday, when i was young".... So they'd installed a mini-roller coaster bar on the saddle instead of a saddlehorn. The instinctual part of me knew why it would be like that and started to shake my head, but then thought it best to go into denial because the money for the Grand Canyon Mule Ride To The River and helicopter back up was non-refundable so late & had saved up and been looking forward to this for so long. Around the time, wished id've listened to that inner voice - but in retrospect What A Great Memory and Would Do It Again (again back then though, not now or ever again fer sure ...) Departure time was at earlybird light at fisherman's hours- to take advantage of the trail being in the shade til late morning and then for another spell later in the afternoon til twilight. Was already looking forward to the lunch and the rest and the dinner and the rest. Had eaten breakfast at 4AM and now standing with the other Pioneers at the trailhead we were up for it, talking about where we were from and remarking how cute those mules looked with their long eyelashes, sleeping standing up. Wonder which one i'll get? (pick a ticker, any ticker) Noticed everyone was a first-timer here, uh-oh. The guides were college kids led by a grizzled desert rat of indeterminate age wearing (of course) a cowboy hat. He drawled his greetings, gave the itinerary, and gave some simple instructions. Like "drink plenty of water" "keep your hat on" "speak softly so as not to startle your animal" "keep your feet tilted towards the rear in the stirrups so he don't nip your toes" "and "hold onto the bar, please". Then our packs were loaded and so off we go. Everyone later said they got the worst Mule but i KNOW mine was Tops - "give him to that young lady from NOO YAWK there". Every stiff-legged clonking step he took jarred organs from their moorings and rattled fillings when he put those hoofs the size of dessert plates back onto the crumbling trail of sliding pebbles. The others seemed to be riding a bit smoother, though later the guy behind me said it looked like i was riding real smooth and he had envied me. LOL demdar Mules! Going downhill, it wasn't easy to keep the feet in the stirrups from going forward but i did because i soon saw why it was necessary. Because Jackson The Mule (son of Jackass?) thought nothing of jerking his head trying for a nip, twisting those red golfball eyes around in their sockets the better to glare, not watching where he was going even as pebbles were crumbling away from the trail edge the size of a handspan at times to tumble the mile or two to the bottom of the canyon.... yikes. He had a terrible way of keeping one off-balance and not towards the safe side towards the canyon wall either. It seemed like he kept twitching his belly to loosen up the saddle strap, and he kept flicking his tail to brush my back too. The morning got hotter quickly. What a relief to stop for a "bathroom" break & to water the mules. Getmeoffaherehurrypleeze! Jackson refused his water. All the other mules lapped theirs up greedily, but not him. Guide smiled understanding (more like trying not to laugh) at my worry of the mule collapsing under me with the both of us plummetting way way down over the edge So Long - "Nah he's tuff, he jest don't wanna drink yet is all" as Jackson closed his eyes to show off his pretty eyelashes and nickered a bucktooth at me. So halfway into the next run when My Mule started to pant and gasp....no disaster happened, the guide just stopped the caravan when the trail widened and came to give Jackson his water "he pulls this'un evertime" he chuckled. Then we continued to The River, fun fun fun i'm a good sport. Tho my entire body was was sore for quite a while and i needed my traumatic stress medicine later ;)... the cowboy food and the company was good, what incredible beauty, what a great memory, etc.). The Walls Of The Grand Canyon are a living Museum of Natural History - Eohippus and dinosaurs run in their bones as though they're still alive in the fossilized sediment of the Grand Canyon Walls, The River is a ribbon of blue below, eagles play, unearthly colors and shadows making pictures of sphinx in momentary light changes, it's so beautiful... would recommend it to anyone. This, and some other life adventures i've known.... gave me some practice for HOLD ONTO THE BAR 4 THE TECHRIDE. It's All Practice Makes Perfect, izzint it? It's THE TECHRIDE M3, Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! 909s, Joan