California road trip, part two

All good things must come to an end, so yesterday morning we took one last photo with Mom.

Then we climbed into the van and hit the road.

The first leg of our trip took us through the California desert east of the San Gabriel mountains. This is the least scenic part of the entire drive.

We fueled up at Eddie World in Yermo...

and settled in for another long stretch of the California wasteland desert.

To pass the time, I scanned the horizon for wild donkeys. I wasn't really expecting to see them again, but I did!

Of course, we stopped for photos.

Then it was on to Nevada.

The highlight of this leg of our journey was watching a large group of skydivers float to the ground near the Terribles casino.

We'd missed the Arizona state sign on our trip to California, so we rectified that mistake on the way home.

Interstate 15 only passes through a tiny bit of Arizona, but it's one of the best parts of the entire drive.

We crossed into Utah, then drove for several more hours before stopping for the night in Salina.

This morning, we got up bright and early and drove into Colorado.

We made a pit stop in Glenwood Canyon. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Up to this point, our trip had been blessed with good weather. However, as we headed up to the Continental Divide, the weather went from bad...

to worse.

Oh, Colorado! Is this any way to welcome weary travelers home?

We've been home for a couple hours now, but I'm glad to be back in my cozy little house. Tomorrow, it's back to work!

One for the road

When I was little, my model horses lived in a corner of the living room.

Then I got "too many," and they were banished to the basement.

This basement is not a nice, fully finished basement like we have at home. It's basically a small cement room with half walls encircled by crawl space.

That didn't bother me. All I cared about was having lots of room for my horses.

Most of the herd has long since joined me in Colorado, but there are still a few living down there. My mom would like to see them gone, but I can't bear the thought of a horseless home. As a compromise I take one home with me every time I visit.

This time it's Aspy.

Aspy is a grey Appaloosa Family Arabian Foal with two legs creatively repaired by my father. He is one of my oldest, dearest and most fragile models.

It's this fragility that's prevented me from bringing him home sooner. I would be devastated if Dad's careful work was undone in transit, so I've never wanted to risk taking him on a plane. We're traveling by car this time, so it's the perfect opportunity to transport him safely. Plus, now I have Protectibles.

These thickly padded, super deluxe pony bags are handmade by Tara Reich. I purchased a few from her yesterday during our get together at the park.

Unlike most model bags, Protectibles are rectangular in shape, minimizing pressure on fragile legs.

This one is perfect for Aspy.

We're on our way back to Colorado! It's been a great week, but I'm ready to be home.

California friends

Even though I grew up here, there was a long period of time when I didn't have any friends in the Los Angeles area. Thanks to the model horse hobby, that is no longer the case. The last couple days have been filled with fun visits with other hobbyists.

On Wednesday, Seth, Piper and I drove to nearby Alhambra to have ice cream and conversation with Tara Reich and Julia Turner.

The next morning, I toured the Rose Bowl Riders facility in La Cañada with Katy Niles.

This is a place where I used to ride many, many years ago. It's changed a lot since then, and I really enjoyed both the tour and the company.

Later that day, we headed back to Alhambra for a park visit with Tara, Corina and Corina's dogs, Winnie and Koda.

This is my second hobby dog meet up in as many weeks. So fun!

After Corina headed home, we adjourned to Tara's apartment,

where we met her cats...

and ogled her collection.

It's so nice having California friends again. Thank you, Tara, Julia, Katy and Corina for making this week so much more fun than it would have been otherwise. I can't wait to see you again!

Dancing in the street

Mom has a long list of things that need fixing, so Seth has made several trips to the local hardware store. Yesterday, Piper and I went with him.

Instead of coming straight home, I asked him to drive past some of the places where I used to ride since we were (sort of) in the neighborhood.

This led to visiting the street where the camp horses had lived...

and a pilgrimage to the Altadena Crest trailhead.

We decided to get out and walk a little. On the way back to the car, I spotted a horse and rider in the distance.

They were heading our way, so I kind of slow walked my way up the trail until this happened.

Of course, I had to get my phone out and take some pictures.

"I used to ride here when I was a kid," I explained.

"You like horses!" the rider exclaimed. "Let me show you what this one can do."

And just like that, his horse started dancing.

It was as unexpected as it was impressive.

"I hope you get to ride again, senorita," the rider called over his shoulder.

Then he and his horse rode off into the distance.

Welcome to Altadena, California, where the horses are dancing in the street!