Big Rock

On my first full day in North Carolina, I went on a mountain trail ride in the Uwharrie National Forest with my friend Rachel Fail, her daughters and a group of her riding friends.

Our destination was Big Rock, which was, in fact, a very large rock.

To get there, we followed a network of wooded trails, most of which had human names like Tony, Josh and Leslie.

We have trees in Colorado, but not like this!

Here's another thing we don't have.

Listen to them singing!

I spent most of my time in the back of the group with Rachel's daughters.

This eleven year old Rylie on her "trash Paso" Razzle...

and nine year old Emma on her lovely Ember.

Every now and then, we'd reach a wide spot and let the horses rest.

During one of these breaks, Erin rode over to me and gave me a couple condiment containers. I had no idea what they were, but I found out pretty quickly. Jello shots! Ha! It's been a long time since I've had some of those.

Most of the rest of my pictures involve water.

On the way back from Big Rock, we rode past a lake. 

I was told not to go up to it unless I felt like swimming. I didn't, so Pebbles and watched from a safe distance while others got their feet wet.

We also crossed through a couple streams.

After Iceland, nothing bothers me.

It rained on and off throughout the day, so many trails were under water.

It was quite slick in spots, but all the horses handled it well.

I very much enjoyed riding Pebbles.

Actually, I very much enjoyed everything about this ride. Even though it was raining, I was sad when we rode back into the campground.

Thank you Rachel et al for allowing me to tag along. That was so much fun!