Saddle Up! Day 5.

Day 5

           

      Act 5 Scene 1:

The time is 7:30 in the morning.  The sun is shining across the beautiful Rocky Mountains providing an amazing view that has yet to grow old. Loading up onto the buses the course is set to travel east en route to Salida.  Today’s journey will take the company, once again, across the Continental Divide.  A fond farewell is bid to our wonderful hosts of Montrose as we hit the trail aboard our steel horses, “Colorado Gold” and “Hi Ho Silver”.

Following another enjoyable round of  morning greetings, the breakfast and  weather reports, Graham Taylor delivers the first monolog of the day bestowing the trials and tribulations of failing to consume enough water.  Will the cast heed Graham’s warning?  Stay tuned as this under current theme develops.

The buses climb Monarch Mountain to a height of 11,307 feet to cross the continental divide. Tidbit of trivia de jour: Aspen trees thrive above 7000 feet.  The locals call them “Quakees” because of the way they shiver and shimmer in the breeze. The vein of the Aspen leaves appear gold from a distance.

Throughout the drive there are many places along the road without guardrails and the danger is evident from the number of cars scattered along the side of the mountain, rusting.  Passing the gold, silver, copper and precious mineral mining camps, James (our Gold Bus transportation engineer) explains that if one discovers gold, a claim can be made to keep the mineral rights.  Several times throughout the 3 hour drive we crossed the Arkansas River.  James adds that there is a lot of gold found in that river.

      Act 5 Scene 2:

Scene 1 fades out as scene 2 opens with the arrival in Salida.  Following two trips around the block, for good measure, the buses reach Centennial Park & Pavilion. The troupe disembarks to enjoy Subway sandwiches, the new Ham on this tour, for lunch. (Writer’s note: Prior to the start of tour there is a mandatory potluck dinner. At this dinner Walt tells the story of Ham.  The point driven home is that no matter what the host home, or church, serves accept it with graciousness and gratefulness, even if it is ham every night.)  As bellies are filled, Karl Allen grabs his guitar to entertain the group with his version of the Beatles Blackbird and Swing Life Away by Rise Against.  Changing into swimsuits most head indoors to the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center for a refreshing warm swim and an intense game of water polo.  (Writer’s Note: viewing the pictures is highly recommended!)  Those choosing to pass on the swimming are treated to a circus themed birthday party for a local little girl at the park, which included teaching the birthday girl and her friends how to do some aerial moves as well as walking on stilts.  This scene draws to a conclusion as the group dries off and heads for Buena Vista, Colorado.

     
Act 5 Scene 3:

It is just shy of 4 pm as the buses roll into the Arkansas Valley Trail Rides parking lot in Buena Vista, Colorado. Buena Vista lives up to the name as the scenery is, of course, spectacular. The group is divided in half. Deborah Bowe and Kae Johnson dutifully remind all that sunscreen is a must and to stay hydrated.

A new character emerges from the wings.  Mike, a Colorado cowboy sporting spurs as well as a black cowboy hat, grabs the attention of all with his western whoop.  The chaperones look on in amazement as the group immediately responds to his command by lining up into two groups, one of 35 for their horse assignments and one of 36 for a trip around the area via horse drawn wagons.  The first round of the trail ride goes off without a hitch, well, for the most part.  Rose Hulcher is astride Max the Mule.  Max, being a mule, is shorter than most of the horses on the ranch and all of the horses on the trail ride. As a result, Rose finds that her feet and the bottom of her pants are drenched by the end of the trail from crossing the river (several times). Everyone enjoys the view from atop their steed as the long train of trail riders travel over an hour up and down the hills through the Colorado woods.

Once the first trail ride has finished and the wagons have returned from their trip, Mike jumps into actions assigning group two their horse or mule.  Sue Constantinides is all smiles as she mounts up on Amigo.  The ranch hand assisting her shares that Amigo “is a friend to everyone”.  It turns out that Amigo was not accepting applications for any new friends.  Over halfway into the ride Amigo’s girth (the strap that fastens the saddle around the horse) becomes loose and as the saddle (and Sue) begins to slide sideways Amigo embraces his inner bucking bronco.  Sue, as you probably guess, ends up on the ground.  Slightly shaken and sore, Sue is able to rejoin the group for dinner. We are all thankful Sue did not need a trip to the hospital.  Remember Max the Mule? Susan James was the benefactor of Max for the second ride.  Susan’s experience was more in line with the stereotype of mules - stubborn. Susan reported that Max intentionally tried to hit every branch along the way. She was thankful to have a helmet. Susan also felt the cool water of the Arkansas River lap at her ankles as again, Max was, lets just say, vertically challenged.

Once the dust settled everyone enjoyed an authentic western cookout, complete with beans and potato salad, under a canopy of stars surrounded by a Colorado landscape.  Truly a God moment.  Slightly before 9 pm our, would be, rodeo band heads to the Super 8 in Salida to rest their weary bones.


Click here to view photos from Day 5

Prayer of the Children - USAF Academy Chapel - Colorado Springs

This post is a little out of sequence, but here are the guys singing Prayer of the Children in the USAF Academy Chapel. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSTsG317OQE&feature=youtu.be

2013 Tour - Day 4 (Shall We Gather At The River......)

Day 4

Backstage:

The chatter grows as the players assemble. Excitement fills the dinning hall of St. Mary’s Catholic Church as stories of their first night in host homes are shared.  A chorus of tales of beautiful homes, delicious food and friendly hosts grows until the room is silenced by one voice, Tom Baldridge, delivering instructions for the day.  As soon as the group is dismissed for the buses the hum of the chorus resumes.

Act 4 Scene 1:

As the buses depart just after 9 am for Loma, CO, morning greetings are shared.  Kurt Allen and Angela Mansfield lead the Gold bus; Derek Klahre and Kerry Taylor lead the Silver bus. 
Mouths begin to water as Bryce Taylor, Shane Johnson and Christian Murray commenced the breakfast report with a description of the banquet of pastries, pancakes and accoutrements they enjoyed with Walt and Peggy at their host home.  Ralph, a retired professional baker, started baking at 4:30 in the morning to create this breakfast fit for kings from scratch.  Nancy Nickerson, Kae Johnson, Helen Horton and Patty Bass boasted they were served breakfast in bed.

The breakfast report soon transitioned into many sharing their experiences from the night before. Robert Williams, Graham Taylor, Dylan Howe and Preston Henry rode in Porsche Style from the church to their host home. (Did you know that Porsche made an SUV?)  Michaela Bass, Kim Horton, Becca Baube, Kerry Taylor, Annabelle Bonnett, Laura Keegan, Lola Renauer, Wendy Keegan, Beth Taylor and Suzy Renauer enjoyed Colorado hospitality at the Wild Bunch River Ranch.  This ranch bragged a guest house (sleeping 10), a pond stocked with fish and Alpacas. Yes Alpacas, 18 Alpacas to be exact.  As the buses neared Highline Lake Park, a chorus of birthday wishes rang out for Matt DeHoff (18) and Preston Henry (22).

Act 4 Scene 2:

Arriving at the park in Loma, CO, shortly after 10:30 am, all enjoyed a welcomed couple hours of playing Frisbee, swimming and relaxing.  As always, everyone was reminded to wear sunscreen and to drink plenty of water.  (Do you recall the saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink?... save that thought for later.)  

Riddle of the day: What do you get when you add Tyler Motter, pickle juice and a $5 bet? You get a Tommy Colborn with $5 more in his pocket. To explain, the pickle juice came from the picnic lunch all enjoyed.  Tyler bet Tommy $5 that he could not drink an entire jar of pickle juice.  Tommy proved him wrong while simultaneously entertaining the onlookers.   This scene ends as the buses depart for white water rafting in Fruita, CO.  Where is Fruita, CO?  Well, Fruita is about 15 miles from the Utah State line (save that thought too. It will become relevant shortly).

Act 4 Scene 3:

This scene opens at RimRock Adventures in Fruita, CO.  The majority of our cast prepares to enjoy a level 1 white water trip down the Colorado River. The few remaining visit the gift shop, enjoy some ice cream, take pictures or nap on the bus.   Down on the river the cast is again split between those that chose a guide to take them down the river in a raft (you guessed it, the chaperones) and those brave ones that used oars to steer themselves down the river (almost everyone else).  The current is mild.  The water is cold but refreshing.  It is not long before water battles with squirt guns and buckets erupt. It must be noted that the chaperone raft was a target of attack.  Katherine Williams proclaimed “Stop splashing us! The Diva has spoken!” Once wet, many take to swimming in the Colorado River and pulling others in with them. Fun was had by all. Noteworthy: observed by the rafting troop are a Blue Heron and two bald eagles (more God moments).


Stage Left:

Recall the statement at the park regarding leading a horse to water?  Well Graham Taylor was the horse.  Upon arriving at Rimrock Adventures it was discovered that Graham was severely dehydrated due to 1 Red Bull and a vigorous game of football at the park.  With much coaxing Graham finally agreed to be taken to a nearby Urgent Care facility by Jane Webb and Beth Taylor.  Hours later, after 4 bags of IV fluids, the trio hastily headed out of Fruita to join the rest of the group back in Montrose.  Now recall the statement of where is Fruita, CO located?  Due to Jane Webb’s incredible sense of direction, they made an unexpected visit to Utah before turning around and heading in the correct direction towards Montrose, CO.  All ended well in this scene as they arrived just in time to meet with their hosts for a second nights stay. 

Act 4 Scene 4

Meanwhile, on stage the buses arrive back in Montrose for another delicious cookout at St. Mary’s.  (As you may have gathered, no one is starving on this tour.) The choir and orchestra then dazzled an even larger audience. The Methodist Pastor that hosted Rose Hulcher and Julia Bratburd stood up and commented on how impressed he was with the manners of our youth.  He commended them for making eye contact, engaging in conversation and never once looked at their cell phones.  Deacon Scott then spoke about the message of the Magnificat as Mary saying “yes” to God and that the congregation can, as well, say “yes” to God by supporting the tour group.  The congregation responded through generous donations (the largest amount collect to date on a tour).  Deacon Scott went on to proclaim that this concert was one of the largest Ecumenical events in Montrose as many faiths were represented in the audience.  A tired group then congregated in the dining hall for brief fellowship and refreshments before departing with their hosts for a well deserved nights sleep.    

Click here for photos from Day 4