In which I dump all of the X-State Photos into one big fat post

I've done the trip twice before, so there really isn't a lot of new information to share--only a lot of cool photos.  

Here are some of them.

Day One: at home in Easton.  She understands what is coming.

I was deputized upon entry to camp.  We had 85+ new riders and horses this year, and
management felt the need to readily identify those of us who weren't complete greenhorns.

On the trail from Easton to Cle Elum.  The weather was good, the footing was fine. 
She wanted to Go Fast.   "You are old!"  I told her. 
"Younger than you!" she answered. (We did, in fact, Go Fast.)

Camp meeting in Cle Elum.  

Establishing our camp in Thorp, one of the biggest spaces we have

On the trail from Cle Elum to Thorp.  So many flowers blooming this year!

On the trail from Renslow to Beverly.  She still wanted to Go Fast. 
Usually, we have to slow down in the "cuts" where jagged rocks have fallen onto the trail. 
But this year, Parks had graded the trail and moved away all the rocks.  We went Fast.

At home in Warden--a spot to rest, do laundry, and top up on groceries.

My step-counter on a "rest day" : clearly, resting is not one of my skills.

Santa Jim visited camp in Warden, and found the still-active Christmas Tree inside
the Mexican Restaurant on 1st St.  Also, he brought me hay and my sunglasses
and my dog (for a visit) because he is awesome like that.

In Warden, we auctioned off weird sh*t to benefit the library in Malden, which burned to the ground
(with the rest of the town) in 2020.

It's purple, and the proceeds support a library?  Reader, I bought it.

At home in Warden.  Notice Jewel, the blonde horse who doesn't actually LIKE
my horse, eating Fiddle's hay...and the Dragon asking me to fix it.

For all my jokes about banjos and banjo players, it's a delight to share the trail and camp with
Steven, who rode his bike and played his banjo (not simultaneously).  I took this
photo from my bunk in the back of my truck b/c I was too tired to get up and sing.

There's a very cute library in Warden, run by my friend Jean.  I went there.  Of course I did.

Sun rise (I think), shot through the dirty window of my truck in Lind (I think).
Yes, this is the part of the trip where I start to lose track.

At home in Revere.  Horses wore rain sheets almost every night on this trip. 
Sometimes it was cold.  Sometimes it rained.  Sometimes, both.  

One of the cool things about this trip is that we get opportunities to meet and ride
with total strangers--who become friends.  Andrea, Jean and Raven are some
with whom I hope to ride again soon!  photo by S. Lindsay

This year I spent several happy hours hanging out in camp with Sharon and her husband
Ben.  Here they are, driving their team of 23-year old Haflingers.  photo by S. Lindsay

Something spooked the Haflingers as they were coming into camp one evening,
and they bent the dickens out of the cart pole.  Sharon was afraid that their trip was over...

...but the problem-solvers got together over dinner and figured out a plan, and the
next morning they fixed the pole!  Nobody does this trip alone.  We all help each other.

Several days, the Dragon and I leapfrogged with the bicycles, especially
Sandra, Ty, and Steven.  They are excellent companions--and they always opened gates for us!
photo by S. West

The Rock Creek Trail is currently a "side quest" because it dead-ends onto a broken bridge 
that leads to private property, but we have permission to explore it.  So we did.
This is the prettiest photo I took on the entire trip.

Coffee and treats at breakfast time in Ewan.  I'm not a huge fan of coffee OR sweet 
breakfast stuff, but he made me an enormous cup of Earl Grey and that was awesome.

Does this seem dirty?  By the end of the ride, this did not seem dirty.

Lynette and Byron are my neighbors--not just on the ride!  They live about
a quarter-mile from Haiku Farm, on the same road.

Lynette and Byron drive their 2 Tennessee Walkers in front of a beautiful blue wagon,
and they invited me to come with them on the trail.  And they let me drive the team--a lot!
Yes:  there is probably a wagon in my future.  

Lynette and Byron's rig, photo by S. Lindsay

Lynette shot this photo of me driving.

Pretty sure this is the Escure Ranch near Revere.  It was a long, beautiful day. 
Fiddle wanted to Go Fast (again/still) and it felt like
riding her when she was 12, instead of 20.  Unexpected, but awesome.

At home in Malden, the town that burnt to the ground in 2020.

My rig got "dirty" in Ewan.  Then it rained, which gave the next layer of dirt a bit 
of stickiness when we got to Malden.

It rained for about an hour in Malden, and I was very glad my horse wanted to
Go Fast on the trail, because it meant that I watched the downpour from the warm, dry cab
of the truck and the Dragon was tucked into her rain sheet for the duration.

Post-rain dirt on the rig.  My trailer is the go-to spot for wannabe graffiti artists.

Photographer Sharon Lindsay joined the group in Malden to snag some images.

I haven't had a real "ride photo" since we retired from endurance!
photo by S. Lindsay

In 1989, the state Centennial, Rusty walked the entire trail from Tekoa to
Olympia.  Nowadays she needs a walker to get around, but when
we have time in camp she teaches me American Sign Language.
photo by S. Jones

at home in Rosalia (I think).  The sky was (temporarily) blue there.

Rain in the forecast, so I tied a raincoat over the saddle, which would have worked well
if it had stayed in place.  But it didn't.  Wet.

In two days, I managed to soak through three pairs of boots and
at least five pairs of socks.  Ugh.

The last day of the ride, on the trail to Tekoa.  I took this picture to show the relatively
good trail tread--most of the day was deep mud and pouring rain.
But hey:  my horse agreed to walk.  Finally!

It was raining when I woke up early in Tekoa, so I packed up camp and headed home.
Apparently, by doing this, I missed a spectacular thunder/lightning/rain storm
in camp, which lasted most of the day.  Oh, gee, rats?

At home.  The garden didn't need watering even once for the three weeks I was gone,
but watching my horse stand in the rain is much more pleasant when
she is wearing a clean, dry rain sheet and I am wearing clean, dry socks!

Easton to Tekoa, approximately 230 miles.  

For completing an endurance ride, you usually get a t-shirt or a bucket.  For completing every mile of this trail, you earn a white scarf--and bragging rights. 

 I will probably never wear the scarf again, but I treasure the journey.

Happy trails, pardners.