The Last Month

Well, it has been some time since I wrote here last. The last month has been busy, with Thanksgiving and now Christmas preparations. My parents visited last week and we had a great time seeing the desert and hanging out with the Elkhorn gang. I even got them up on horses! We had the crew Christmas party on Sunday night, complete with a very funny Yankee swap. Mom and Dad actually scored some good stuff, which of course they gave to me. 

Elkhorn does a good job of doing it up for the holidays. Two days ago we had the annual Bough Ride -- we ride high up the mountain until we find a good amount of evergreens (yes, they do have some in this desert), we have a campfire and lunch, and then we walk off into the woods and cuts boughs to decorate the ranch buildings and cabins. All of it is loaded on two pack horses and then we trek back down. It was a great day for many reasons. 1: all-day ride; 2: just the crew went out; 3: the highest and steepest trails I've ridden yet and amazing views; 4: smelling the evergreens and feeling a bit at home in the woods; and 5: riding, all day :-)