Rest Day: Craig, CO Style

Notes from the kids at church this morning.

Quilt/banner hanging over the sanctuary exit.

Today was a rest day… which mostly means that we got to sleep in and (probably) won’t have to ride a bike unless we want to. But today I had the chance to ride something else! Yes indeed, after breakfast and a church presentation (where we shared stories as the sermon) and lunch we jumped into a car with Mr. Neil Folks (president of the local Fuller Center) and headed out to his home a little ways west of Craig, tucked into the hills of the “Western Slopes” (as they call this side of the Rockies). There I spent a blissful  2 hours, along with Sue and Brett (two other riders) getting to ride horses and visit with Neil and his partner of the past 13 years, Ms. Teri Mansfield.

Teri and Willy

Teri helped us out with saddling and then coached us through the whole process as we took their semi-retired, very gentle, 14-hand, quarter horse mare, Willy for some warm-up laps around one of their pastures and practiced a few maneuvers. It felt so unbelievably wonderful to be back in a different kind of saddle again. After weeks of biking past beautiful horses across the country it was an absolute delight to be riding again; to move with the gentle giant and re-learn again how to communicate clearly but gently with the horse. But, not only did we get to ride this sweet, old gal… I had the chance to ride bareback for the very first time of my life on their younger and more-spirited 15+ hand Fox Trotter, a shining black gelding named Smokey. A combination of lots of love and not much riding recently meant that his sides were nice and round and settling onto his back (minus the less-than-graceful flop up) felt a whole lot like rolling into your favorite armchair. His gait was beautiful and, as long as I didn’t think about how crazy it really was that I just jumped on this new horse, it was so great to take him around simple turns at a walk and learn a bit of how to balance and communicate without a saddle.

This was incredibly generous of Neil and Teri to let us complete strangers (and greenhorns nonetheless) come and ride their horses for a whole Sunday afternoon. It was a Sunday afternoon in which they could have been taking a nap, catching up on projects around the house, or enjoying an afternoon on their porch with their dogs in the shade. Instead they were out sweating, cussing (just a little), taking pictures, laughing and working alongside us and the horses. These are incredibly generous people who, although not overflowing in conversation or explosive enthusiasm, showed us in all of their many actions this weekend that they cared so deeply for us: complete strangers. They are simply good folks from ranching backgrounds who love and speak and live and show hospitality in their own unique way.

I can only hope that through our actions, our words of gratitude and the small bit of excitement that we might have ignited about the good work of providing decent, affordable housing to those in need are repayment enough. But, at the end of the day, I suppose it really isn’t about coming out even. It is, it must be all about relationships. And that, my friends, is exactly why I am so grateful to be here, now, in this moment, today. Life is beautiful and so very surprising. I can’t say it enough.

Smokey and I... first time bareback! Yikes! Glad it was in a small-ish pen!

Who says you can't take a selfie with a horse?? :-)

When the last FCBA ride stopped here a few years back they just referred to Neil as "Grandpa Rocks"... because of this shirt. :-)

Teri, Neil and I

And a sunset trek afterwards with some of the gang to "The Sandrocks" north of Craig and above the city to watch the sunset and the stars come out. Melissa and Brett are in the front, Kert is taking pictures and Alex, of course, is photo-bombing. Nice.