Life as a Cowboy

​Wow.  It has been so much fun that I haven’t had time to do a blog entry!  While we have been doing so many things, with so much to talk about, in this blog I am going to talk about being a cowboy.

We spent two incredibly fun days at Kevin and Amy Warren’s house in Daniel, Wyoming.  The second day we went on a hike to the source of the Green River in the Wind River Mountains.  It was am amazing hike along two lakes and a river that had incredible views. At the top of the hike we were all feeling nice and warm than we decided to take a skinny dip in the lake.  It was FREEZING!!!! As soon as we got in we ran right out of the lake and laid on some warm rocks. ​

After we got home from our Green Lakes hike, Ethan and I were waiting eagerly for Kevin’s return so that we could do “boy stuff”.  When he got home he grabbed a beer and a lariat and told us to follow him to the horse enclosure.  We crawled through the barbed-wire fence and then the horses came galloping past us!  It was such a graceful thing to see.  Kevin called Strider (his horse) over and put a harness around the horse’s head so we would only be able to control Strider through the reins.  Ethan and I traded turns riding the horse, and while one was riding the horse the other practiced using the lariat.

The first time I went on the horse it was so incredible that you could feel the legs and muscles more with each step.  As we got more comfortable we were able to go farther and farther without Kevin leading us.  Then Kevin then told us to go to and around objects, and we learned how to control the horse on our own.  In doing so we learned that if you act comfortable then the horse will allow you to control it.  Then for our last ride we were able to canter to the fence and back.  It was the most thrilling and joyous thing I’ve ever done.  All of a sudden, Strider went fast and his gait felt very natural.  It was just beautiful and hard to describe in words.

Afterwards, we learned how to throw knives.  It was super fun.  We learned that you don’t need to used your wrist at all; just point to where you want the knife to go.  After having some fun doing that, Kevin brought out the bullwhip.  It made a really, really loud noise, louder than a gunshot!  He left us to fool around with that while he went to get his BB gun.  We had some fun trying to hit some plastic things and as it got dark we went inside for a much needed dinner of chili and cornbread.  Yum!

I want to thank Kevin and Amy for sharing their house and life with us and for inspiring Ethan and me to become cowboys!