urvis! There was something about being on top of a large animal that made me feel a bit uneasy. We found our destination and I quickly realized that we had not signed up for a touristy form of horseback riding. This was the real deal! A rustic sprawl of some sheds, outhouses, and fields made up the Broken Saddle ranch where we would be riding. The ranch was nestled in some dusty hills with great views of surrounding mountains. The heat was present even though it was still morning and combined with the fact that we had to wear jeans and shoes to ride the horses, I was rather hot and eager to start the riding. Harold, our cowboy guide for the ride, took his time going over the basics of interacting with the horse, maneuvering the reins, and how to sit comfortably on the horse. Harold was a not-going-to-take-any-b.s kind of guy but was very nice and informative. He told us about how James Gandolfini (a.k.a Tony Soprano) had been there before and how generous and great a guy he was. James sent him a nice handwritten note and all of the seasons of the Sopranos after enjoying his horseback riding experience with Harold.After mounting my horse, Samantha, I felt a bit more comfortable as I realized that my legs were secure in the stirrups and that they would keep me upright. Harold taught us how to hold the reins, how to steer, stop the horse, and how to get it moving faster. Immediately, I felt a strong connection and hopeful sense of trust as I realized my life would be in her hands! I gave he
r a nice pat and waited until the others were ready to head out. We started out slow heading up into the hills. Samantha fell right into line behind Harold and made it very easy for me as she mimicked practically every move of the horse in front of her. We walked, trotted, and even cantered (slower than a gallop but pretty fast for first time on horse) our way up into the hills. Harold looked back often to make sure we were all using the correct form and technique and also not lying bloody on the ground. He also provided a lot of interesting information about horses, the historic town of Cerrillos, and the surrounding geography. It was exhilarating when we would pick up the pace to a canter and as we kept going I felt much more safe and comfortable on my horse. As the hour winded down I felt very relaxed
and at peace as we meandered our way down the hills and back to the ranch. We fed our horses carrots when we finished and thanked Harold for an amazing experience!Our next destination was Albuquerque, which was just a bit further south. Driving into the city, we quickly realized that there wasn't a whole heckuva lot going on here. It was Sunday around mid-day and most restaurants were closed and no one was walking around the streets (very different than what you would see in Boston on a Sunday!) We navigated the downtown streets until we found a place that looked satisfactory from the outside (keyword being outside). We ended up eating our lunch at a biker bar where I half expected to see a fight erupt even though it was mid-day Sunday. We rushed through our lunch so we could get the heck out of there and then, sadly, we dropped Dan off at a hotel near the airport. We had been debating whether to hang out in Albuquerque for the night and check out the scene but again we were not big fans of the city. We made plans to stay with my Aunt Diana in Silver City, NM which was about a 4 hour drive south from Albuquerque.
The drive was very pleasant with beautiful scenery abundant with mountains and a lot more green than we had seen in Arizona. We saw some perfect rainbows and distant storms that luckily stayed away. We had a bit of trouble finding my Aunt's house as it is nestled inside the Gila National Forest on a dirt road and it was dark by this time. After pulling into some of the wrong driveways, we finally found her house. It had been years since I had seen my Aunt Diana so it was great to see her! She was extremely hospitable providin
g a wonderful home-cooked dinner which hit the spot after so much road food! We spent the evening catching up, meeting her dog, Dancer, and asking many questions about the local mining town of Silver city, the abundant wildlife (mountain lions, bears, coyotes, and more!), and everything else! Diana was very knowledgeable about everything and it was great to spend some time with her, although it was not long enough! Road trips are great for seeing the country and getting a flavor for various environments but can be frustrating with shorter than ideal visits and other tough decisions that have to be made about where to go, who to see, and what to do with the time!
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