Eddie said, "I’m going riding out there tomorrow if I have to go by myself."

The next morning we went down and got a map of the Bud Love area and batteries for my GPS. We went back and got the trailer ready to haul the three horses out and ride the area. We saddled the horses before we put them in the trailer.

Dale had great concern for the rattlesnakes and wolves that inhabited the area. I just figured that if that other woman rode the area all of the time, I could ride it once. I wanted to ride in Wyoming!

Dale rides English so he is ready much faster than us Western riders. We took outback coats, water and food. I took the GPS but it quit working about 20 minutes into the ride. I wonder if it quits if it gets too hot?

Dale rode out on top of one of the dunes. It would have made a good picture but I didn’t feel I could handle the camera and the GPS.

There was a gate we had to go through and then follow the path over the desert like area. At once I saw the cactus. Must avoid them at all costs. Again I notice the thumbnail size orange flower that occasionally popped up out of nowhere.

There were holes in the ground, but they were about ground squirrel size and not a real threat to the horses like the prairie dog holes at the Badlands.

We came to a place where the trail joined a jeep path and we followed it for a while. Dale took a few pictures and we began our uncharted journey toward the green gully that indicated water and lead up into the high mountain area.

I was a little concerned about not following a trail but I figured we could see the trailer from one of the rises. We could not, but we rode on. Dale was riding up the gully looking for a place to cross. Eddie decided we could cross more quickly and rode Dusty down to the two foot wide drain of water. Dusty would not cross it! He snorted and rolled his eyes and backed away, which made Eddie do a little snorting of his own.

"Do you want me to see if Teege will cross it?" I asked but there was no reply, only the continuing contest of wills between the man and the horse.

I eased on over a way and asked Teege to jump it and she did easily. Soon Dusty had joined her and we were again on our way up the mountain.

"We might not be able to get up that mountain right there," Dale stated more than once. "There are rattlesnakes in those rocks."

The horses were breathing hard in the thinner air and we stopped to let them rest as needed. I could feel the pressure and so could Dale, but Eddie did not notice any difference even though he was the one with a partially collapsed lung!

Every now and then we could see a little seep of water in the gully but there was no good place to offer the horses water. I didn’t worry much about water for Teege because she never drinks on the trail until after three o’clock.

There were rocky places in the trail but they did not pose a problem. Teege always preferred the grass to bare trail so I let her do that. Dale rode Scooter in the tall grass in an attempt to get him out of the pace.

I still kept a careful look out for the infrequent cactus. Many, many antelopes ran away from us and up the hill. There might be eight or 10 in a bunch or a couple could cross the path. We saw a hawk flying near us.

"He’s looking for those rattlesnakes," Eddie concluded.

"Well, he can have them."

Dale added, "I hope he gets them all."

We crossed the brown grass area and began the climb in the green grass. The path was steeper and more rocky. Finally it was very steep and all rocks. The rocks were sharp, football size or larger and no ground was showing.

Dale stopped and said, "I don’t know if we want to do this or not. It gets worse on up the trail and that mare might tear her feet up on these rocks. It would be even worse coming back down."

Of course, Eddie is always for going on, but I had about enough. I didn’t worry at all about Teege’s feet, but I didn’t like a trail like that.

"I’m going back down. I’m going to get off and lead her."

When I looked around for a place to get off, I couldn’t find one! The trail was narrow and steep and there was a thorn tree beside me. I figured the easiest thing would be ride the mare back down, so I did. The men turned around and followed me.

"What about that path around the hill up there," Eddie yelled to me.

"It’s too narrow," I replied as I continued back down the mountain without a backward glance.

I realized Dale was using me for an excuse but he didn’t really want to go up that possibly rattlesnake infested rockslide either. I also knew if I were not along that Eddie would go right on up and insist Dale go too.

I didn’t care. I didn’t want to ruin the men’s ride, but I just could not enjoy that kind of fly-by-night, goat path type of trail riding.

Dale rode around the hill on to another dune. Eddie and I looked down a hill and up a steep path on the other side.

"Is that too steep for you?" Eddie asked me.

"I don’t guess, just so she doesn’t fall over backwards on top of me."

"Just give her her head and hang on," Eddie advised as Dusty dug in to climb the hill.

Down we went and up we went as I leaned first back down the hill and then forward and held tight to a big handful of her mane.

I apologized to my husband for my inability to ride like he could.

"You’re riding good, Honey. Do you want to go back to the trailer?"

"I would love to. I’m sorry, but I just can’t enjoy this."

Eddie hollered and told Dale that we were going to head back.

As we rode up to the top of yet another dune, the wind had really increased. It was another example of driving wind, blasting wind or relentless wind.

"I can’t keep my hat on!" Eddie yelled into the wind.

I looked around and he was riding with one hand on top of his head holding his outback hat on. It was funny because it was all smushed out of shape in the attempt to keep it from blowing away. He had to ride all of the way back to the truck like that!

Eventually we came back to a place where we could spot the red dually and the white trailer from the distance. It sure looked good to me. I did not want to wander around aimlessly in this country without marked trails or maps.

When we got back to the Sundowner, I tied Teege to the trailer. She is the only one allowed such a privilege because she will not paw the trailer. I pulled Teege’s saddle and dropped the bits in her halter bridle. I don’t know how, but I lifted the springback up onto the third rack. I held Dusty while Eddie pulled the saddle and then put him in the first stall. Then my mare and then Dale’s gelding.

That wasn’t but a few hours riding in Wyoming, but at least it was some.

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia