Free Time

As of the end of the work day today, I am on vacation. As is typical with me I have packed it full of horse plans.

Carmen is not sure what she thinks of 'vacation'

This weekend, Carmen and I are headed to CNHP for our second show of the season. We were there last year and I was really pleased with how it went. This time I have booked a hotel instead of camping. Last year I got almost no sleep and I really don't function well without sleep.

not this time

My goals for the show are as follows:

• Keep Carmen straight and on the aids
• don't wait three strides to respond to her tension
• keep my seat engaged not tense
• have fun

the wild roses are taking over the hill by my ring.
The smell is heavenly. 

We also have a clinic the next weekend with Karen on Centered Riding Principles. It should be a lot of fun and full of learning. I am excited. 

In between I shall hang out at home and get some chores done. Including walking the dog and doing all sorts of things that are not work. This includes working on a special project that I am not yet ready to divulge. 

this is my Pussy Willow enjoying the great outdoors

these two <3

I do love summer in Nova Scotia. It is so beautiful here this time of year. I am going to enjoy every minute of my vacation.

How to Hike to an Ice Cave

I had many memorable experiences on my vacation but this is one for the books (some things may be exaggerated for dramatic effect. But not by much).

It starts with my best friend suggesting we go on a hike to see an ice cave (actually it’s a tunnel through a glacier but everyone calls it a cave). I agree because, well ‘do all the things’ is kinda my life motto.

Look up hike online, realize that you haven’t really hiked in a long time and you are 54.  Have  doubts as to the wisdom of this.

Suppress doubts.

Drive to small Yukon community with friend and another friend. The clouds are low and there is a light snow falling. On the way see wild elk and horses.

Drive by entry point and turn back. Entry point is a highway km marker and some orange tape tied to trees.

Bundle up in preparation. Be really glad you went to bathroom at gas station right before.

Walk through trees and then up a frozen steam bed feeling confident.  The snow is granular and it’s like walking in sand and your right knee is complaining. Shush knee and keep going. The world is gray all around you and visibility is limited.

Friend of friend points to hazy mountain in the far  distance and declares ‘the ice bridge is in a pass through there’.

can you see that mountain? I had to squint

Decide she must be joking and keep going.

Realize she’s not joking. And the mountain is looking just as far away as it did 20 minutes ago. At some point knee stopped bitching and has subisded into sullen silence. Decide it’s because you worked through the stiffness and not any other reason.

Mountain still far away.

Get overheated and stop to strip off layers. -13 has never felt so warm.  Pack is now heavier but the
coolness is refreshing.

Briefly wonder if this is the leading cause of death for menopausal women in the North.

Mountain is closer but incline is steeper.  Friend of friend (who's 20 years younger) assures you that it’s not far now. Look at her map on phone and feel like she’s overly optimistic or lying to keep you motivated. Decide that it's probably both.

it's in the cleft in the middle (sort of. I think)

Rest breaks are becoming more frequent. Contemplate quitting. Decide you can see cave in distance. Keep going.

The last km to cave is steep and the terrain is harder. Even more breaks. Body is telling you that it hates you and will never forgive this outrage.

Cave seems to be on wheels as it never gets any closer. Begin to feel like Sam accompanying Frodo to Mount Doom. Feel grateful that at least there won't be any giant spiders. Shit, did something just move?  Realize that it's highly unlikely to be giant spiders or bears. Probably.

Decide you are going to cave so that you can tell it to go to hell. Wonder if you are overreacting.  Decide you don’t fucking care.

at last- I can see it but that last uphill was so painful

Make it to cave. Take deep breaths while it dawns on you on majestic this is. You have hiked to a glacier.

Explore cave and take lots of photos. Rest for about 20 minutes while you chew on a frozen granola bar. Wish you had a dog sled to go back.

the floor was littered with ice that has fallen from the ceiling.
It was too treacherous to walk on 

I loved striations

I'm standing in the entrance and took this photo of Cynthia for scale,
otherwise it can seem smaller than it really was. 

Start the trek back. Realize how much easier it is  to go downhill. Relatively.

 Resolve to increase fitness when you go home.

On the trek down grayness clears revealing that you are surrounded by the most spectacular mountains. Breathe in the fresh, clean air and listen the silence. Stop to take many photos. Also put layers back on because -13 now feels cold.

the light in the Yukon is just magical

walking away, the mountain seems majestic. Not daunting

Keep walking wondering if you can find the orange markers to get back to car. Point out a tree that you saw on the way back.
Me: We're almost there. I remember that tree!'
Friend looks at all the trees surrounding us and then at you with a worried expression.
Assure her that you are okay.

See a snowmobile pull out from woods and wonder if they would pick up a hitchhiker. Best friend says 'I really hope they pulled out on the trail that takes us back to the car'.

Finally you see it. Fall into car and drive back to town. Go to local restaurant (only one open) and order large hamburger and fries. Devour meal with all the grace of a starving hyena.

Marvel at the scenery on the drive home. There are mountains in every direction as far as the eye can see. Doze off at some point. Fitbit cheerily chirps at you to ‘go for a stroll’. Tell it to fuck off.

Everything hurts. Back home pour glass of wine and have  hot bath.

Hike to cave: 2.5 hours. Hike back 1.5.

No regrets.

A Week of New Things

I am back from a truly wonderful vacation. I spent the time with Cynthia having a blast and having all sorts of new experiences.

If you don't mind I'll share these with you along with some photos.

So sorry that there's no horse related material.

#1. Experience -37 delicious. 

The first day there was bitterly cold and I can honestly say that I have never been out in such cold. Despite that we bundled up and went to watch the start of the Yukon Quest Dog Race. The teams race for 1,000 miles. I can't even imagine doing such a thing.

Cynthia and Renata putting a brave face on the cold

the dogs were flying

I was okay for a bit and then all of my exposed skin was feeling like it was being peeled off. We fled to the car and home. We then headed out for brunch and then drove down the highway to catch some more dog teams. 

Fortunately, the rest of the week was much warmer: -12 to -20 most days. 

#2. Trying New Foods:

I tried a bison burger and it was delicious. Like amazing delicious. Like the best burger I have had in a long time. And I am fussy about my meat. I rarely like game (absolutely loathe deer). 

I also tried Elk sausage which was made at a local deli and was really good as well. I did not have one bad meal on my whole trip. 

I also highly recommend that potato & bacon soup

#3.  Blowing Glass:

Cynthia took me to Lumel Studios to see their artwork. It is a funky little place in downtown Whitehorse. Turns out that they do workshops. So I found myself signing up for an hour to make some items. It was so much fun. I could see myself getting into this quite easily (like I need another expensive hobby). 

Cynthia had this gift waiting for me- a white horse from Whitehorse.
It's a example of their beautiful art work

I made three things: a hanging ball, paperweight and a wine glass (it has a thumb holder)

#4. Curling

Curling is not a new thing. I have been doing it for years (you know- the sport on ice with brooms and rocks). In fact I got Cynthia and Andrew into it a few years ago. They joined the Whitehorse Curling Club and needed a spare the week I was there. It was a lot of fun- the club is lovely and the people are fun. 

But what was more exciting was that we scored 8 points in one end. This is a big deal in curling. It means that all of the rocks from our team scored in that end. Think of it like a hole in 1 in golf (only more rare) or getting a dressage score in the 90's. A curler can go their whole life and not score 8 points in one end. 

 I stole this picture from the FB page for the club. 

We had our picture taken and the details are submitted to Curling Canada for awards. It was all very exciting. 

#5. Hike to a Glacier

I have a whole blog post about this hike but it was stunning. And hard. Really hard. 

But beautiful. 

#6. Dog Sledding! 

I honestly never thought that I would ever do this. We went to Alayuk to do a 2 hour dog sledding through some beautiful scenery. When we arrived they supplied us with the winter clothes to be safe. My driver was this young and very handsome frenchman. 

When he said " come to the back room and I will get you the clothes you need' I looked at him and said 'Sure you can dress me'. Proving, once again, that I can be really awkward even at my, ahem, mature age. 

The dogs were beautiful and well trained. Two of the dogs in my sled were going to the Iditarod dog race. 

ready to go

The patriarch, named Willow. I loved him- he had such presence

at break time some dogs were impatient

while others relaxed and enjoyed some attention

I got to actually drive these beautiful creatures. That was quite the experience. 

I actually took this while being a passenger. 

 It would be fun to try with Guinness but we simply don't get enough snow. 

#7. Hot Springs

No photos but hot springs are wonderful things. It's amazing how mellow you feel after soaking in these. It took all the pain out of sore muscles (that come from trying these things). 

#8. Northern Lights

I did get to see the Northern Lights. Not the really fabulous ones but still it was cool. Trying to get photos was interesting (i.e, hard). 

There were other things I did (like the wildlife preserve, shopping, exploring).  I fell in love with Whitehorse. It was beautiful and everywhere you went there was something to do. Ed and I are going back in September and will be doing some new things (like paddling the yukon river). 

Honestly, if you have a chance, go. You will not regret it. 

I know I'm glad that I went.

I'm Back

I am back from what turned out be a fabulous vacation. If you ever have a chance go on a river cruise do it. I loved everything from beginning to end.  I have hundreds of photos to go through which will keep me busy for months.

It was my first time in Europe.  I was so impressed by how clean it was. I didn't see piles of trash in the streets or along the highway. Here there's all this effort to ban coffee cups and plastic to reduce littering. Nope- we just need to stop freaking littering.

I fell in love with Budapest. A beautiful city with a great vibe to it

The other thing that struck me was the wine. It was so good. And the beer. And the food. It was all amazing. I ate and drank like there was no tomorrow. #noregrets.

don't get me started on the ice cream

Ed and I danced every night. If you knew Ed you would know that falls into the category of 'minor miracle'. We were part of a larger group and quickly became known as 'the Nova Scotians'. We brought the fun.

I loved touring the small and large cities. I loved sitting on the deck of the boat watching vineyards, farms, churches and castles go by. The weather was stunning- sunshine and 23-26 everyday. I loved meeting new people and getting to know them. I had fun conversations with a couple from New York who had family connections to NS and Newfoundland. We had spirited political discussions (they were conservatives and I'm a liberal). But they were the kind of conversations that seem to be impossible these days: polite and respectful. There was one guy on the boat who made racist and mysoginistic comments but we just avoided him.

I got lost in the details of houses. I want this plaque. 

So many highlights. Be prepared to be spammed with photos for a while. When it was time to come home we were ready. Shortly after I got home I managed to squeeze in two rides. Given that we both had two weeks off (Shanea was unable to ride with weather and other things) they were not bad. Then I came down with the flu. After so many cities, airports, planes and busses it is not surprising. I've been trying to catch up on the blogs and see what you've been up to.

The vacation exceeded our expectations and it was just what we needed.