Border to Border: The Long Haul

In an attempt to play catch up, since I am so terribly far behind in blogging, I will be keeping the next few blogs simple....a little text with lots of pics. Enjoy!

I left Texas in late August in the new truck and new trailer with 3 horses, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and mom and dad in tow. Thankfully, they agreed to make the long haul with me all the way across the country. We debated for days about which route to take, how many days we should be on the road, where our stops would be, etc. Planning a trip that involves numerous animals was a challenge, to say the least. I had to plan the trip based on where we could stop and keep all the critters and ourselves all in one place that wasn't more than 14 hours from our previous stop. After much deliberation about the weather...we didn't want to travel a route too hot for the animals either...we chose the most direct, fastest route possible...up a major intrastate highway to Montana and then over to Washington. Our first night was spent in Amarillo (8 hours). We stayed at a place right off the highway and got up super early the next day to head out. The second was in Cheyenne, Wyoming (12 hours). We went up through the corner of New Mexico and through Denver. Denver was AWFUL. I had the whitest knuckles and red palms from my death grip on the steering wheel. People in Denver drive like maniacs and it was HOT to boot. I was so glad to reach the Wyoming line. Our stop in Wyoming was at Terry Bison Ranch. We got to see the buffalo, camels, a great thunderstorm with beautiful lightning and had a great dinner on-site. I highly recommend this place....it was easy to get to and had lots to keep us occupied before we hit the hay. The third stop was in Anaconda, Montana just outside of Butte. We stayed at a nice B&B owned by two retired college professors from Florida. They were super nice and had an amazing MD Barn where the horses spent the night. AND I will definitely be going back...it is in the heart of the best fly fishing in the country....near to where "A River Runs Through It" was filmed. The views and scenery were stunning. I can't explain it...but Montana is BIG. There is a reason they call it Big Sky Country. You have to see it yourself to understand. Day 4 was spent on the road through Montana, Idaho and on to Orient, Washington. All in all, the trip was good. No big problems...not even a flat tire. We saw some amazing country and I was thrilled mom and dad were along for the ride. All the animals did great and we made it in one piece. Below are some photos from the trip. More on Washington coming soon.