Turbo

Now that you know we have Brownie who is the boss, Tango the girly one, it's time to meet Turbo the Tank. When you think of the name Turbo you think of speed, raw power or adrenaline. Turbo is the opposite of that, Turbo is dependable and solid. Whenever any of the other horses shy away we send in Turbo. Since there isn't much Turbo won't do, if he turns away we rethink our options. Here he is showing off that dependability with Jessie and Rachel.

"Oh a big wave is coming maybe I better move away toward the sand"

Don't you think this saddle is a bit big for me mom?

Turbo does have his kryptonite though... You don't want to mention logs, sticks, little branches or anything made from wood that crosses the trail. Turbo swears that they are going to eat him.

Brownie

Brownie is:

1. The boss
2. Jessie's best friend
3. Tireless
4. Surefooted
5. Cute?
6. Sweet
7. Dependable
8. Good babysitter

Brownie and Clayt

Unless you ask him to do something he doesn't want to!

Then his true personality comes out

Tango

Here at the Double H ranch the horses are all boys but we do have one that is kinda on the feminine side.... Rachel has a thing for purple and poor Tango has had to endure but he finally broke his purple halter last bath time. He has been using this old rope halter until Rachel buys him a new one.

Tango putting up with a beauty treatment

This is Tango when he overheard her say she is going to start a hot pink theme for him!

HELP ME!

Milo McIver State Park

Milo McIver


I really enjoyed McIver and it was fairly close. We will definitely go back. The trails were beautiful but busy, the sound of the bubbling creek was relaxing, and the company was amazing!


This isn't a huge park but more then enough trails for an afternoon ride. We even played in the water a bit when we finally coaxed our trusty steeds into the river. It was a cold fall day so we didn't play to much but It will defiantly be on the plan for next summer. I would plan for a nice picnic stop at the side of the river. I wouldn't really call it a beach but there are some nice large flat rocks to sit and relax on.


One caveat, my daughter was scared to go down the trail to the water. It is not a long hill but it is steep and rocky. It was not difficult, but if you have timid horses or riders then you may need to practice.

Why is Brownie always posing?

Bob Straub State Park

This was a nice little beach ride with my daughter Jessie.  We left the boys in Hebo at Clay's cousin playing with guns to prepare for Zach's first hunting trip. Jess and I decided to drive down to the beach and ride.

I think it was Brownie's first time at the beach at the beginning he was freaking out at the way the sand moved under his feet. I wasn't sure how he would do because the last time we tried to make him cross a small creek he jumped it! Jess started out on Brownie and rode him for about an hour but then got frustrated and tired. So I took over. I never got him in the main water but I was able to get him to play around in a few large puddles. All in all it was a fun day. I do think Ft Stevens is slightly better just because it is not near as busy.

Bob Straub web site

Hardy Creek Trail head

Let me tell you about the first time we tried to ride this trail. Rachel and I got off early from work and had decided since my daughter in school we would try a new trail. I had found a description of this trail online somewhere and it seemed like it would be about an hour away. 

I HATE GOOGLE MAPS!!!! It tried to take us 6 miles down a gravel road that crossed private property then told us to "turn right." No street name, no street view just "turn right." After about 3 hours of searching we gave up and went back to town to eat. We were so frustrated we decided to call it a day and shop the local tack stores. That was a bust too, little did we know they are closed on Mondays. The only thing that saved the day was we decided to ask for directions at the ranger station. They gave us nice easy directions, paved roads the whole way. It was however, more frustrating when we found the place as we were only about a mile away several times!

It was about 5pm but we were not going to finish the day without riding so we hopped on our horses as fast as we could and went exploring. Our moods soon improved because it is a great place to ride. The first mile or so uphill is on an old gravel forest rode but after that it is single track dirt. It was so pretty we lost track of time before we realized even if we turned around right then it was going to be dark when we loaded the trailer.

We did make it down around dusk but by the time we were on the road again it was dark. Good thing we have great horses, they are very patient with us crazy horse owners.

That ride only wet our appetite so we talked Josh into coming with us and we went for a serious ride the next day.

Josh at Hardy Creek

The trails offer something for everyone from easy gravel fire roads to "Black Diamond" trails. Note, when it says black diamond take heed, it is very difficult!  We were riding the Rim trail which is generally rated as "more difficult" I would rate it about a 5, not very hard if you have a trusting horse. We did find a few logs to step over and small water crossings. One section of the Rim trail has the BD rating. As we continued along we were all wondering why the trail was rated so difficult, it seemed more of the same. (que scary music) You guessed it we turned the corner and found ourselves looking almost straight down, large boulders and sharp corners to add to the excitement.

I have to tell you a little about ourselves here. Rachel is the experienced one, she generally leads. I have some experience and Josh just comes along for the ride. When we came face to face with the drop of doom Rachel had been leading. It didn't take her more then a second to turn around and smile sweetly, "Turbo should go down first", she says. I trust my horse, I trust Rachel so I headed down the hill. Another surprise waited us at the bottom, a sharp turn into a water crossing. Then looking on the other side an even steeper hill with even bigger rocks to get back up. I figured we are half way in now so I kept going. Once we reached the top Rachel tells me how nervous she was. Nervous !@!@# Now she tells me. Last time I trust her!

Truthfully though I want to go back, it was so exhilarating and we forgot pictures........ Maybe I will take a video of Brownie coming down. Where Turbo and Tango were picking through going slowly and carefully down the hill, Brownie just kept on walking at his normal pace as if we were back on the fire roads. Crazy horse!

Here are a couple of pictures of the sane areas.

Tina at the beginning of the Rim trail

It is a multi use trail and while we have seen bike tracks we have not seen anyone else up there yet. Don't let the Black Diamond area scare you there are plenty of easy trails and a mix in between.

Directions that don't take you off road

Tryon Creek State Park

Today was a great day! My daughter and I went out close to home and found a nice little park hidden away in Lake Oswego. All the trails are gravel so it seems like it would be usable all year but bring boots or horses with hard feet if you go barefoot. The two main trails are probably about 3.5 miles in total so it is not a large park. But it is a windy trail with lots of elevation changes so I didn't find it boring. I wouldn't bring someone who is scared to go up or down hill. There were also several wooden bridges to cross.

 We found it very scenic and my daughter wants to go back again. I loved how the fall leaves crunched under our hooves. There was lots of foot traffic but we were the only horses. The parking area was small but easy to get in and out of.