Awards Meeting & Coming Home

Sunday morning at 7 am was the Awards Meeting and I was able to get up and ready without waking up Levi. I carried the camera down and took a lot of photos of riders receiving their awards. Everyone got a ride shirt for completions and the people who placed in the Top Ten also got a bucket for their horse. The special awards, like top Junior and Best Condition took embroidered horse coolers or hay bags. The people who placed last were given a "tail-ender" award and a flashlight. Very nice prizes. They started with the 75 mile riders, then the 50s and finally the 25s. I was astounded to hear that I had placed 23rd!!! There were 48 riders in my division, with 46 completing and I was in the middle of the pack. Pretty awesome! It was sure better than I expected to do. All the beginning riders also got a certificate of completion for their first ride which was a nice extra. The ride shirts were perfect, a beautiful blue with large white ride logo on the front, a woman riding a white horse (symbolic of me and Sinwaan I think -grin-).

Our "camp neighbors" the girls from Bend area, were there and agreed to take some photos for me of me getting my awards. Then I saw Jonelle and she agreed to pose for a photo also. Since she lives nearby she had just driven in for the awards. I was glad to see her, and thanked her again for her help on the trail. She said she hoped to see me next year. Although, there has been talk that we won't be allowed back to ride at this location again. Something about endangered ground squirrels breeding season being at the same time, and too much impact on the land. Ride Manager Gail Williams encouraged us all to write letters about what we enjoyed about this ride to try and coax them into letting us have it again.

After the Awards meeting I took Ruth's shirt back to the trailer and found that everyone was up and getting ready to break camp. She wanted a different size so I took over feeding Levi so Matt could help Ruth with her flat tire on the horse trailer. It had frozen flat so when she backed up to a more suitable area to change it, the flat part was then on top. Once they got done with the tire, Ruth tied the horses to the trailer and started taking down her portable electric corral. Matt worked on getting the Suburban hooked back up to the camp trailer and I got things arranged in the trailer so they would stay put when we were on the road.

When we were ready to head out, I led the horses ahead of the vehicles to look for holes and shrapnel and we avoided a few. Upon reaching the main gravel road we loaded the boys up in the trailer and gave a last glance at our Ride Camp home for the weekend. We did not leave the same way we came in, but found the distance and road conditions to be about the same - although without that scary little bridge.

We led the way to the nearest gas station and filled up both the trucks. Then we led the way to the highway. At the on ramp Matt realized after all that jouncing around on the gravel roads he should probably check the bolts on the tire they changed on the horse trailer. He did not have a tork wrench in camp. He was able to tighten it up a little more so was relieved we had remembered to stop. Ruth went on ahead of us and soon lost us again, although we were doing fine at about 60-65 mph. (The speed limit was 75) When we reached the King City exit just outside of Pasco Matt decided he wanted to stop at Burger King for some food and a rest break. I was a little upset because we had to meet Ruth at our house so I could go with her out to the barn to help unload Sinwaan and all my tack from her truck. He had not realized that, so we tried to make the stop quick. Well the people at the Burger King were moving at the speed of a slug, and they skipped completely over our order number. Then they forgot to put Matt's sandwich in the bag so he had to go back in for that. Talk about an exasperating experience!

When I thought we were finally on the road again, we both heard a crazy sound coming from underneath our rig. A screeching that persisted only in drive, while moving forward. Matt stopped and put it in park, revved the engine and heard nothing. So he got out and I drove slowly and he walked alongside the truck, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. He thought maybe it could be the rear-end and if there is one thing you never want, it is for your rear-end to go out on a lifted truck of this size, while hauling a camper of that size. It could result in a nasty wreck. So by now we are on the other side of the overpass from "town" so I ran back to the nearest gas station, bought a calling card and started making calls. I was under the impression that Matt wanted me to call someone to haul our camper home, so we could try to limp the Suburban home without a load. I tried calling my mom first since she lives very close to that area, but got the message. So I called Ruth and left her a message too. After that I called Lara and lucky for me she happened to be at my house just then taking care of my critters. I asked her to wait for Ruth to be sure she got the message and ask her not to delay taking Sinwaan out to the barn. I also asked her if she could come and get our camp trailer. She didn't have any extra gas money so borrowed some from Ruth and took all our change and had just enough to get her to Pasco. Well after that conversation I went back to the truck and talked to Matt and he said "what? no! I am not driving this thing, we need a tow truck!" Then I realized that yes, we did have tow insurance and it should be covered.

So I went back to the gas station and called Lara to cancel her trip (she had just put the gas in her tank) and then started calling tow companies. I had a couple tell me they were busy, or couldn't leave town without someone to cover for them. I got a bunch of answering machines and even a wrong number. Finally Casaday-Beeline towing came through for us. And then I was also able to connect with my mom. They both showed up about the same time. The tow truck driver told us if we needed to, we could ride in the Suburban up on top of his tow rig. What?! I still can not believe that is legal. No thank you. Matt rode in the cab of the tow truck to guide the driver, and Levi and I rode with my mom back to town.

We had the driver drop the Suburban off at Walla Walla Transmission since that is where we had the rear-end work done, and in order for the insurance to cover a tow it had to be taken to a mechanic, not our home. So we disconnected everything, thanked the tow-man and sent him on his way. We hooked the camp trailer up to my mom's Explorer (Eddie the IV) and Matt drove it back to the house. He then realized the difference between having trailer brakes, and not. So we will have to be sure to install that on my mom's car before our May ride in Idaho. What an adventure.

I have to send out a special thanks to everyone who helped me on my journey in making this ride a reality. Thanks to Kittee and Dale for being my weekly riding partners (and for helping Ruth haul my stuff back to the barn after the ride), Jerry for taking a day off work to ensure the camp trailer had working running lights, to Ruth for hauling my horse (and the extra work), to Lara for watching all my animals at home and for being willing at a moment's notice to drop everything to come rescue us. To my mom for her assistance getting us back safely, and to my wonderful husband Matt for agreeing to yet another crazy adventure. Levi my son, the good sport toddler; and this time to Jonelle for getting me through the ride On Time. :) I owe you all a debt of gratitude. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dear auntie Kim sending me this fine steed either, and for her continual support. I know a lot of you have supported me either in thought, prayer or otherwise, and I am so appreciative to all of you. THANK YOU. Many happy trails.