Hey everyone;

 Remember, not letting us know of your planned attendance means we cannot inform you in the event of a cancellation.  Also, ALL rides and events may be cancelled at the discretion of the ride leader and WILL be cancelled when rain is imminent. Thanks!

 I have discovered something about myself this year—while I am more than game for exploration—for example, I am really looking forward to hauling Sis down to Benson this month—I realized have literally ignored my own back yard. Those of you guilty of the same, a word—take the time to explore the McDowell Sonoran Preservere/ Gateway Trailhead (I’m guessing any of the trailheads). If, like me, you THINK you’ve ridden the area because you’ve ridden McDowell Park, you are mistaken. Five of us rode the area for about two hours, making our own ‘loop’ around one of the mountains. While rocky, the trails are very well maintained, very clearly marked, with enough up and down to provide a great workout for the horses and stunningly beautiful views for the rider.

 For those of you ‘map’ impaired, such as myself, there is a three dimensional display of the area and trails at the restrooms, making ‘lost’ nearly impossible. This is the nicest, by far, trailhead I’ve ever seen. I know we’re in a budget crunch right now, but this is how ‘it’s’ done in case the city of Phoenix needs a ‘park’ role model. Water for the horses, plenty of trailer parking (without charge to park), hitching posts aplenty and flush toilets and running water for ‘us’—can’t ask for more. I might stick to weekday riding at this trailhead though—it was busy on a Wednesday so I can only imagine how congested it may prove on weekends.

Badger Springs is a truly amazing area—if you haven’t explored out there yet, I highly suggest you do. It’s not too far from home and while the facilities are moot, the parking is free and accessible and the ride-able landscape is limitless. About 20 of u s rode for a few hours down what I THINK was the actual, running Badger Springs, all the way to the Agua Fria River, which was just gorgeous, with its rock falls and clear pools. A word of warning—for the second time a horse did ‘drop’ to her belly in the river—this is clearly a dangerously soft sanded area. I suggest admiring the river but avoiding the temptation to ‘get in’… it’s just not worth it.

 Our guest trail boss, Leah, did a great job of keeping us on track and delivered us safely back at our trailers. Thanks, Leah. I’m hoping to talk her into another trip out there before it gets too warm, this time headed the other, more mountainous direction, to see a few of the many ruins and petro glyphs the area has to offer.

The Spur Cross ride will take place too late for this newsletter, so watch for that update next month.

And last but not least, the ACTHA ride out in McDowell Park—I’m happy to say our own Carla and her boy, Jark, placed again! Way to go, Carla!! Carla and Jark, while riding only Arizona ACTHA events so far, have actually made the National Leaders Board-- that’s VERY impressive. Congratulations!!!  

See you on the trail--