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Next Meeting: TUESDAY May 18, 2010
7:00 PM
Meeting will be at Cody's - 6032
E Cave Creek Rd
REGULAR MEETING LOCATION:
Foothills Community Foundation (FCF)Holland
Community Center34250 N. 60th Street, Bldg. B Scottsdale, AZ 85266
Located on 60th Street, south Carefree Highway. Meetings are held
the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM from September through May
(no meeting in December). All meetings will be held at the Foothills
Community Foundation – Holland Community Center in their activities
room unless otherwise noted.
FCF Holland
Community Center
http://www.azfcf.org/
PRESIDENTS LETTER
May brings our ride year to a close and some of us
turn into shade seekers as the heat comes. We've had a bit of
a rough year, trail wise. Weather has confused even the best
wea
thermen and we had to make
decisions based on their forecasts.
There is always an amount of uncertainty with predictions and
sometimes we had to cancel rides that were suppose to be 'rained
out' when in fact they may have been gorgeous days. “C’est la
vie“.
So onward, let’s look back at some of the great
programs we’ve had throughout the year. Last months program
was amazing and Paula has some great ideas for continuing with
‘saddle fitting’ next fall. There were so many faces, members
we haven’t seen in years. How exciting is that. This next
year we’ll continue to look for good programs and appreciate your
input and contacts. The members attending the April meeting
unanimously supported renewing our relationship with the Foothills
Community Foundation for next years meetings.
The last meeting will be held at our latest
restaurant addition to Cave Creek – Cody’s. See the separate
section for that information. I hope to see lots of members
come for a fun dinner and a short meeting while the food is cooking.
Have a wonderful summer,
Cindy
President
FROM OUR TRAIL COORDNIATOR
So this is my last month and I’d like to say “thank you” to all-- I
have truly enjoyed this year as your trail coordinator. I’ve
discovered amazing new trails, made many like minded friends/ new
riding companions and have enjoyed many a new adventure. Now, I am
thrilled to be passing the baton to our new Trail Coordinator, Sue
Van Meerten. I hope we make her feel very welcome in her new post. I
am truly happy she said “yes” to the job—I sincerely believe you
will enjoy her skills, efficiency and kindness for a long time to
come, not to mention she makes a mean batch of cookies! Take good
care of Sue and in turn she can’t help but take good care of you!
Enough of the mush, on to the rides!!
We had some great rides this month. On March 27th Carla Meeske and
her little man, Jark, kindly lead seven of us on a lovely loop on
the west side of the Spur Cross Conservation Area, a ‘section’ I
have very little experience riding. We encountered a wide and
refreshing water crossing (coming and going), made a seriously rocky
climb without incident or complaint, experienced some crazy-pretty
flower growth (including poppies, once we climbed high enough), took
a short break along the Spur Cross trail to grab a snack and rest
the horses, and we shared some magical vistas throughout the route.
Even the weather cooperated-- just cool enough with just enough
breeze to make for a gorgeous day of riding. Thanks, Carla, for
providing such a nice group ride. Oh, and I know weekend parking in
Spur Cross is always a concern—as an fyi, while it was tight, we all
managed without problem.
On April 3rd more than 20 of us rode out of the state trust land
just north of Carefree Highway at 14th St. We ended up divided into
two groups (and in a relatively ‘flat’ area, amazingly we did NOT
cross paths again until the ride was over!). The ride was a
leisurely two hour stroll that everyone seemed to enjoy. For our
day’s excitement, just minutes into the ride, Cindy and Digger
flushed out a seriously annoyed rattlesnake that we all gave a wide
berth! It definitely kept all our eyes open the remainder of the
morning! Once headed back to our trailers, a park ranger stopped to
talk with us, seeking input on the possible installation of a horse
and hiker step over to deter motorized vehicles, so fingers crossed
that happens soon. To finish the day, half of us met at El Encanto
Dos for a lovely, concerted lunch on the patio. This is a
particularly nice, close in area for anyone interested in local
places to ride.
On the 18th Karen Fattorosi very kindly dragged six of us along a
pleasantly winding tour through a section of the Prescott National
Forest that included famous Limestone Canyon. We even discovered,
albeit accidentally, the historic Limestone Kiln itself, built in
the 1890's along the original Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix
Railroad lines. Truthfully, that is just a good, old fashioned
charming area; though we rode for about four hours, we didn’t begin
to explore the possible trails. Before she relocates to the valley,
I’m hoping we can get back up and take advantage once again of
Karen’s good nature and explore a little further with her guidance.
A few of us met up in Dragoon, Arizona over the 24th for the ACTHA
ride. My reason for mentioning is not the competition itself but for
the area in general and the Triangle T Ranch in particular—both are
spectacular and at 4500 feet above sea level, the ranch assures a
nice, alternate ‘summer’ retreat. The ranch rents stalls, offers
‘dry’ camping, rents casitas (four of us rented a two bedroom
casita-- wonderful accommodations at a very reasonable price) and
there is a surprisingly reasonable restaurant/ bar, complete with
weekend entertainment, right on the property ($5.00 margaritas and
meals starting at around the same). I just wanted to share and
recommend this ranch in case anyone is looking for ‘southern’ place
to play this summer.
As you are by now aware, Greg LaCosse’s May 1st ride was postponed
due to expected rain throughout Prescott and Cave Creek—please note
it remains on the calendar for later in the month, however, and I
hope you all can make it.
Finally, while Greg’s ride may be our last official club ride of the
season, I plan to spend a couple days in Flagstaff this June and/or
July. Once my friends and I firm up our dates/ plans, I’ll send out
an invite in case anyone is interested in heading north with us for
a couple days—I have found a wonderful place to overnight the horses
(Sis and I and friends have been
there a couple times), close to both hotels and to the gorgeous
riding offered out of the Little Elden area, and if you happen to
enjoy camping, Little Elden offers that too, for you and your horse.
As the time draws nearer, I’ll see if I can talk Cindy into sending
out the links.
And that’s it folks—it’s been my pleasure. I’ll see you next year on
the trail—in the meantime, have a GREAT and safe summer!
Jeannie & Sister
Sol
OFFICERS
President - Cindy Ramsey 480-488-8444
Vice President - Donna Russ
480-488-2125
Treasurer - Nancy Doerzbacher 480-575-1012
Secretary - Jean Anderson 602-390-6806
Trail Coordinator - Jeannie Forst 480-473-0378
Event Coordinator - Jan Blake 480-707-8211
Newsletter - Sandy Luedke 623-262-1623
Website - Andy
Lunk 623-582-8717
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