by Wanda Hanson
Wow, what a beautiful park. This was my first trip to Maplewood State Park by Pelican Rapids, and it was well worth the trip. And as I say that I would like to thank Betty White for being our trail leader. As most of us do, the week before the trek was spent getting everything ready, horse, trailer and myself of course. And all eyes on the weather forecast!! And we had beautiful weather all three days, a little windy on Saturday, but that is better than rain. Temperatures were in the mid 60's and sunny most of the time, a little cloudy on Saturday, but still a beautiful ride.
Friday night started with most everyone taking a short ride on there own or in a group once they were settled in. Saturday's ride headed out about 9:30 am with close to 25 riders, a group of gaited riders headed out about 11:00 to enjoy the park also. A 2 1/2 hour ride through some awesome lakeside trails, spotting some eagles soaring and some deer playing in the grass clearing. Back shortly after noon for lunch & a little rest, then back on the trail by 1:30 for another ride through the trees & by some lakes. There we spotted a beaver dam and many wild flowers coming into bloom. Back at camp by 4:30 pm, everyone was ready for a little rest and the a huge spread of food shared by all for the pot luck, all that nummy food, were very thankful as we had all worked up an appetite. After everyone was finished eating we had an open forum for discussing anything MTRA members may have had on their minds. This was very interesting; it's nice to get input from everyone. Then everyone headed back to their camp sites for campfire & conversation. It was another beautiful night in Mn. Sunday morning started with two horses that played Houdini during the night. Seven of us saddled up and two were on foot and we started the search, the owners immediately contacted the Rangers station, we regrouped about 9:00 & had an idea of which way they left camp. We decided to have Betty take one group on the scheduled ride and the rest of us would head back for another search. The owner & the Ranger headed out in the pick up. By noon the call came that they had been found 3 mile north of the park, luckily neither were hurt & the Ranger and owners had them "coming home". All in all we had a very nice ride, just with a little twist! What a beautiful weekend, it was so nice to see some old friends and to meet some new ones. A big THANK YOU to Betty White for leading the trail rides and for her helpers. Another big THANK YOU for all the searchers who went out to look for the lost horses. One of them said, "That's just what horse people do, we pull together & help out one another". I totally agree. Horse people and our love for our horses and trail riding, that's what makes life so great. See you on the next ride June 27-29 Forestville State Park. Come and join us, you will never meet a greater bunch of people.
Click here to view pictures from the ride. |
