Quick video of the Cattle Round up in progress.

CATTLE DRIVE

Here is John on his 'used to be his' horse, Copper. John is good on horses, he takes advice, listens to it and has a natural way. He only got scared once, when Copper...who is really rather fast, kicked it into high after he asked her to lope for a bit. She can go from 0 to more than 60 in like a second...he didn't fall off though, just lost his hat. He looked a little concerned as he flew past me and Caballero, but he managed to whoa her and stayed quieter for the rest of the ride (including on the way home!) It was kinda funny. At one point I thought, uh oh...he's a goner, but he proved me wrong and stayed on top where he belonged. Nice John!

John, myself and Jon James got to go on a mini cattle round up this past Monday. We were helping bring in cow/calf pairrs from their summer grazing fields. There is a community of farmers that each bring 20 cow/calf pairs and in the fall they round them up and take them home for the winter. Bob, Amanda's signifcant other, invited us to go along. We had Cab (my horse), Copper (Johns previous horse) and one of the farmers lent Jon James an older mare to use. It was beautiful weather, the horses were pretty much well behaved and we did finally see cows in the last quarter of the ride (they were being pushed from the farside of the area by other riders, we just made a 'wall' so they couldn't turn the wrong way...they seemed to know what was expected and gave us no trouble.)

That is Jon James way over on the hill. He did his job, separated from us and kept his horse moving in the line. Well done!

My Caballero. Such a cutie, such a scaredy cat, but heck...there was A BUNCH of new stuff for him to experience.

John Paterson is in this picture, for the first hour and a half this is what we saw. Each other. Separated by scenic hills and valleys. But that is what we were supposed to do, slowly move forward, apparently in a line that spanned the whole field, we heard cows but didn't see any. I saw a herd of deer though. That was exciting :)

We WERE herding cows....just not too closely.

THis was the general set up, we formed a line across the field, each hilltop we stopped at and made sure the cows being driven from the farside were moving forward and that none were trying to cut back. We were also supposed to make sure the little hovels of trees were not hiding any...but we didn't actually go into the bushes, just looked.

My beautiful horse. Trying to figure out what the heck we were doing. He likes to be told exactly what he is to do and how...then if he feels you know what you are doing, he'll do it...pretty much no matter what you ask. So great :)

That is Jon James and another guy that was a part of the round up. Jon is on the solid colored horse. She was about 20, and looked a lot like our old horse "Oola" but she did her job and even cantered now and again. Jon is such a natural, doesn't ride for years, then can just get on and look like he knows what he is doing. No hands way in the air, no horrible posture (really good posture actually), he is a natural.

Finally...we saw the cows. They were well behaved and only a couple tried coming our way, luckily a 'real' cowboy was there to push them back. By then my horse just wanted to get to the front of them and was in no frame of mind to run toward one of them

Copper and John done for the day

Copper and John had a good day together, Copper used to be Johns but then was sold to the couple that now boards our horses, which is nice cause we still get to use her sometimes. And they are a great couple which really helped her become very people friendly.

Copper was good with the cows, didn't like to be too far from Caballero but went where she was told regardless. So apart from the gallop that had John a tad scared (terrified was the word he used). They were a great team.

She gets a little bored when left with nothing to do but who doesn't?

Copper is gorgeous, strong, comfortable, capable, inquisitive, friendly and determined. Great all round horse.

What a day...for Cab!

He was drenched when we returned to the home base. He was not tired though...just soaking wet. All the new stuff, quads, bikes, cows, people, other horses, hills....they left him rather high. I met a man there who helped him calm down (just by providing him consistent boundaries and expectations...without talking to him or really even looking at him...) and he gave me some helpful tips for working with Caballero...especially on hills. Caballero only wanted to run down hills, steep hills, very scary. And my tension transferred to him easily and didn't help him calm down. So I took the advice and will remember to stop worrying about everything around me and do what needs to be done to get Cab and me on the same page regardless of environment. Great experience for both of us.

See he's calm now and almost all dry!

Camp...you can see some of the others involved and even cows in the distance. THey will be held in this area until the next day when they will be rounded up into the corrals, sorted and shipped back to their homes for the winter.

Driving Home

Here are some of the cows we helped round up. Our job didn't take us very close to them really so this was to show you that there were cows!

WE had fun. We're good out together. Nice to get out and do something, not just a movie or dinner but fresh air, horses, each other, good weather, no responsibilities but to stay on and move forward.

I did it!!! THANKYOU FOR SUPPORTING ME AND PRAYING!!!!!

Congratulations - you did it! You gave your heart, soul, sweat and tears for three days and created some remarkable memories along the way.
It all began with an emotional Opening Ceremony at COW Palace. We walked through the hills of Daly City and San Francisco and passed by the San Francisco Zoo on the way to the Great Highway, where we walked along the coast through Ocean Beach. Then we strolled along the breathtaking Lands End Trail, enjoying a beautiful sunny day. As we arrived at Crissy Field, with the Golden Gate Bridge providing a gorgeous backdrop, a troop of fabulous local boy scouts helped us set up tents to protect us from the wind. A full moon lit the sky as we settled in for the night.
Saturday's route traveled through Sausalito and Mill Valley. We were serenaded at cheering stations by guitar players and 80s rockers and at camp by a wonderful youth a capella group, "Til Dawn." The Coast Guard came out to cheer us on, as well as cheerleaders from New Balance and Sequoia High School. As we headed back to Crissy Field to camp, one couple went off to get married! They had gotten engaged on last year's event and wanted to make the Breast Cancer 3-Day part of their wedding celebration. They came back on Sunday to finish the walk.
The final day of our journey began with ladies handing out tissues because it was so cold and windy as we left camp. The Oakland Fire Department brought their antique truck and handed out candy. We walked through Golden Gate Park, by the de Young Museum and Japanese Tea Gardens. Then we traveled through Haight Ashbury and downtown. The fabulous San Jose bike police kept us safe all weekend long!
A celebratory Closing Ceremony on Marina Green was a beautiful (though windy!) end to a beautiful weekend. The money we raised will help Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund save lives.

And it begins....

Trying to get everything to fit was quite the chore...and headache...we had to keep our individual packs to one bag each weighing no more then 35 pounds AND it had to include our sleeping bag, airmattress and pillow. We managed. Amazing. And now after completeing the 3 days we have a better idea of how to pack for any future walk. Nothing like doing it to teach ya!

The four of us on the morning of Day 1 at the Cow Palace (whatever that is...)

Laura was my partner for walking and getting down there. We made it! And we both met our goals!

We surely did take this to heart. We were passed by A LOT of people!! But we made it before getting shut down or picked up by sweeper vans. Let see: Day one we walked from 7:30 till 5:15. Day 2 we walked from 7:34 till 6:30? and Day 3 we walked from 7:10 until 3:15. Hmnnn...and no pitstop kept me longer then 10 minutes except lunch which was maybe 20-30 minutes each day. So our team was pretty slow, but we tried to stick together and make sure we had enough juice to make it the whole way! Successful!!

The damages...

Duct tape was great. I asked for specific prayer on day 2 for my blisters...and it worked! I didn't have to add to, change or mess with my pre bandaged feet at all. So good!

But by the end of day 3...different story. I had just added on top of previous bandages, too tired and afraid that taking my shoes off would mean never getting them back on...so blisters did arrive and by the last part of the day, 3-4 miles or so...it was painful...I ended up kinda walking on my tippy toes as my heels were rubbing too much and I was too past it to care :) enough to change the set up. But they are getting all better now, so no harm no foul :)

Closing ceremonies continued.

When the surviors came through the line to stand on the platform, everyone held up their running shoes. Mine were attached to my fanny pack, so I held the whole thing up. Pretty neat, very sad, but hopeful too.

The survior circle.

Closing Ceremonies

We rested for about an hour at the end of the walk, then we formed a parade of all participants, walked 5 a'breast', for I think 1/2 mile down to the wharf where closing ceremonies were held. Pretty cool, shut down traffic, took up a lot of space. I walked in my crocs :)

Reasons why we walked, Katie and I carried flags at times, she more than I, and when I get pictures from her camera I will post them.

It was a HUGE event. You could tell that at the end when all were assembled. 1500 walkers, lots of crew and supporters. Truely fun and rewarding. Nothing like anything I had done before!!

Walking with you got me through!

Done! We did it! We all met our goals!! 1/2 marathon, 60 miles, every day, smiling, having fun, walking despite the pain, remembering those whose blisters won't go away in a couple days because they have ongoing radiation treatments. We did what we came to do and it was awesome!

Mom and daughter, both loving, encouraging, stubborn, determined and highly capable women. Great to see you together :)

Well, Laura, mission impossible....now mission possible. Way to go :)