Life’s an adventurous, sometimes bumpy ride

o7There is nothing we like to see so much as the gleam of pleasure

in a person’s eye when he feels that we have sympathized with him,

understood him, interested our self in his welfare. At these moments,

something fine and spiritual passes between two friends. These

moments are the moments worth living.

f7 -- DON MARQUIS

“Cindy, I enjoyed reading last week’s column about your trip with

friends to the dude ranch in Wyoming, but you never wrote about the

horseback riding,” a friend said to me last week.

I told her I’d run out of space, and to stay tuned for more.

The horseback riding was great fun, and the scenery was

spectacular. A wrangler asked about our riding experience before we

arrived at the stable, so the horses had already been selected. The

wranglers told us the name of our horse, and then brought the horses

out.

When I heard the name Maverick, I knew it was my turn, and I

stepped forward. I felt mildly nervous, like I was meeting a blind

date. I patted Maverick and spoke to him in a friendly way, hoping he

would be nice to me. After a cowboy adjusted my stirrups, Maverick

and I headed toward our group.

We rode for three days. During that time, we rode by the scenic

Snake River, crossed streams, and walked or loped through scenery

that was so stunning it felt like we were living in a painting.

Any stresses or cares we might have had vanished at the first

glimpse of the magnificent Grand Tetons. We had the privilege of

seeing moose, elk, geese, bison and bald eagles. Another time while

driving, we watched bear, antelope and osprey.

On one ride, Teri -- one of the ones who had gone to this ranch

for years -- was at the back of the long line of us riders.

“It was such a thrill to look up and see my friends on horses

ahead of me,” she said. “There we were riding by the river with the

Grand Tetons in the background, and it was so amazing; it hardly felt

real. I loved that we could all experience something so beautiful

together.”

On our last night, we all gathered in a cozy room around a fire

and shared about our time together.

I said our riding experiences paralleled life experiences in many

ways. For one thing, you never really know where different paths will

lead. Sometimes we travel peacefully on beautiful trails with warm

temperatures, only to be surprised when the trails lead to difficult

terrain and the temperature drops.

We didn’t really know our horses all that well, just like there

are many things we encounter in life that catch us off-guard. Some

horses tripped on hidden stumps. Others spooked and were a little

hard to control when something unexpected startled them. Some

occasionally wanted to go in a different direction, And one threw its

rider without warning.

Overall, the rides were wonderful, but they mimicked life in that

there will always be surprises. Through it all, we were all thrilled

to be together, we encouraged one another and we were thankful God

allowed us to enjoy his creation in such a wonderful way.

I don’t think I’ll need my cowboy boots or cowboy hat in the near

future, but I know I’ll always need my friends.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

o7cindy@onthegrow.comf7.