Runamuk Ranch, Roundup, Montana, USA

Val and Hannah and I joined Kyle and Hank this morning rounding up the horses. Hank rode the motorcycle and we 3 tried riding the ATV. We didn't help much and they were very hard to round up and get into the corral but it was finally done. Hank said Tuck was very little help!

After breakfast we gathered a herd of 12 plus one donkey named Dunkin and took them about 3 miles down the road to a new pasture. Dunkin was funny! Evidently he's never been herded because instead of walking slowly down the road like the cattle seem to know how to do, he just did an Army march, over to the right, then back across to the left, etc. etc. Me and Daddy laughed all the way down the road at Dunkin.

After another great supper we went for one last trail ride and took some beautimous photographs of the evening. It was almost dark when we got back but that was okay. A soak in the hot tub was just what the doctor ordered. On Saturday morning at 3:30 a.m. we're getting up, driving to Billings, and taking off for Denver, then Charlotte, and then Asheville. What a wonderful trip it's been!

Hank led us all, except Mom, up a very long trail last night after supper. Me and Valerie heard a weed-eater running somewhere and then after we all passed by it, realized that it might've been a rattlesnake. Hank went back and looked and confirmed it - he saw the rattle. It was a very young one. I'll never forget that sound.

This photo is from that evening ride. Val's horse has a bladder problem evidently. And always when the camera is pointed in his direction.

Boy, it's hot today - 92 in the shade, but it's not the same kind of hot as that in Western North Carolina, a lot less humid. This morning after a breakfast of fruit, grapes, granola, yogurt, and a hamburger-sized sausage patty, Toby said that we needed to drive a cattle herd down the road about a mile or so into a new pasture. Gathering them sure was tricky, though, they were yearlings and very curious and very nervous beasts. Mom and Hannah and Scott and Daddy went in with Kate to gather them up, which is easier than it sounds. They had to get some help from Hank because the cattle decided just to run back and forth in front of the gate instead of outside it. Hank had to change their minds, and their direction. Once on the road they moved quickly, although some of our horses didn't. We saw a cloud of dust up the road and knew there were cattle there, but Val's horse Hammer and mine, Soldier, just weren't interested and seemed to forget that there was cattle that we were supposed to be driving, simply because they lost sight of them. We're told this is what happens. The horses can also forget you're on their backs at all if there's nothing happening and they're just walking along.

But we got them there and Hank shooed them in the new gate. Toby and Jody brought out the big horse trailer and picked up Mom and Scott and Daddy's horses, took them all back to the ranch, then came back and picked up Val and me and Hannah and our horses. Hannah rides Kid today because Daddy was assigned her usual horse, Leo. Scott's threw a shoe two-thirds down the road and he wound up having to ride in the grass like me, because Soldier has no shoes on, with no explanation as to why.

We stopped at another gate, the Corner pasture, Hank picked up his horse, Ugly, we offloaded our three, and we started over the hill to look for 12 cattle that we couldn't find anywhere. We met up with Mom and Scott and Daddy who were also looking, and then Mom decided to go back to the ranch and rest, and Scott had to go in for his massage. Me and Val and Daddy continued on with Hank and wound up going up and down in the hills and up the #3 coulee for about 8 miles. What a great ride! We wound up back at the ranch at about 1:15 or so. My massage was done after Scott's at about 2:30 by Vianna, a great massage therapist.

At that point, all slick and relaxed, we got in the van and drove to visit Bill Allyson's saddle shop. We wound up buying several souvenirs there and learned about making saddles. Daddy was fascinated. But on the way there I spied one of the horses, all saddled up, outside the barn eating hay. Evidently, Val's knot didn't hold!

Tonight after supper we're going for another ride. Hopefully the good weather will hold out, then it's another 1/2 hour in the hot tub. And Thursday will be over. Sad.

After a great night's sleep we woke, ATV'd down to Jody's house for breakfast of quiche, grapes, juice, homemade toast with huckleberry jam, and lots of conversation. Mom, Dad, and Scott are heading for the Little Big Horn memorial, etc., and Valerie, Hannah and I are going to trailer our horses over to "the cabin", a private place a few miles down the road. We'll be riding around and touring for a few hours. Jody's packed us a lunch so we don't have to rush back "home". Maybe it'll stay clear and not too hot today as it has been so far. What a wonderful place to be!

Yesterday after supper we went to the arena and took turns cutting cattle one or two at a time. Toby and Hank checked them for pink eye and cut the ones who had it out, so they could be treated. The others we all herded about a half mile down the road to another pasture. But at one point the fence ran out along the left side of the road and the head animal headed up the driveway to our guest house. So we had about 10 cattle grazing near the van and along the driveway that we had to drive out of that area and back onto the road. It was funny after it was all over but very nerve-wracking until then because we had to herd them along a cliff of rimrock. Scary. We thought we'd get in trouble for that.

The parents and Scott came back around 4:30 from Little Big Horn and told us all about it.

We arrived in Billings yesterday around noon and decided to go eat at Perkins Restaurant because Daddy was starving. We were surrounded by a lot of people, not to mention a lot of bikers in town for Big Sky Bike Week. One of them had to have his bike pushed off because the starter was messed up...

The flights were great and we arrived on time, after they had to move our flights around because of a bad prop jet in Asheville, but it was a lot better that way, only 2 flights to take instead of 4. Unfortunately on the way back we'll have the 4 flights we expected, but that's okay, I guess.

It was a 50-mile trip up to Roundup and the ranch. So far it's been great, the Dahls are very hospitable and Jody is indeed a very good cook! We just fooled around at the guest house until time for supper, and Jody prepared garlic potatoes, salad with a vanilla pomegranate dressing, fresh bread, and steaks done medium well! It was great. Last night we shared the house with Grace and Hannah, mother and daughter, from L.A., but they're leaving on Monday afternoon to go home. Slept great, even through a thunder storm.

But after supper we moved ourselves out to the barn and Val and Hannah and I had our "drivers ed" for horses. We even took turns learning to cut cattle! I rode Pinto, a palomino pinto horse and he was pretty willing and able. Valerie had to take "remedial horse" before they'd let her come to the cutting pen with us!

On Monday morning after a huge breakfast, we returned to the barn, saddled up and went to gather cattle from out in the pasture, all 18,000 acres of it. I was able to get one calf to the gate but had to let 2 go, couldn't catch 'em. We drove them out onto the dirt road and back to the ranch. Hank was our fearless leader, an 18-year-old bull rider and ranch hand.

Time for lunch! I'll blog again soon!