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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!

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!