On March 1st, 2010, my friend Walter and I set off on an adventure with my Arabian horse, Sojourner. I rode Soj across America and Walter drove our little truck (with no trailer). The trip began in Los Angeles, California and successfully ended in Bath, New Hampshire 8 months and 14 days later. It was a 3,700 mile ride.

We rode in celebration of family and as an outreach to those dealing with divorce-related depression.

This ride tells a tale of love in many forms - through the people we meet along the way, our connection with the horse, with the land, and with each other.

As this blog goes on it gets more and more in depth with tons of photos and experiences. Snuggle in with a cup of tea and read this like a book. I have switched the blog around so it reads start to finish so you don't have to read backward (except the first entry).

Here is our story...

working things out....

4/16/10

I am going to get to sleep now because I have a pretty long ride tomorrow. We decided to take today off as well and get things sorted out. Tomorrow night we are camping so I might not be able to write because we won't have Jordan and his iphone. The next night we will be in a town with service though and I'll write more then.

Jordan's ambulance is pretty much done, we think. It's transmission was replaced, but the engine is bad too. Jordan is going to stay behind with Robbie and John and see what his options are. If he fixes it he could join back up with us (without the trailer-too much strain) or he might sell it and head back to Texas. He is unsure about what he wants to do from here so I don't really know yet either. There should be more info. from him tomorrow.

Walter and I worked all day emptying out any stuff I had in the ambulance and repacking the truck. Jordan and Walter figured out a way to pack the magic hay so we can take 5 bales with us. We also have a few bags of grain and rice bran as well. The truck is packed to the brim, but I am feeling better since we were able to get 5 bales. That will take us a ways. A lot of the time ranches that we stay at donate a night and morning feeding as well. I have just been using our hay because it's done wonders for Soj, but now I think I will start mixing any hay that is offered to us at ranches with this hay to stretch it out a little longer and ween him off of our magic hay.

He is so much more fit now that I think he will be okay. Jordan feels okay about everything too. We'll just have to see what happens.

The three of us have had just a wonderful time with Robbie and John. They have cooked for us and shared their stories and home so openly. I think I will play a bit of catch up in a couple of days and write more then though because I am so sleepy. Robbie made the point that being mentally tired makes you physically tired and I think that's what happened. I was a bit stressed about the hay and the ambulance and of course, Jordan, and not wanting to inconvenience Robbie and John (who are so gracious and didn't even blink an eye when we couldn't get everything packed up and ready in time).

It has all left me exhausted now and I need to get up early to get out and ready. Robbie is making us crepes in the morning. I can't wait for that. Hey Ma, she said she only likes them with cinnamon and sugar, sound familiar?

Much more soon....

3 comments:

  1. Bravo! Please sleep until noon!!!

    Excellent decision-making, in my opinion. I just mentioned this to Walter on FB, but I did quite a bit of research today, tried to think of this from your perspective, and came to the same conclusion for continuing that you did. Sojourner can be healthy and thrive going forward.

    I have some thoughts for Walter as he goes by feed stores along the way too, and offered to share those by phone if he wants. Occasionally, I have had to sift through some pretty raunchy hay for Buster (sometimes a round bale can look good from the outside) and I learned from experts how to at least be sure that I wasn't going to make Buster sick. Even if you never encounter any poor hay, it's a really good thing to learn for the sake of horses.

    I'm sorry to hear about Jordan's difficulties, but I'm sure he will be off on another adventure soon, or catch back up with you two.

    Travel Safe!

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  2. Please tell Robie and John thank you so much from your Mom and Stephen for all thier support and kindness during this rough time. Give Jordan a hug for me, and if he is not able to rejoin the ride, hopefully he can join us at the end of the ride in NH. A hug for Walter and Soj too. Sweet Dreams
    Love Mom

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  3. Yes, what's the rush, really? Saint Augustine said: "Patience is the companion of wisdom."

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