Shamrock Race

We went to Wyoming this weekend, outside Wheatland, for the Shamrock Endurance race. Tia was riding a new horse, and the kids agreed to ride Rain with her. She was worried about being alone, and when her friend pulled out, we were thinking to cancel. However Delaney offered to ride, and then Kendall said she'd ride one day, so we were back on.

We left Fri afternoon, driving into the night to Wheatland, going 20 miles on a two lane, 65mph road (high speed limits in WY), and then turning off onto a dirt road that connected ranches. That road was 11 miles, with 9 cattle guards, and it took us 35 minutes to traverse.

We arrived, parked, set up the tent quickly for the kids, and went to bed.

Saturday morning, Tia was up super early. I wanted to sleep in, but at 7 I got up to cook and help prepare for the 9am race. I made coffee, and then cooked bacon and eggs for everyone.

After we ate, we got Delaney on a horse and ready to ride. With his helmet and chaps, he looked like a horse rider.

When they were ready, I got a couple pictures, which Kendall decided to photo-bomb.

They took off, and Kendall and I were hanging out, reading, her drawing pictures, and us playing a little volleyball with each other. We thought they'd be back 2-3 hours later, but they came back before 2 hours. Delaney's stomach had gotten upset with coffee, bacon, and eggs. That boy and food sometimes don't do well and he's like me: stoic. He'd tried to gut it out, but as the rocking of the horse continued, he got sick and they had to sit a bit before heading back.

Kendall said she'd ride with Tia and they did a short ride, but came back quickly.

Tia was tired, we didn't have milk for pancakes and we decided to go to town. We had a short lunch together, sitting around the cooler and eating sandwiches before the kids and I packed up while Tia went to nap.

I started driving out the dirt road, got about 4 miles, and asked Kendall if she thought she could drive the road. I was curious since it wasn't bad, but it was narrow and twisty. She got excited, so we switched places and drove on.

She started slow, about 10mph (I was doing 20-25) and was nervous, but did well. She even had to pull over, up onto the pasture grass twice to let trucks pass her. The second time she did it before I ever said anything.

She drove us almost to the main road, and then get slightly stuck in some sand and didn't want to try and get out. We switched and I drove us to Wheatland for some groceries and a soda. We headed back and on the way, Delaney asked to drive on the dirt road. When we got there, we switched, and he did the entire 11 miles, including parking next to the trailer. He also got to dodge a couple trucks on his way.

The evening was us playing some spades, then going to the barn for a group BBQ dinner. As you can see, Kendall stole my hat.

We even saw a few friends from our old neighborhood.

After dinner we played more spades, with Delaney and I managing to get Tia and Kendall going backwards from a sure win. We knocked off before we finished, all of us tired.

Sun morning I struggled to get up, but managed to get going and cook more bacon and pancakes. Kendall and Tia mounted up and went off to ride while Delaney and I hung out.

They went off and had a good ride, seeing lots of beautiful countryside, livestock, and crossing lots of water. Tia's horse did great and she's excited to try more races this summer.

While they were gone, Delaney and I mostly read with each other, and hiked to the bathroom a few times in the heat. We were drinking lots of water and Gatorade. We also packed up some stuff, leaving the tent up as we used it to get away from bugs.

When Tia and Kendall got back, we quickly packed up and headed out. I fell asleep quickly and Tia drove us home.

Not my favorite thing, but a good camping trip and a fun adventure.