My friend Mary Morrow and I went for a beautiful spring horseback ride. We decided we would like to go exploring and ride somewhere we had never ridden before.
In Arizona it is always a treat to ride where there is water and nice lush green grass for the horses to enjoy. We decided to ride at Sycamore Creek. We drove out to the Sycamore Creek turnoff of the Beeline Hwy headed towards Payson, Arizona. We parked and unloaded the horses. I began to hear all of this gunfire coming from the area we were going to ride. Two cars pulled in and a gentleman got out of one vehicle with about five,yes five, riffles. I went over to speak with him and he told me we were in a heavy shooting area that was indeed beautiful but people would be shooting for about five miles. Needless to say we didn't feel comfortable riding there. We put the horses back in the trailer,got back on the Beeline for a few miles to the next turnoff. Mary did a great job parking the trailer in a very undesirable parking area.
We saddled up Santannah and Cali. First off we rode through a dark,wet and sandy tunnel. Santannah did great. When we exited the tunnel this big,beautiful,old sycamore tree was right there. I couldn't resist taking this photo. It was magnificent.
Sycamore Creek is a beautiful place to ride. Part of the ride was in the Mesa Wash,part was climbing in the mountains and part was riding alongside and crossing the creek.
Heading back though the tunnel we encountered this lush grass. We unsaddled the horses at the trailer,grabbed our lunches,walked the horses back to the grassy area. We sat in the shade eating our lunches while the horses grazed to their hearts content.
I would say a good time was had by all,equine and human. Enjoy the ride!
