The PNW Journey Continues: The Home Stretch

Last you heard, we were passing Mt. Shasta, it was getting dark and our overnight stop was not to far away. Then I said nothing, because really there was nothing much to say about the next day. But I figure I should say something and bring a little closure to the fabulous trip.

We stayed overnight in Stockton where I had found a boarding facility that would take overnighters. The place was pretty dang nice (only the best for Little Lady!). She had a fully bedded 12'x12' box stall waiting for her right next to a HUMONGOUS covered arena. Cowboy H turned her out to stretch her legs while I got her midnight snacks into her feed bucket.

After bedding her down, Cowboy H steered the King Ranch over to our overnight digs. I had found a hotel right on the waterfront in downtown Stockton which was only about 5 minutes from where Little Lady was staying. And what a hotel it was. We were so bummed we could only stay one night because it was so nice. Ohhh was the bed comfy. The cool thing was, as soon as we pulled into the front drive, the security guard and front desk girl came out to meet us. Guess they don't get many horse trailers??

The next morning we dragged ourselves out of that wonderful bed and trucked back over to LL (after a coffee stop, of course). Her stall had already been cleaned and someone had even opened up the door so she was hanging out in the back run. She was not too keen on leaving and getting back in the trailer!

From then on, the trip pretty much looked like this:

Yep, that's I-5 going straight through the middle of California.

I mostly slept, although the stick-straight 5 did allow me to browse through some magazines and get all pumped up for Cowboy Christmas thanks to their ads.

When we passed this point, we knew we were getting close.

Did you know that famous photograph of the cowgirl's booty who is wearing the red shirt and chaps was taken at the Tejon Ranch? You've got to know the picture. You usually find it on t-shirts with the following saying: 'Hate to see her go, but love to watch her leave.' Cowboy H shared that little tidbit with me once, and again when we passed the ranch sign. Thank goodness for him, or that's one less thing I would know.

Well, to end this story, we arrived at LL's desert stables about 4:30 pm, safe and sound. If anything can be learned from this journey, it is:

Cowboy H should never be allowed to haul horses for the Desert Rose without me again. Unlike previous trips where he went it alone, there were no missing trailer pins or dropped trailers on the freeway and no flat tires in the pouring rain. I also performed navigation duties so he wouldn't have to take his eyes off the road and handed him drinks and snacks so he wouldn't have to take his hands off the wheel. On top of that, I was there to talk his ear off for him so he didn't fall asleep and change the radio stations for him so he didn't get bored when I did stop talking (ok, so maybe I over-did the radio station changing, but still, I was there for him). So, what do y'all think, should I be allowed back?