Angel Fire

I've arrived at my destination. Angel Fire, NM. I was lead here - guided by voices and signs along the way. Thought I would meet the future Mr. Anne Silberman around 7pm on Saturday night by the horse stables, as I had been lead to believe.

But, I showed up and he was nowhere to be found. Turns out he's still in Europe - his CD, "A Good Thing", has just been released in France and he had to promote it. I had no idea, having lost my cell phone on I-90 near Spokane, and my Internet connection disabled a week ago. Nearly penniless, I found myself at a horse stable, owned and operated by a hell-on-wheels fierce spirit named Nancy.

When Nancy and I saw each other again, at the bar of the local skiing resort, she wanted to hear why I showed up at her place, at the same time she found herself at the front gate - by chance. After hearing about my amazing journey to the high desert, she invited me to stay the night at her ranch and join in on a breakfast horseback ride the next morning!

I woke up to the beauty of hot air balloons flying over my head. I'd forgotten how much I used to love those! There I was, standing next to a pen of beautiful horses and adorable llamas, with gloriously colored balloons making their way North, right above me. I wept tears of joy into my coffee cup.

I hadn't ridden a horse since I was 13 or 14, and then, only one time, but I was game. I needed extra assistance mounting the beautiful white mare named Blue (just like my cowboy boots), but once I got up, I took to it pretty well. I did fall off, once, though. Blue got a little stuck in some mud and I felt my saddle tilt to the right. Then BOOM! I went crashing to the soft muddy ground. I wasn't injured, thank goodness, and the hawt ranch hand named Jack and another kind fellow rider helped me back up into the stirrups. Stirrups - funny how that word is mostly used in the gynecologist's office instead of on the range, these days... :D