amywink September 29th, 2009
I’ve been watching Ken Burn’s documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea this week on PBS. This evening, Acadia National Park appeared in the 3rd episode, The Empire of Grandeur.
I want to go.
I want to drive in Acadia and cross those bridges, acknowledging this best idea with the sound of my horse’s hooves on the Rockefeller roads.
Some day.
I’ve been to more National Parks than I thought though there are more than I imagined. I do not think of myself as a traveler but when I looked at the maps, I remembered how many.
Alaska: Denali, Kenai Fjords
Arizona: The Grand Canyon
Colorado: Colorado National Monument, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, The Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde.
Kansas: The Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Chase County, Kansas
Montana: Little Bighorn Battlefield, Glacier National Park
New Mexico: White Sands, Bandelier, Capulin Volcano, Petroglyph, Pecos.
South Dakota: The Badlands National Park
Tennessee: The Great Smoky Mountains
Texas: Fort Davis, LBJ National Historic Park, Padre Island National Seashore, San Antonio National Missions Park
Utah: Arches
Washington DC
Virginia: Blue Ridge Parkway, Colonial Williamsburg
Wyoming: The Devil’s Tower
Seems like a pretty good idea, indeed, one of the best and for that, one of the best prayers I know. . . .
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
amywink September 28th, 2009
Though we’d planned to drive this Sunday, it turned out to be way too hot, 95+, so I spent my Sunday inside working on several projects, including my cart seats. And now they are finished!!!
Seats from the Back:
Seats from the front:
Spares Box:
Passenger Seatback Closeup:
There was a lot involved in putting these seats together. I replaced all the wood, vinyl, and foam but kept the seat brackets, spares box, and the two pieces of oak that hold the passenger seat bottom together. I also replaced the piece of wood the passenger seat will rest on. These seats will be affixed to the shafts so I had to get all the holes drilled correctly and everything upholstered before we put the seats on the cart. I think these are the most complex part of the cart. All the other parts assemble fairly simply.
Next, I’ll put the dash assembly together.
amywink September 27th, 2009
Yesterday, when summer began to reappear, Lisa and I headed down to Agarita Ranch for the Swap Drive Work Day–to prepare the place for the upcoming Swap Drive, October 17. The recent rains had really greened the place right up….and muddied it up as well. We spent our morning clipping mean, thorny things like what I think was Texas Buckthorn out of the arena and warmup area. There were several other thorny things too but no actual Agarita in the dressage field. Whew!!
We also marked off the main dressage arena into a 20×40 and 30×60 arenas for the training and intermediate area minis. The soft dirt made it easy for hammering in the stakes but I do hope the mini folks enjoy our work!