How One Became Two

It started with just me and two horses … going from Colorado to the Canadian border. Growing up in Colorado, it was always a dream of mine to see what was on the other side of those mountains … and, not by car! I suppose I watched too many westerns growing up. I had been planning this trip for about two years when I met Diane. We had run into each other a few times at a barn where she and some friends of mine board their horses. One day, I went to visit my friends but they had gone for a ride. Diane was standing by the hitching post with her horse Kip … and she was looking quite frazzled and frustrated. It seems Kip was not being such a good boy that day, trying to bite and kick. We did a quick groundwork lesson to help him remember his manners. The lesson went well and Diane and Kip were both looking a lot happier at the end. We scheduled a few more lessons to continue with the groundwork. After one of those lessons, a group of women from the barn were headed to Chile’s for lunch and asked us to join them. At the restaurant, the subject of my trip was brought up and that was when Diane, in no uncertain terms, let me know she was quite interested and intent on joining me on my adventure. I believe her exact words were “I can do it … I can go at least a week without a shower!” A pick-up line that won my heart and one I couldn’t refuse. With that, we begin not a trip, but a journey.

The journey of two souls that long for adventure, an adventure that would challenge us to become a cohesive unit. That one statement set in motion days, weeks and months of planning, from selecting horses, to camp gear, to food and routes. Our family and friends express sentiments that range from crazy, to concerned, to envy ... and, there is always the "Why?".

Why? … because we can and we want to. We want to be free to explore and to take a step back in time. At the start of our journey on June 1, 2018, Diane and I will have been together only 15 months. Like me, Diane gives 100% to everything she does. She has been a huge asset in every stage of planning for this journey. She has been training her Mustang Sally right beside me, as I train my Mustang Balthazar for this journey. Call it chance, destiny or divine intervention, but somehow we were drawn together in the right place at the right time. This is a lifelong dream, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I could not be any happier to be doing it with someone so special. Someone who trusts and believes in what we are about to embark on … my best friend … my Wild Rose!