A Horsey Oasis In The Big Bottom Valley
On the western side of the state of Washington is a big fertile valley that the Cowlitz River runs through. The big river meanders its way through the valley floor, flanked on each side by steep, tree covered peaks. A large chunk of my family hails from this largely undeveloped drainage, and my Grandma still makes her home in "The Valley."
Last June we took the kids over to stay a few days with Grandma. We played a lot of board games, I did a bunch of work on Gram's computers, we ran up to Mt. St. Helens, and had an overall great time hanging with Grandma. Her place holds magical memories for me, as I imagine, a lot of grandparent's homes do for people.
Now, I could wax poetic about the whole visit, but this post is about horses. Grandma and Grandpa ran about 100 head of cows when I was young, and they also raised Appaloosa horses and mules. You could often find me smack in the middle of the equine herd, hand outstretched, and surrounded by the beasts. My uncle rode bulls and saddle broncs, my mom showed in 4H, and I really identified with the mules. I think it was our manes; they were very similar in overall style.
These days there are less horses on the farm, but they still roam the same fields, and I took my kids down for the age-old ritual of horse-human interaction. An added bit of interest is all of the elk that now mingle with the horses. When I was young, you had to take a drive up into the high country to see the elk. Now they are all hanging out down in the valley floor. A living example of how things change.
Nothing brings a smile to your face likes seeing your children enjoy experiences that you once enjoyed at their age. Watching my two enjoy dishing out nose pets and scratches to all of my Uncle's stock was one of the greatest things ever!
And as always, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's horse hair covered iPhone