It Takes A Team

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6/22/10, Mancos, CO - From Free-Ranging Ranch Horses, to Biker Horses, the team is experiencing the west. We started the day at Gene’s Ranch, traveled quite a few miles, and ended up at a campground, guests of a motorcycle gang.  I just never know what a day is going to bring on the wagon.

The lads were pretty quiet when I hitched them up this morning.  I think they were dreaming of all that good grass that remained uneaten.

The first few miles were and easy pull, and I pulled into my friend Carl’s place for lunch,  It was nice seeing him again, and we drank a couple of beers and shared some stories.  Not long before stopping at Carl’s place I was invited by a group of motorcyclists to come visit them at their annual rally, located at a campground, about 4 miles north of the highway.  It sounded like a party, so I set my course for the rally.

Gene Reimers and the Lads in front of his ranch house.

i made one stop in Mancos, then I was headed east on the road to Durango.  Three miles east of town, I took left on the Echo Basin Road.

Upon reaching the campground, members of the ‘Hangmen’ Motorcycle Club directed me to a camping spot.  Bobby, the campground/ranch Wrangler, helped me get the horses settled in a corral. This visit was possible, due to the generosity of Shawn, a member of the Hangmen, who picked up the tab for the campground, and even replaced the hay I used while feeding them in the corral - Thanks Shawn!

A typical, rural, setting on the backroads of Colorado.  The grass is so green from irrigation, a big chore and a big expense, but one that nobody thinks twice about doing, if they have the water rights.

My time with the Hangmen was fantastic.  There are about 100 members across the nation, and just about everyone showed up for their annual rally.  In addition there is a German Hangmen Motorcycle Club, who are separate, but several of them came over for the American Rally. I found the Hangmen to be polite, good company, and pretty much regular ‘Joe’s’ who share a passion for motorcycles and motorcycle travel.

Bill and Doc with club members mounted.  They were treading lightly, less they be mistaken for Desparados by a bunch of rednecks, and meet the same fate as Peter Fonda did in Easy Rider.

One of the reasons that I went several miles out of my way to attend this motorcycle rally, is to make the team culturally sensitive to different American lifestyles.  We’re working on this in other was as well. For instance to get them going, I can now use the following commands:

1. Amigos, Vanamos - This command is in respect for the large Hispanic population here in the Southwest.

2. Hoss, Make Tracks - From the movie Gone With the Wind. Gets the horses more in tune with the good folks from the Southeastern United States.

I was considering teaching them some German, but I was going to wait until we got closer to Amish Country.

Doc didn’t mind the guy in colors on his back, but he really wanted his own beer.

So, to cap off the day - It was a great time with some really nice people!

This is Bobby, the Ranch Horse Wrangler. He’s from Mississippi and his son was a newspaper reporter for the Meridian, MS newspaper. After my accident there a year and a half ago, it was his son that covered the story.

B.O.B. actually had two ladies sitting on him at one time. This was the first time he has been ridden double.  He was a little nervous, but he hung in there.