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4/9/12, La Jara, CO - With a lot of regrets, but some good memories, Dave and I broke camp on the Rio Grande River and started making are way back to La Garita, CO.  The climb up away from the river and later into the hills near Flat Top Mountain was a difficult one, so I had Doc and Bill hitched. In spite of the terrain, we made good time. On our way to Sanford, I received an invitation from Kevin, the School Superintendent, to stop and visit the public school.  I had a very attentive and bright bunch of kids in the younger grades as my audience. Being a farming and ranching community, a lot of the kids were very knowledgeable about horses, with some having driving horses at home.

One of the real joys of traveling with horses is when I get an opportunity to visit schools, retirement homes and adult day cares. I try to make it as interactive as possible and answer a lot of the kid’s questions.  Of course, the horses always end up stealing the show!

I have to hand it to the staff at the school.  The kids were well organized, attentive and under control. This made it very safe to bring the horses one at a time up to the crowd. I’ll only do these events as long as everything is absolutely safe for the children.  As long as they were lined up and sitting still, I wasn’t worried about one of the horses accidentally knocking over a child when they turn. Some of the lucky students actually got to feed Doc and Bill some treats.  I showed them how to hold their hands flat, but I didn’t need to worry.  The lads are old pro’s at taking treats and are careful to only use their lips to avoid nibbling a finger. While traveling in Tennessee, I once had a young boy put half his arm in Doc’s mouth to feed him a horse treat. Using just the back of his tongue, Doc managed to snare the treat without touching the child with his teeth. Like I said, the lads are real pro’s. 

I was asked a lot of really good questions.  I bet half my audience grows up to be either a Doctor, Lawyer or Rocket Scientist.

After the presentation was over, Dave and I were served a really good lunch from the school cafeteria.  School food has come a long way since I had to eat it!

What a great lunch!  And yes, the kids in Sanford, CO eat spicier tacos and burritos at school than most restaurants in the majority of the country serve - yum. 

After Sanford, our next stop was at Jack’s Market in La Jara to pick up some groceries. It was a quiet time for shopping and we managed to leave the grocery store without a lot of fanfare.

On the way out of town, I stopped to let a pair of cute, identical twin boys pet Bill. They were a little hesitant, but Dave showed them what to do.

These two little guys were definitely ‘two peas in a pod’.

Tonight, we’re camped on a wide right of way, near a public artesian spring. The water is not flowing real good, but Dave and I managed to scoop enough to give the horses a good drink.

While we were camped here, an employee of the Blue Peaks Adult Day Care, in Alamosa, invited us to come visit the ‘kids’ tomorrow. So, around lunch time, we’ll swing by there.

Master Chef Dave Buck preparing the barbecue chicken wings for supper. Of course, he had a lot of help from my stash of super-secret barbecue rub I picked up in Texas!

This was a very nice day!