Dakota and I are back from our two-day trail ride :)

[Dakota Sunrise]

My neighbor/best friend Donna and I went on a two-day group ride this weekend. We were supposed to spend the night but the weather was crappy Saturday night so we hauled home and went back Sunday morning (we live only 30 minutes if that away from the park so it was no big deal).

She picked me up early Saturday at 7:45 a.m. We had already loaded the trailer and truck with all our stuff the night before so all we had to do was load up Dakota. He is such a good boy, he jumped right in the trailer. He hasn't needed the lunge line behind his butt once this year. He's been loading right up no problem.:) That's my boy!:D

The ride was hosted by the Two Mile Run park trail comittee. There was a $10.00 entry free for the prize run (which is sort of like a poker run ride if you know what that is) and the money goes to the park fund for improving the trails, etc. I didn't win anything during the prize run (which kinda sucks because they had some really cool horse stuff for the winners- a halter, a leadrope, a bucket with flyspray, a grooming tool, hoofpick, and other randoms, a few gift certificates, horse treats, etc.), but I did get a free t-shirt when they did a random free ticket drawing.:D I wore it today, but unfortuntely it's white and already has a lot of dirt on it.:innocent: Hope it doesn't stain. Bet it does.

Anyway, Saturday was really fun. The ride was awesome.:) They divided us up into groups of 15 to 20 and sent us out in ten minute intervoles (sp?). Our ride lasted about 5 and a half hours. I think there were 50 people or so who rode with more who just hung out at the campsite, but I'm not sure since we weren't all together.
Dakota did freaking AWESOME.:D He was like the Energizer Bunny on Saturday, he was all excited and wanted to go. He kept right up with all the horses who were a lot younger than him. He behaved very well and handled all the obstacles and rough parts of the trail like a champ. I love my boy. <3 A few commented on how well he behaved, saying he had a sweet face and seemed like a nice horse.:)


Ok, onto pics! These are from Saturday:

Heading out
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4843.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4849.jpg

Gorgeous view, the picture doesn't do it justice at all:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4847.jpg

We didn't cross the bridge, we weren't allowed. We went through the creak. Kota is looking for his buddy Shadow.
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4880.jpg

Stopped for lunch:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4865.jpg

His pretty red ribbon ;)
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4863.jpg

Shadow, my best friend's horse. He's 22. I love this old guy, I rode him for 3 years before I got Dakota. He's a good boy.:)
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4859.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4870.jpg

The mule!:D Dakota and Shadow could not figure out what was going on with him, and they found his flopping, oversized flymask ears very concerning!:p When the mule was following us Dakota was actually walking all zig-zagged because he kept looking over his shoulder (first the right, then the left and back again:p) with his eyes all big and rolling around in his head like he thought it was gonna eat him or something.:p We dubbed our mule friend "The Easter Bunny." Why? Well.. you had to be there.;) :innocent: :P
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4867.jpg
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4869.jpg

Justus Lake:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4884.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4885.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4887.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4886.jpg

A really bad picture of me- I look fat, sweaty and disgusting. It was hot and my hair was a mess and just blah.:doh: But Kota looks cute.
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/twomilerunride.jpg

Ok, on to Sunday! Today's ride wasn't quite as good. It started off really bad. Before we even left the campsite there was a crisis situation. Earlier when we were saddling up we were watching this lady (who I swear had the horse trailer I sold a while ago- it had to be it) lunging her horse (which is kind of unusual for a trail rider to do when you know you have a 5+ hour ride ahead of you), and then when she got on she had a guy holding his bridle really tight and she got on soooo slow and sat down ultra gently like she thought he was going to do something.
Well later when most of the riders were kind of standing in a group waiting to head out we looked over and saw her horse bucking loose and that lady on the ground. A few of the Trail Bosses, a doctor who happened to be there, and a few people who were close by went over. The rest of us stayed on the other side of the field where we all had been gathered because having 20-30 horses go stampeeding over to her aide probably wouldn't have helped the situation much. Well, to make a long story short it turns out she got bucked off, then the horse stepped on her knee and she got a compound fracture.:( Another trail boss led us off before the ambulance got there so I don't know what else happend. I felt really bad for her though. Hope she's going to be okay.

So we were definately off to a bad start and it took forever for the whole group to get back together (we waited around at the Justus Lake damn for the other riders who had stayed back to help to catch up) and there was some confusion, one lady being all bossy and spazzing out, and one mare going a little nutsoid.:rolleyes: But eventually we got everyone together and actually moving, and the ride improved. It was really hot though. We only did 4 hours because of the heat, they cut it a little shorter than originally planned. Dakota did great again.

Ok, I promise I'll stop talking, I already wrote a novel.:innocent: Pictures!

All the trailers at the campsite. Almost all of them were goosenecks with live-in quarters. Our little two-horse bumper pull trailer looked sad in comparison, lol.:p But that's okay because we love her little trailer.:)
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4893.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4894.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4895.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4896.jpg

The most impressive rig there.. it was a little bigger than ours.;)
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4900.jpg

This man is 82 and still riding!:)
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4897.jpg

Kota:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4901.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4902.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4892.jpg

:p
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4889.jpg

Pretty, love this spot:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4903.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4904.jpg

Justus Lake again:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4905.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4922.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4906.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4908.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4909.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4910.jpg

Dakota was absolutely mezmorized (sp?) by these canooes that were in the lake coming towards us. He has the same fascination with moving golf carts.:rolleyes:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4920.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4918.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4928.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4925.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4931.jpg

Another part of the trail, actually going past the boat launch:
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4937.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4934.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4938.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4939.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/twomilerunride2.jpg

Ok, that's it! Well actually it's not, I think I'll be adding a few more in a couple minutes if the ones my neighbor took of me aren't terrible. She just emailed them to me. But yeah, I'm done talking now!

[WashingtonBay]

Great pics! Lots of horses, lots of nice rigs there. Neat to be able to ride to a lake. I used to be able to swim my horses when I was a kid, and I haven't had access to a lake like that in a long time.

[lovesfortune]

WOW! Looks and sounds like an amazing trip! Too bad about the injury and that lady -hope she recovers quickly!

[carla]

Aw, Dakota- what a GREAT story and pictures!! Thank you for taking the time to take us along with you. :) I'm SO proud of Dakota, too.. just makes ya want to squeeze him doesn't it? :D

Can't wait to see more!

[gaited07]

WOW what an ADVENTURE:)

And that little rig LOL Those people are some kind of serious about their trail riding aren't they!

[vicklynn]

Sounds and looks like a great ride!

Glad you had a good time!

Betcha Beauty is like, hey, how come I didnt get to go.

[Dakota Sunrise]

WB: I wanted soooo badly to go swimming in the lake!:p Some day I'm going to ride up there bareback and in shorts and an old t-shirt and go swimming. That would be so cool, I've always wanted to do that.:)

lovesfortune: It was a lot of fun, thanks.:) I hope that lady will be okay too, I feel bad for her.:(

Carla: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!:) And yes, it does make me just want to squeeze him- in fact I did!:p He was such a good boy.:)
And actually I lied- no more pics.:innocent:


gaited07: lol, I guess!:p Donna ended up getting into a conversation with the owner of that rig on the ride and he invited us (well mainly her but I tagged along because we pretty much stuck together all weekend) for a tour of the inside of that huge trailer. It was something.

vicklynn: Thanks, it was a lot of fun.:) I think Beauty would have spazzed out there and she probably wouldn't have liked it. She was sure happy to see Dakota when we got home though!:)

[JackieB]

Yay! Glad you had so much fun. Sorry that lady got hurt.

Thanks for sharing the pictures!

[Country Girl 43]

Hey you found my rig!!! Now can you PLEASE send it back to me! :p

glad you had a good time Dakota. Looks like a lot of fun!

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af355/ERA_526/Two%20Mile%20Run%20ride/IMG_4900.jpg

[Equine_Woman]

Looks like a fun ride!!! I hope the woman who was injured will be okay!! Hard when you get that many people and horses together, lots of things can go wrong!! Justus Lake is gorgeous!!! Not at all like the muddy brown water lakes we have here in Texas!

[cowboyup3371]

Great pictures and sounds like a fun ride. Love the large trailer though - it's pretty unique as I've never seen one with it slanted up like that. Was it a low ceiling in the horse compartment?

[CaddoCinnamon]

Sweet pics. Horses and mules look happy to be out in the open.

[3equines]

Wow, that was an awesome weekend adventure! Kota looks so calm and serene in the pictures, he has a very photogenic face! I tend to 'avoid' pictures of me riding because I, too, am usually dirty, sweaty, and wearing frumpy layers of clothes! I concluded a long time ago that there is nothing glamourous about trail riding - but if looking good were my passion I wouldn't do most of what I do!

[farmers_wife]

Very nice picutres. Looks like a lot of fun.

[TheBadLands]

I just love the one with him looking around the tree, showing off his tail ribbon!

Nice trailers, too!

[grandmadeb]

What a nice place to trail ride. Looks like it would be lots of fun and glad you had a good time.

[oursarge]

Dakota is so cute and such a good boy. I loved how he was looking at the canoes! Looks like a fun time, a big ride. Sad about that lady, it sounds like she knew the horse was going to give her problems, too bad she was right. Hope she'll be OK.

Your part of PA is alot prettier than ours!!!! Where we live is pretty, no mountains though but an hr away from us is pretty ugly.

[oursarge]

Wow, that was an awesome weekend adventure! Kota looks so calm and serene in the pictures, he has a very photogenic face! I tend to 'avoid' pictures of me riding because I, too, am usually dirty, sweaty, and wearing frumpy layers of clothes! I concluded a long time ago that there is nothing glamourous about trail riding - but if looking good were my passion I wouldn't do most of what I do!

We have a lady who boards at our barn who's only concern is how cute she looks both on and off the horse, she always matches, hat, shirt, pants & boots always coordinate. She also has to be told over and over how pretty her horse looks. She never gets dirty [I don't know how she does it, I walk in the barn and I look like Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoons! The dirt just sticks to me] My friend says she can't ride worth S*&^ but she looks cute and that's pretty much all she cares about! These days she's on the ground more than the horse because she won't listen to instructions.

I hate pictures of me riding because I am always dirty plus I have horrid posture.

[AppyLover]

“I look fat, sweaty and disgusting. It was hot and my hair was a mess and just blah.”

Comments like this are why I usually avoid your threads Dekota. Honestly child you are only 17 and to be saying things like this about yourself every time you post a pic with you in it is getting worrisome. Be proud of what god gave you and quit worrying that others won’t approve of it! He saw fit to make you the way you are; now get over it and enjoy how he designed you which if I go by the forum, is athletic, fun, smart, and likable person so knock it off with the self deprecating comments about yourself!

(Ok off my ‘mom’ soap box now) Looks like a great ride. The lake is beautiful and you look and sound like you had a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[FatSpottedAppy]

That looks like so much fun! I love huge group rides like that. :)

[Dakota Sunrise]

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone!:) I'm glad you liked the pics. There's another group ride like this in September, I can't wait to go.:)

cowboyup3371: yeah, that huge trailer was something. They had it custom made to their specifications. I actually didn't get to see the horse part of it (although I wanted to, but they just gave us a tour of the inside). I know the inside was pretty amazing- had a stove, a microwave, a bathroom with a glass shower stall, an "upstairs" with a bedroom that you didn't have to duck to get to and a full sized bed you could walk around!:eek:


AppyLover: Thank you for your concern, and I do appriciate your nice comments.:) But you have to admit I am very unphotogenic!;) And I do want to be skinnier. Unfortunately I'm so short and built stocky and even thought I work out a lot and don't eat that badly I'm still a fatty.:doh: And for some reason the second I step outside and get anywhere near my horses I'm dirty. I'll get horse hair and dirt on my shirt, fall and get grass stains on my jeans, have Kota slobber on me, the wind will blow my hair and the humidy will make it curl all weird, and just blah. It's kind of amazing how Donna always looks put together no matter what (and she's a great rider too). She always looks well dressed, clean, and her hair never looks bad like mine does. Even her boots look clean and brand new while mine are always wet, scuffed, with dirt and grass stuck to them. It's amazing. I do not have her tallent.

FatSpottedAppy: I wish you had been there, Morgan! The first day there were only two kids on the ride and they were younger than me and we didn't talk. The second day I was the youngest by far, I didn't even see anybody who would have been in their 20's or low 30's. It was mostly middle aged and older folks. I was the only teenager!

[AppyLover]

AppyLover: Thank you for your concern, and I do appriciate your nice comments.:) But you have to admit I am very unphotogenic!;) And I do want to be skinnier. Unfortunately I'm so short and built stocky and even thought I work out a lot and don't eat that badly I'm still a fatty.:doh: And for some reason the second I step outside and get anywhere near my horses I'm dirty. I'll get horse hair and dirt on my shirt, fall and get grass stains on my jeans, have Kota slobber on me, the wind will blow my hair and the humidy will make it curl all weird, and just blah. It's kind of amazing how Donna always looks put together no matter what (and she's a great rider too). She always looks well dressed, clean, and her hair never looks bad like mine does. Even her boots look clean and brand new while mine are always wet, scuffed, with dirt and grass stuck to them. It's amazing. I do not have her tallent.



Somehow I knew you'd say something like this....

All I am going to say is life is not a modeling contest and you have a lot of time to come into your own. And NO I will not admit anything about you; You are 17 and still have a lot of growing to do. So go enjoy life and quit worrying about your looks; you are having fun with your horses and I doubt they really care what color you wear, if there is a spot, if you forgot to brush your hair or whatever today’s complaints are, they are just happy to get attention. And you need to realize that once you start liking yourself these negative thoughts you keep having won’t be an issue anymore.

[OwnedByOurHorses]

Be proud of what god gave you and quit worrying that others won’t approve of it! He saw fit to make you the way you are; now get over it and enjoy how he designed you which if I go by the forum, is athletic, fun, smart, and likable person so knock it off with the self deprecating comments about yourself!


Total agree with that.
It's the mother of 3 girls coming out in me.
so I have to say something

Always be proud of who you are, and never worry what others will think.

Always find reason to laugh at who you are.

and last
Always give yourself a pat on the back for all the good you do.



Also wanted to say I'm glad you had such a great time trail riding You and Dakota looked like you were really enjoying yourself.

[natisha]

It looks like you had a blast but dang Girl, bring along a mirror next time ;)J/K
I think the picture of you & Dakota looks very nice.
Who takes care of Beauty & the critters when you're gone?

[oursarge]

Dakota you are not fat you look good. I know you won't believe anyone no matter what they say but if I looked like you when I was your age I would have been very happy. I was 5' tall and like a stick with a head I was so thin. My mother had to make my clothes because I couldn't find things in the stores to fit. That was long ago when size 3 was the smallest size and was way too big for me, my wedding gown was a 3 with 1/2 of it cut away so it would fit, not anorexic just really really thin, I used to eat alot but it didn't stick. I wish I could say that now! Thin was nice but I was so thin with no shape at all, just straight up and down in every direction, I looked like a young boy.

My best friend says if you have horses and don't get dirty then you aren't doing it right. I WISH I knew how to put pictures on here or get into my photo bucket accout I'd share one with you one that I haven't shared with many. My friend's son is a photographer, I had my old junky camera up there and he was trying to fix it for me. He is always after me with the camera because I hate getting my picture taken so we were fooling around and I put my arms up and had my hands over my face when he clicked. When I got home to see what he did and if the camera was fixed that picture was there, my hands look like I worked in a coal mine, my shirt is dirty and I swear I wasn't there 5 minutes and I was very clean when I got there. To get to the arena you have to walk through the barn and I go down the aisle and what ever is in there, horses, cows, llama, I pet them and some might rub their heads on me so I am already filthy by the time I get to the arena. Dirt just sticks to some people more, I'm not sure why but it doesn't matter as long as we're having fun. I get so bad my husband insisted on seat covers for our SUV so I don't get them dirty after being at the barn!!! If we wanted to be glamour girls we wouldn't be in the "horse business" Delta is always cleaner than I am. My boys are never clean, they love mud too much.

I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. I wish I wasn't so nervous about trail riding, I'm better in the arena than on a ride. Thanks for sharing all the pictures, I enjoyed them. I love Dakota, he's so cute and such a good boy.

[natisha]

Oursarge, All the above didn't stop you from getting a man though, so you did something right.
We all think we look bad in pictures because we seldom see ourselves. Kind of like hearing our own voices.

[GrungeEquestrian]

Awesome pictures. I've always wanted to go on a two day trail ride. I was suppose to last fall, but my stupid homework ruined it. Next year though. Love the pictures, the scenery was beautiful.

[Gliderider]

Great pictures Dakota ! Looks like and sounds like an awesome time. You look just fine in your picture. I do think it is a normal teenage girl thing to be hard on yourself. I also know you won't listen to anyone when they say you are a pretty girl and you are not fat but I will say it anyway. :)

[Dakota Sunrise]

It looks like you had a blast but dang Girl, bring along a mirror next time ;)J/K
I think the picture of you & Dakota looks very nice.
Who takes care of Beauty & the critters when you're gone?

Well, this time I ended up not being gone overnight so I just flymasked, fly sprayed, and sun screened Beauty before I left in the morning. She doesn't get grain because she's so fat (not like unhealthy kind of fat, just a stocky girl) and is pretty much just on pasture grass (Dakota of course has a diet all his own;)). So I just asked my parents to keep an eye on her while I was gone. I had filled up the big water tub before I left so she was pretty much all set.

My mom takes care of the goats, barn cats, and horse(s) when I am gone overnight (which isn't very often). My dad feeds and waters Cassy, the indoor dog.

[FoxFireEMT]

Wow, looks like a really good time. Love the views! I'm so jealous- its been so HOT here that I haven't even felt like even going outside, let alone riding.

[3equines]

Hey Dakota, here is me at my finest on a normal day! Not beauty queen, but I still have the man of my dreams and he thinks I'm a goddess, and even dorky pictures prove one thing: I am in love with my life! But I still think I look like hell on camera, and most of my waking hours;)

[oursarge]

Oursarge, All the above didn't stop you from getting a man though, so you did something right.
We all think we look bad in pictures because we seldom see ourselves. Kind of like hearing our own voices.

It's funny you said that Natisha, I always think I sound like Minnie Mouse when I hear my voice on tape!!!! I've never seen a good picture of me! Yrs ago my cousin and I were very close, we sort of grew apart but are now good friends again. One reason we grew apart was she was always trying to change me. If she liked a guy and he hated jeans she'd never wear jeans. Yeah like that would happen with me but she expected it to. She told me because I dressed so bad, didn't wear make up, 1/2 the time would forget to put a brush through my hair etc etc etc [She ripped me apart that day!] I would never get a man because no man would want to be with someone who looked like me. It hurt my feelings but I told her if a guy didn't like the way I looked and dressed, well he could pass me by and I wasn't in the market anyway I planned on living in the mountains with my animals and no man.

Well a couple yrs later my aunt started to tell me about her son's tutor, I wasn't interested but she wore me down. I was asked what I was going to wear to meet him. I told her jeans and cowboy boots, why would I do anything differently, he could take me or leave me. I shouldn't be about my clothes. I do not play games, never have, never will. Guess he liked me even though I was a stick with a head wearing jeans and boots and a big heavy sweater [It was winter] because we were married 9 months later and that was 33 yrs ago! He loved me when I was a stick, loved me when I was so big I could roll [I had a bad few yrs and gained alot of weight, didn't have to worry about the size 3 then!] and he loves me now that I'm thin again. She got a husband 11 yrs after I did, she was trolling for one, I didn't even want one! I'm not saying I'm great I sure am not but I don't believe in changing just because someone might not like you the way you are. I am me, I have a ton of faults but I can't change, well maybe I can but I don't want to. I'm not out to impress anyone but I don't want to hurt anyone either. I would never dream of saying to someone what she said to me.

I really don't think there is a female in the world who is happy with the way they look. I always knew I didn't look great but since I couldn't change it I figured I had to live with it. I'm pretty sure when Dakota is my age she will look back at the pictures now and say "You know I was really cute when I was 17"!!!! No matter we all care about her because of who she is, wish we could convince her how cute she is but she won't believe us anyway.

[peace_baby]

Wow, at those pics! Looks like you guys had a good time. :)

And I totally understand being self-conscious. I used to be (and still am, sort of.. my BC helped me gain a little weight in all the right places ;)) tall and rail-like. I used to think there wasn't much to me. My friends used to call me names like "bean pole" and "string bean". It really took a toll on my self-esteem. You just hold your head up and be proud of who you are :) I think you're an awesome person, judgin from what I read here. What everyone has to learn growing up is to be comfortable in your own skin (or get plastic surgery which I can't afford nor do I agree with lol).

I think the picture of you and Kota is my favorite. :)

[Tiz]

What pretty country. I don't see evergreen trees. No fir, hemlock, or pine in your neck of the woods, Dakota? What a great place to ride.

About your picture. I know a couple, and because of Facebook, I've seen lots of pictures of them both lately. The girl looks way cuter in photos than she is, and the guy, who I think is really cute, isn't even recognizable! The only way I knew it was him is that I knew they were still together. What a surprise. Anyway, some people are photogenic, and some look better in person. If you're always cringing at your photos, you must be the latter!

[Dakota Sunrise]

What pretty country. I don't see evergreen trees. No fir, hemlock, or pine in your neck of the woods, Dakota? What a great place to ride.



Actually there's lots of pines and hemlocks in my area.:) I just didn't have my camera out when we were in that part of the trail.:innocent:

[BlaiseGlaze]

I really enjoyed looking at all your pix!
Looks like it was great fun!

[Cedarsgirl]

Oh such beautiful pics! Looks like you had a great ride. Those hill shots are just gorgeous.

[Dakota Sunrise]

Thanks for all the nice comments, everyone.:)