sorry about the long absence...

But I moved into a new staff accommodation located almost directly beside the stables, and it doesn't have internet. The old digs didn't have internet, either, but they did require me to walk by the internet cafe on the way home from work, and I used to pop in on nights when I wasn't too tired.

Anyhow... Life. Where shall I start?

I was at my very first whipping competition tonight. A bunch of the Warners staff were showing off their whip skills. Trish, an Australian girl who works in the store is quite amazing. She can do all sorts of tricks and twirl and crack two bullwhips at the same time. She and Ronnie, one of the Aussie guys, got in a whip off, which turned into a whip fight. I gather whipping is a competitive sport in certain circles over there.

I also took Chief, my old appaloosa friend, out for a jaunt after work tonight. We rode up through the quarry and down through one of the subdivisions and the Bow River park. It was nice. Usually, I go out with a group and we race through the pathways at breakneck speeds (always keeping an eye out for pedestrians and park wardens, since we really aren't allowed to do that), but tonight Chief and I stuck to a trot for most of it...

Andy, my British photographer, and I broke up. It sucks, and I really hope it's not for good--which no doubt sounds odd, seeing as how I was the one who instigated the breakup.

Anyhow, I went up to Sundance Lodge last weekend. It was beautiful up there. So peaceful. No way in but on foot or by horseback, and no way of communicating with the outside world except by radio. It had been supposed to be a vacation on my weekend off, but at quite literally the last minute Barry, the foreman, told me he needed a second guide to go out to the lodge with a group of guests. I had time to go home and get changed into work clothes and that was it. So, it wasn't the lazy weekend I had hoped/planned for, but it was a lot of fun notheless. We sang around a campfire and made smores and then the next day I learned how to pack a mule.

I took some pictures today. It rained all day, and as the horses were being let out to feed in the evening a rainbow broke across the sky. I'll try to post those pictures sometime soon.

Now, I'm going to go home. I have to be at work in eight hours.