the girl who can't keep her heels down

So my dad is a cowboy. Most of us know this. He has always wanted a little cowgirl daughter, so when I was in the 6th grade he put me in horse riding lessons (not even to mention the wranglers and cowboy gear he would bring home for us girls and we would never even touch them). I was really embarrassed and didn't want anyone to know, but my dad said it was really cool. Every week we drove to Lehi for these riding lessons. I started learning the English style of riding instead of the Western - I guess cause I thought the outfits were cute with those English riding boots and hat. Anyway...... I went for a while and soon realized I wasn't very good at riding because every time I would go, my teacher would say, "Oh yes, here she is. The girl who can't keep her heels down." The whole time I would ride, she would scream "Keep your heels down!" Well those lessons stopped pronto. Poor dad shot himself in the foot.

Sooo here I am. Not a very good rider, but as close to a cowgirl as my dad is going to get. We used to ride all the time together through Jr. High and High School, but I hadn't been on on a "real" ride with him since my Sr. year in High School (probably) so I was really excited to go with him on his "Tuesday Night Ride" last night. He goes with a group of cowboys from Alpine.

At first I was rusty and a little timid. I kept noticing that I still CANNOT keep my heels down. I guess my legs don't stretch like that. Seriously...has anyone seen me try to point my toe? Anyway... I tend to ride on my tippy toes, which is the reason my calf's are sore as crap today.

Back to the ride....I loved it. We rode up Timpanooke in AF canyon. It's not an easy trail (and I got a little scared sometime....shhhhh), but the scenery is B. A. eutiful. I didn't get too many good pictures because I was holding on too tight to get my camera out :) We got sooo high up there!

I got my camera out a little too late right here, but just before this picture, there is a whole area that all the trees are bent sideways because there was an avalanche here a few years back - wiped out most of the trees, but the ones that are all left grow crooked now. Weird.

This was the easy part of the trail right here so I could get my camera out for a few pics.

I kept thinking I was going to see a bear up that high, which by the way - I had to inform my dad that the plural for bear is bears - with an S. What?

My dad and Big D - funniest couple of friends in the world.

It was such a long ride, for me anyway - almost 4 hours. My bum hurts, my calf's hurt, and my inner thighs hurt. Awesome. It's gonna be a while before I get back in the saddle.

It was completely DARK when we got back. (Me and Diggs)

Ohh I just adore my cowboy of a father!