I know Coldwater Ranch,MO and Double M in IL have dinners and rides over Thanksgiving.Is there any orthers and have ya been to them?Thanks for any info.
Posted 2011-11-22 8:22 AM (#139035 - in reply to #139030) Subject: RE: Thanksgiving Rides
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 326 Location: Gallatin, TN
Timber Ridge in Jamestown, TN has a great ride! They provide a full Thanksgiving meal with all the fixins at NO CHARGE to their campers. On Friday they have turkey soup and Saturday is a pancake breakfast. Again, all of this is no charge.
Posted 2011-11-22 8:53 AM (#139036 - in reply to #139030) Subject: RE: Thanksgiving Rides
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
For a lot of years we had the tradition of going to see my wifes mother who was a snow bird in the St George area of Utah. Since the ski resorts work hard at being open for skiing on Thanksgiving week. A lot of the mountain riding in Northern Utah was done for the year. So Thanksgiving in Southern Utah was an excuse to get in a couple more rides before the snow got too deep.
My wife would help her mother prepare the Turkey dinner and I would take the horses and who ever would come, ( usually brother in law or my kids) and we would go explore the desert areas near by. The best rides I ever had in Zions National Park were on Thanksgiving day as we rode the 7 miles into Kolob arch, hiked the 1/2 mile up to the arch and then returned in time for a Thanksgiving Dinner with whoever was in town to visit.
The rides would continue on Black Friday while my wife and her mother rushed about the Black Friday specials, The horses and I would continue to enjoy the warmer weather and dry footing of the desert. It seemed that the only folks we would find along the trails on Thanksgiving were usually tourist from some foreign land. German and other europeans come to Utah to hike in the Red Rock Country and don't have family to spend the holiday with, So the continued their hikes. I've always told my wife, that I have more pictures sitting on Coffee tables in Germany than I have in my own home,Because the tourist always seem so excited to take pictures of cowboys on horses.
My Mother in Law passed 10 years ago and tradition change. We no long have reason to go to Southern Utah for Thanksgiving, nor the warm home to stay in. I will have Thanksgiving dinner with my family at my home and probably go for ride in the mountains on Friday and cut a fresh Christmas tree. It's kinda become the new tradition. Ride in, find a tree, cut it and drag it out behind the horse.
Zions Park
Looking into Snow Canyon state Park
BIL hanging out for a better view of Snow Canyon. Notice his grip on the tree.
Posted 2011-11-22 7:41 PM (#139049 - in reply to #139030) Subject: RE: Thanksgiving Rides
Regular
Posts: 73
Painted horse, that's a wonderful holiday story. And your pictures, are, as always, absolutely stunning. By the way, we rode in Utah for a week in September, (our second time in Utah) and now my husband wants to move there.
Posted 2011-11-26 1:04 PM (#139121 - in reply to #139030) Subject: RE: Thanksgiving Rides
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385 Location: high desert, CA.
I too used to go out to the local areas to ride on the holiday weekend. BUT! The desert areas of So. Calif. have become full of two wheeled locusts, and the rude and filthy riders and campers on Thanksgiving. Soooo... we now stay away from the desert on the holidays, and must go clean up their messes and filth to be able to ride across the private property we are allowed to camp/ride on. IMHO, the worst invention ever to come to Calif, was the dirt bike, and the clowns who own them. They have gotten more land closed, and more folks angry than any other thing I can think of. Not to mention the trails they have ruined with erosion and fences torn down/old foundations and ghost towns vandalized and burned for bon fires/ historic places rutted with quads and dirt bag dirt bikers ruts. Seems like all the ranchers and land owners have just put up NO TRESPASSING, for EVERYONE because of them.
Thanksgiving Rides
