The Magic of the Outdoors

As my office chair and I swirl around, I stop at the open window; my gaze fixes on the clearly visible "Sleeping Ute" Mountain to the East of our house. This gorgeous landmark, located in southwestern Colorado, is one of the four major landmarks we trail riders use to navigate the terrain here in southeastern Utah. To the south we use Arizona's Chuska Mountains, north of Blanding we use the Abajo Mountains as our marker and in the west we have our very own Bear's Ears located on Elk Ridge.

We are located in one of the most beautiful places in the country, especially if you are an open-air aficionado with a horse. Where else can you see four states from the back of your horse? Within an hours drive you can be riding in Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico (if you look off into the distance between Sleeping Ute and the Chuska Mountains you can see Ship Rock in Ship Rock, New Mexico). However, that's if you have a hankering for a ride in another beautiful place other than this picturesque country right here.

Blanding, Utah is surrounded by thousands of acres of national forest and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land to discover at your leisure. In addition you'll find some of the most magnificent national parks and tribal parks in the country. This is the kind of territory that people literally dream about riding their horses. Within an hours drive we can ride in Canyonlands National Park, or we can ride in the La Sal Mountains overlooking Arches National Park with the most recognized arch in the world, that of Delicate Arch one of the identifiable symbols of Utah.

If you have seen any of the early John Wayne movies, especially "Stage Coach", then you've dreamed of riding your horse through Monument Valley Tribal Park. Well, it's only about an hour southwest of here. While down that way, we can go less then hour from Monument Valley and ride in the Grand Canyon National Park. Let's just say it doesn't get much better, as far as beauty goes, than the riding around here.

When we want to ride in the high country we have two different mountain ranges, in close proximity to choose from. The Abaho Mountains have hundreds of trails to ride and the views from here are absolutely breathtaking. As you ride through forests of aspen, pine and pinion you can take in the surrounding beauty of red rock canyons and Comb Ridge among other huge rock formations. The La Sal Mountains offers much of the same experiences as the Abaho, with the exceptions of riding in a much higher elevation. There are plenty of places for camping and more places to ride that you can shake a stick at, as they say.

For more breathtaking beauty we like to ride the high desert and the mesas around this area. Cedar Mesa is one of our favorite places for riding. It amazed us the first time we drove through here, before we really knew what this area was all about, that the endless miles of flat country covered with cedar and pinion held a beautiful secret. What you don't see from the highway is the labyrinth of endless canyons that break up the landscape.

You are in for a real "treat for the eyes" if you haven't had the opportunity to look over the rim down into a canyon. We like to stop for lunch, tying our horses away from the edge, and just enjoying the beauty of the canyon area for awhile. Believe me, these areas aren't just rock cliffs, cut out by the stream that lay at the bottom. Look around, you may see some amazing features Mother Nature has developed over the years, like a magnificent arch or a natural bridge.

Ancient humans have done some wonderful feats also, especially in this section of the country. Anasazi, Pueblo, and Freemont Indian ruins can be found all over the four corners region. Of all the ruins, the Cliff Dwellers were the most fascinating to me. The Anasazi made their homes and storage areas literally in the cliff walls of the canyons. I don't mean at ground level, they made them in the higher crevasses and caves of the towering cliff walls.

Now that you have ridden atop a few of the canyons, it's time to ride into a canyon. There are many to choose from and most have entrances that will allow access with horses. While riding through a canyon don't forget to look up for cliff dwelling. Even after riding into many and different canyons all these years, I can't figure out if the canyon walls looked taller looking up or deeper looking down. Perhaps you can figure it out.

I must say, talking about canyons, one of the most exciting rides into a canyon I've ever made was at the San Rafael Swell, about a two hours drive from Blanding. No one in our riding group had been there before so we spent days exploring the area. On our last ride of the trip we found a large canyon and decided to explore it. As we moved deeper into the canyon we were all excited to see what lay ahead of us.

As we progressed I couldn't help but notice that the canyon walls seemed to be closing in on me. It was strange, since I've never been claustrophobic in a canyon before however, my fears were calmed when I heard someone else express the same feeling about the canyon. Shortly we realized that we were in a slot canyon inside this big canyon. What a thrill! Before long the slot canyon opened back up to the original canyon. As we continued up the canyon we found the trail blocked by some gigantic boulders, we didn't feel we could get around them safely therefore, we had to turn around and go back the same beautiful way we came in. What an experience.

Life on the back of a horse is never dull and when you live in an area where you have endless riding opportunities almost all year around, why not enjoy it while you can. Well, what am I doing setting here? I should be outside riding! See you on the trail. --- Janine

Janine is an author, an international freelance equestrian writer and photographer, lecturer/clinician, Trail Horse Behaviorist, Expert in trail riding, trail camping, and traveling with horses, and a Long Rider founding member of The Long Rider's Guild.

Author of Western Horseman's book "TRAIL RIDING A Comprehensive Guide to Enjoying Your Horse Outdoors". Janine is also the founder of her new project "Beyond Natural Horsemanship"