Hi-Ho Kevin, Away!

Alright, it's about time I tell you about this great adventure we had when our awesome friends Geremy and Madeleine invited us to go on a day trip to Antelope Island. Have you heard of Antelope Island? I hadn't, but apparently a lot of people, especially outside of Utah, know about this place and even have it as a box to check on their list of adventures to do here. Huh.

It began as a kind of worrisome thing, since the projected temperatures for that day were over 100 degrees, aka human-puddle hot. But as we drove across the barren salty flats on a bridge straight out of a sci-fi western (it probably exists), complete with bleached bones, the temperatures were at a comforting 92 degrees and that eased our minds. The plan was to go out on an hour-long horseback ride, enjoy a picnic, and call it a day. So we came to terms with the fact that we'd probably be baked crispy and eaten alive (apparently a LOT of people have trouble with the bugs over there, as seen in reviews) and we tromped over to the barn land where the horses seemed to be.

This turned out to be completely fun. Probably the most fun I've had in a long time, even though when you break it down it was really just me sitting on a horse for an hour. But I have to tell you, the grin never left my face.

Oh, and here's some buffalo we saw driving in.

Insert prairie appropriate song here. 

And this rather mangy looking coyote.

Ok, back to horses. My horse was majestically named Kevin. Say hi, Kevin!

Kevin is not amused.

Kevin and I immediately became the best of friends. He stood perfectly still for me so I would not fall off the other side of him whilst trying to mount, and he even let me use saddlebags to hold all my water bottles, sunscreen, and camera. All the essentials of a true horsewoman ... cowgirl ... professional leisurely horse rider.

Joe got the horse everyone secretly wanted to ride. His name was Joe. The horse, not Joe. Although obviously Joe's name is Joe too. Joe was huge, tall, and beautiful. His mane stayed on one side of his neck, very properly. Don't be fooled by his look of disdain in this picture. He was a very nice Joe horse. Well, I guess he might have been a bit disdainful too, if we knew what he was thinking. I'm sure he knows he's the prettiest horse at the party.

Joe squared.

 Madeleine's horse was named Numbers, which was apparently a reference to the brand he has on his shoulder area (a lot less silly reason than the name sounded, right? I was expecting a cute story, and instead heard about his seared flesh. Ho hum). Geremy got a dappled grey (not really. I just like to say "dappled grey" for some reason. But it was dappled) named Scout.

This be Scout.

Alright. Picture overload, ahoy!

The ride was free-range, more or less, meaning that the horses didn't just train in on each other's back ends the whole time. We could roam around each other, walk side by side, speed up, slow down. Whatever we wanted that didn't get us thrown off. These horses are apparently used a lot by the LDS church in their historical movies, so they were super well trained and actually responded to us kicking and pulling the reins.

We were first taken nearish the lake to see a giant herd of buffalo that were just hanging out there. Our guide helpfully pointed out the ones that were trying to mate, and some goofy-looking ones trying to cool off by rolling around in the dust.

It was pretty cool to see that many buffalo (I think they're technically bison but let's be real here, buffalo is much more fun to type. And to say). At some point I apparently got a smudge right in the center of my lens so I apologize for the murky cloud in the middle of my picture.

Every picture I took of Joe looked good. Look at him! So savvy!

The group

 Couples shots!

Maddy was kind enough to lend me her sunnies. They are strange upon my face,
but I was really glad for them in the blinding sun.

 We took a break at a the water hole. Numbers was completely absurd. The other horses lapped up the water in a very dignified, horsey way, while Numbers dunked his entire face in and blew bubbles.

We then headed back to the barn.

One last shot of some Joe riding Joe action.

 If you too want to have a blast roaming around Antelope Island on the back of a potentially willful animal, we went through these guys. Our hour ride cost $50 per person, which seems pretty reasonable to me. Do it!

We were famished after horsing around, so we decided the lunching time was at hand. We'd actually brought a picnic lunch of sorts, but Madeleine suggested this bison burger joint that is on the island itself, so we went there. Burgers sounded better than soggy PB&J, weirdly enough. I didn't take pictures, because the place honestly looked a bit like a glorified rest stop, but the burgers were large and delicious.

After that it was so stinkin' hot that we decided to forgo any further sightseeing (despite my desperate wish to see a porcupine) and went to our friends apartment for some decompression time.

That was our adventure! It was so much fun, and not even that hot (on the horses. In full disclosure it was extremely toasty once we started walking around on foot after) and I didn't notice a single bug the entire time. We did apply the bug spray generously, though, so maybe it was just quality spray. I have to say I would definitely do this again.