The Campout

October 4, 2025
Grace tried to stay seated, but found herself wanting to push the big stallion forward and down with her body.  If she could.  Standing int eh stirrups made little difference for Mateo, however.  He was balanced, and he was powerful enough hold that balance without much trouble.

My saddle looks really good on him!"

"Thanks Skye!  It's not working out for me quite the way I'd hoped!"

Mateo had an impressive ability to hold a rear at the peak of its motion.  Even with a rider, apparently.

"Do you think someone trained him to do that?"  Skye asked.

"I'm thinking this is how he trains people"  Grace responded.  "He's not angry, he's not worked up, he's not actually trying to hurt me...but I was hoping to keep my seat in the saddle and I just couldn't do it. He gets so vertical..."

"Well it looked pretty cool anyway."

"You wanna ride him Skye?"

"Kind of?"

"I'm kidding.  I think the boss would hurt me if I let you get on him."

Mateo reared again.  He was a big horse.  Beautiful in every aspect.  The boss had fallen in love with him, so he was probably going to stay.  Grace wasn't sure he'd ever be much more than a pasture ornament.

Skye peered outside as the sun was setting.  The wind was on its way out, taking its time, reminding her with little blusters  who was in charge.  If the wind stayed down, the campout for tomorrow night was on.  

October 5
"You know Skye, it's like noon. We could wait until it's a little cooler to get the tent set up."

Skye raked and raked the soil.  It was uneven, but it did give in to the rake, and there were few rocks.  Grace was probably right.  The mid-day sun was rather warm.

5 pm proved much more agreeable. And it had given Skye some time to come up with a plan to make the tent extra comfortable. It called for pulling the rug out of their room and using it as tent flooring.

"It's perfect" Skye said proudly. "It comes up along the side walls just enough that you won't roll off of it."

And then in a few moments. everyone arrived.  Anoush, her daughters Anahit and Lousin, her helpers Crystal, Heather and Jessica, and the young girls. The oyoung ones rushed up to Grace, showering her in a spontaneous burst of love.

And then, the girls got right on to the play things.  

Anahit, Lousin and Skye were int he back of the big red truck, the Pavement Queen, making plans.  Anoush approached them.

"The boss tells me she can't find her second tent?" Anoush said, part statement, part question.

"I've never seen a second tent" Skye responded. "But we're working on a solution, and we're thinking it's going to involve this truck. And besides, have you been inside that tent? It's huge!"

Heather found the buffalo robe inside the tent, and carefully lay down. It had an energy about it. And a comforting feel.

Jessica, dressed in her festive red plaid pajamas, took notice as she walked by.  "You giving up already?" Jessica teased.

Along the south facing slope of Yucca Peak, a red tailed hawk circled, flew along the side of the mountain. Then suddenly it plunged into the brush. A woodpecker made haste to escape. After a moment of thrashing, the hawk emerged from the brush with empty talons.

Perhaps it was a young bird, still learning its hunting technique, presently in the smash and grab stage. Or perhaps this was simply the way of the wild. Most hunts end in failure. The bird wasted no time getting back on the hunt.

Crystal also found the tent to her liking.  The cool blue was rather mesmerizing.

Lousin, Skye and Anahit ventured into the day's last light to look for wild horses. It was a beautiful evening, and though they saw no wildies, it was worth the effort just to be bathed in golden light.

Grace and Anoush took a walk to the outskirts of the camp as shadows swallowed the day's light.

"My girls were asking about a camp fire."

"Oh, sorry. No fires of any kind allowed in the forest right now" Grace answered.

"Doubtless that's a good rule at the moment."

Back in the camp, the older girls were gathering up the younger girls.
"Let's have story time!" Jessica said.

"Spooky halloween stories! Just kidding" Crystal said, smiling.

Anahit and Lousin's sleeping arrangements had been made.  Using the mattress, blankets and pillows from Grace's bed, the Paement Queen became a bit of an open air bedroom.  

"You think this'll work?" Skye asked.

"Oh yes" Lousin replied. 

"I'm gonna go photograph the moonrise with the boss" Skye said to her friends. "I'll be back in a little bit."

In the deepening shadows of evening, horses stood unseen on the outskirts of the camp.  Smoke Signals was fascinated by the sounds, the smells. He inched ever closer. His mare was not remotely curious, and held back.

The moon had already crested the mountain as Skye and the boss emerged from the tree line in the Jeep. That wasn't what the boss was looking for.

She turned to Skye and smiled. "Hang on Slye."

Down the road toward Meadow Campground they went, pushing ever closer to the mountain, until the moon was no longer visible. There they waited for their second chance, for another moon rise.  The moon did not disappoint.

The boss was merciless on the shutter button. She must've taken fifty pictures.  Every few moments another one.  Capturing the moon's ascent into the velvety blue sky, until it had cleared the chamise, the mountain mahogany, the yucca, the pines.  

"And there she is" the boss said softly, "released into the night sky."

The western sky glowed in an orange-red hue.

Skye and the boss chatted for a while and enjoyed the night. When they returned to camp, all was quiet.

"Do you think there's going to be any room left for you and Grace?" the boss asked.

"We're going to glamp" Skye said, smiling.

"What?"

"We're going to camp at our house. We've got one mattress left and it's just big enough."

October 6
Grace and Skye walked up to the campground quietly, pre-dawn.  No one stirred.  Anahit and Lousin had abandoned their custom bed.  Either they were out adventuring, or they were inside the tent.

"I think I can see Jessica" Skye whispered. "She looks awake."

"Let's not wake up everyone else" Grace whispered in response.

A low and slow helicopter cut through the morning air, flying directly overhead.
"They're probably all awake now!" Skye said.

Grace and Skye moved past the camp and up into the rocks beyond.  The sun was getting ready to crest the mountain.  The going was a little steep, but they had done it many times.  Skye lead the way.  Even after all those times, Grace's boots still really weren't made for walking.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I got it."

They crested the rock face. Sunlight poured across the land.  They saw horses straight away.

Highlander's band, Katana in the lead.

They were the colors of sand and sandstone, of granite, of light and shadow. They were the colors of their landscape, one with it, unbroken.

The girls watched, savoring every fleeting moment. Highlander's harem had no particular curiosity about the two-leggeds' camp. They would continue east, back into the chamise, and soon out of sight.

Back at camp, the boss was trying to orchestrate a group picture. Grae and Skye slipped in. But there were two cameras set up. No one was quite sure where to look.

"Here!" the boss said. "This camera! Look at this one!"

Click. Click click click click...
success.                                                                    #