This weekend I came to appreciate the beauty of the thistle, and in fact, took more photos of thistles than anything else...and that is saying a lot b/c I had a very full 2 days in the mountains.
Backstory: I took part in a woman's event in the mountains just outside the small town of Fort Valley, Virginia "According to tradition, Daniel Morgan built the first road into Fort Valley from the north, at the order of George Washington, with a view to holing up in this naturally fortified valley as a possible last stand against the British during the American Revolution. The Continental Army's victory at Yorktown altered Washington's plans." (Wikipedia)
The event began on Saturday with 3 and 1/2 hours of shooting with 4 NRA certified instructors. 20 women took part. After this, we moved on up to the cabin and got the campfire going. We cooked dinner and relaxed a bit. After dinner, several of us went for a hike on the property. Our hostess and lead NRA certified shooting instructor, owns almost 100 acres in this most beautiful area.
After our hike, the rest of the evening was spent relaxing around the campfire. The 14 of us who spent the night either set up tents or threw our sleeping bags down on the small cabin's floor. We were really roughing it with no electricity or indoor plumbing (tho we did have 1 porta-potty about 1/4 mile down the road from our campsite) but we were prepared and had a great time.
On Sunday after a leisurely campfire breakfast we headed a few miles west to the Secret Passage Ranch and went on a 2 hour horseback ride.
What follows are a few more photos from this weekend.
Love that picture and love the idea of the trip.... sounds wonderful!
We stayed on a ranch in the grand canyon a few years ago... as non-horsey English folk it was a real adventure for all of us! (But there was a loo and beds!)
@filsie65 Phil, my preference *would* be indoor plumbing but this was such a great fun opportunity that I could not pass it up. There aren't many such events for woman that are 1 - not too far from home (this was 3 hr drive for me) and 2 - cheap enough for me to afford it.
Wow! I had no idea that thistles could be this beautiful. There are so many shades of color. Great shot, Karen! And I'm definitely FOR indoor plumbing... haha Nice shots from your weekend!
posted June 30th, 2012
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We stayed on a ranch in the grand canyon a few years ago... as non-horsey English folk it was a real adventure for all of us! (But there was a loo and beds!)