Chasing Windmills and Wild Horses.

Saturday we went to Ellensburg to bring William home for Spring break. Instead of racing home we took old Vantage highway and stopped by the Wild Horse windmill farm but they were closed for visitors till next month.



We took a little walk. You can see the windmills in the background. I had Brad and William posing for fun.



I saw lot of tracks that looked too big to be deer. I think they were elk. Buttercups were everywhere.



When we got on to the freeway (I-90) I suggested we stop by the Wild Horse Monument because even though we've driven by a million times we have never stopped before.



I wanted to get closer and before you know it, we're walking up there.



I never would have dreamed I'd ever walk up there. For years the only walking I did was grocery shopping and then I had to use the shopping cart like a walker. I was so pleased to have an ankle that bends now. It's also wonderful not to have a painful ankle 24/7 that hurt so bad I wanted to chop it off with an axe. (No kidding). Brad did have to hold my hand all the way up though and I was puffing so hard I thought I was going to have a heart attack. When we to the top I turned around and looked back down and I told Brad and William there was no way I could go back down that steep path. For some reason I cannot go down hill anymore without feeling like I'm going to pitch forwards. My achilles was lengthened when I got my new ankle because it had got really tight and short. Maybe that's got something to do with going down hill being so difficult for me now. I wish I'd brought along my walking poles because they really help with balance.

The horses were beautiful up close. It was well worth the climb.

This one I called 'Beautiful' after Echo's and Wildairo's sister filly.



Far off in the distance the sky was rumbling with the sound of thunder. It was a good day for hiking.







Here I am with the lead horse. When I approached him I talked to him out of habit. He is awesome.



Down below is the I-90 freeway and the Columbia River.

We were very worried about how I was going to get down and we were looking for a back route I could take that wasn't so treacherous. Then this man came walking up the way we came, he had a quick look around and popped over the edge behind the lead horse and went down that way. It seemed he went up there often for the exercise because he was as fit as a fiddle. So we went down the same way he did. I had to scoot down on my bum in a very undignified way. I sat on a stink bug.

The hike did wonders for me. One day I'd like to ride one of my mustangs up there. Has anyone done that?

Here's William with his beloved bass.





What a fun day it turned out to be.

Below is some information about the Wild Horse Monument.

Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies– George, WA
Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies is a sculpture of 15 wild horses that has crowned a prominent Central Washington hillside. It is an inspiring sight for travelers along busy Washington Interstate 90 as they enter Grant County from the west.

The 200-foot line of life-size charging horses, the creation of David Govedare of Chewelah, Washington, captures a mystical spirit from a time when real wild horses roamed the steppes. Titled “Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies,” the scene symbolically re-creates the Great Spirit turning loose a herd of wild horses above the Columbia River’s Wanapum Lake.