Darley's Travel Blog

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Snow Canyon has towering white and red Navajo sandstone canyons, juxtaposed with lava rocks. All along the ride, Patty tested my imagination and gave me some insight into hers by pointing out formations that looked like bears, the gopher from Caddy Shack, an eagle head and more. We rode to a spot where a couple of falcon nests were constructed in a rock wall, but alas, no one was flying around for us.

We rode through a trail through a sandy wash and were lucky enough to see a beautiful white flower ... ...

The Quarter Horse Thoroughbred cross that I rode, Sawdust, had been in various movies and was super well trained, necessary when rounding up bison. The free roaming bison on the island look ancient, but are fast moving. You have to be careful when working them, so that you and your horse don’t get charged. My horse was definitely charged up, as the herd scattered in various directions and we cantered and then galloped after them. It was super exciting and fun.

After expending some energy with the ... ...

As we rode, Pat told me all about the Native Americans, outlaws and Morman pioneers who rode through and settled Capitol Reef, called “Land of the Sleeping Rainbow.” The colors of the rocks and cliffs here are striking. We rode to petroglyphs created by the Fremont people, ancient Native Americans who lived in the area. Pioneers saw it fit to sign in here too and Pat told some stories from their journals. Surrounded by tall canyons on each ride of us, we were riding through a spot where people ... ...

We were blessed with blue skies, as I mounted “The Kid,” a 10-year-old black Quarter Horse Thoroughbred Cross. The Kid was a great partner for my ride. Tawn, of Canyon Trail Rides, guided me on his horse Wiggy. Tawn said that a lot of people get nervous as they begin their descent into the canyon, because of the drop off on the other side of the trail. I felt safe on The Kid, as he had ridden this trail a thousand times and was probably more sure-footed than I would have been on foot. What makes ... ...

I felt like Indiana Jones as we hiked to the cave. Ronnie pointed out different trees and their uses, including the Sapodilla tree from which chicle is harvested. Found in tropical rainforests, the chicle from this tree was harvested to make gum products like Chicklets.

At the large entrance to Rio Frio Cave, stalagmites hung from the ceiling. The cave is interesting as you can see clear to the other side. Ronnie tells me that caves, like this one, were sacred to the Maya. They believed that itwas ... ...

The resort is eco-friendly. The Privassion River provides hydroelectric power to the resort. Fruits, vegetables and flowers are grown in a beautiful organic garden. There are two restaurants from which to choose. One has Guatemalan food and the other has Italian. Horses are born and raised at the lodge. They found that they were not able to get the type of horses that they wanted in Belize so have started to breed horses here at the stables themselves. In Belize, the Mennonite community uses a lot ... ...

My guide Trevor, whose family moved him from Texas to Belize when he was very young, talked more about the forest, having grown up riding through it. I can’t imagine growing up in this remote part of Belize without electricity and being home schooled. What a fascinating life and so neat to hear about it while riding here!

Trappe Hill Farm was our first stop. Located a ways down a side road off of Route 50, this farm has about 30 horses, which are trained for racing (on the flat and steeplechasing), foxhunting and endurance riding. They also had a couple of foals that were adorable. Though we missed the swimming demonstration, there is a pond outside where the horses do swim. On the tour, the Northern Virginia Animal Swim Center and Stables also has a pool, used for conditioning and rehabilitating horses.

Though Trappe ... ...

We were a little frightened upon arriving at the lodge. As we were eating dinner by lamplight, someone drove up and ran into the open air dining room. A neighbor had been bitten by what they believed to be a poisonous snake and needed help. Being in such a remote location, the hospital was about an hour and a half drive down a bumpy dirt road. Once at the hospital, it wasn’t a guarantee that they would have the anti-venom. Belizeans have a root that you can pick from the forest and when you chew ... ...

Belmopan consists of a grocery store, small, one story homes and lots of embassies, including a very big, new American embassy. It was interesting to think of this as a capitol city, because it is so tiny, but then again, Belize is a small Caribbean country.

John pointed out a tree sacred to the Maya people, as we continued through the jungle. John sent one of the wranglers ahead of us to use his machete to cut away forest which was impending upon the trail. The machete seems to be the accessory of choice here, as the jungle grows fast.

We then rode through the beautiful and slow growing teak trees to a Maya site. These sites are scattered throughout Belize. There are so many that they can’t excavate them all, because it is too expensive. We rode over ... ...

We were able to ride out with Albert, a local who works at the ranch and knows the rainforest plants very well. Since he was a child, Albert has been using plants from the forest to cure his ailments. He learned how to do this from his mother, who learned it from hers. As we rode, Albert pointed out plants to cure everything from headaches to diabetes.

We came upon a giant ant pile filled with cutter ants. Albert stomped on the pile to get the large soldier ant to come out. Once the big ant did,Albert ... ...

To ride here, is to ride among lava rocks, listen to the rumblings of the Volcano, see the smoke billowing from the top of the cone and see the lava billowing down its side, especially at night. Arenal can throw rocks the size of cars and its flow has been known to change direction.

We also visited nearby hot springs, but non-touristy ones. The heat of the springs is determined by how active the volcano is that day. On our day, the volcano apparently wasn’t really, really active, though it was a ... ...

I felt like we were floating as we rose up over the pineapple fields and lush green environment and headed for the rainforest. Though it is the dry season, to me everything is still really green here. You can get pretty close to the tree tops as you float over the rainforest. We did! It was early morning, so we heard the sounds of the rainforest waking up; monkeys and birds called out. We saw parrots and macaws flying below us and even a sloth.

As we rose higher, the cows in the distance looked so ... ...

Climbing up was like climbing the rope in gym class, but harder, as I weigh a lot more than I did then and don’t seem to have a lot of upper body strength. There is a rigging system so that you use your legs and upper body to climb, which once you get the coordination of it all, is hard, but not impossible.

The hard part for me was that we were filming it, so I had to keep stopping and hanging in the air, while we got different angles, meaning that my legs got a little cramped. It also gave metime ... ...

Today, we went to a frog farm that is not open to the public with Esteban of Centaura. The owner raises rare frogs, but the neat thing is that the frogs are left to hop along in the rainforest, so if you walk quietly through, you can spot many of these neon colored frogs. We stealthily walked through the rainforest in search of these small frogs. Beside the trails, there were a lot of them. You have to look closely, but you can find these bright green and black frogs, whose skin and delicate arms ... ...

The day was not without its obstacles. As I write this, we nervously await word on the condition of fan favorite Lainey Ashker and her horse Frodo Baggins who experienced an unfortunate fall early on. It's never easy to see a rider fall. We wait breathlessly for both to get up. Unfortunately Lainey was airlifted to a local hospital and Frodo Baggins received on the spot emergency veterinary care, before he was taken away. They will remain in our thoughts.

It look all of us a little while to get our horses to go into the water. My horse Pinata was very afraid of the waves at first, but we were able to get in after a few tries and after some of the other horses got in as well. We were able to stay on the beach through sunset, a beautiful end to our beach ride.

Esteban rode Chocolate and Monica and her brother Sebastian rode along with us. The area just around the farm is really diverse, with rolling grasslands where cattle graze to fields of pineapple and sugarcane to rainforests, rivers and the grand Arenal Volcano.

The thing about riding in Costa Rica, is that you can really let loose and ride fast. The saddles that we used were McClellon saddles with a nice cushiony seat, ideal for long days in the saddle. Esteban told me about how many people in the ... ...

Centaura’s horses are amazing. They are well trained, responsive and riders can have their pick based on what they want to experience on their adventures. Centaura specializes in custom riding vacations and offers other adventure activities through Serendipity Adventures. This means, I’ll not only be riding on the beaches, at the base of Arenal volcano and in the countryside of San Carlos, but I’ll also be climbing a twelve story tree, going hot air ballooning and visiting a frog farm andseeing ... ...

Braham, my instructor went through the basics again with me. He picked a nice, easy, long trail. On a normal run, it would have taken us 20 minutes to get down. Filming made it take 1.5 hours. It was fun along the way though and I definitely want to go back to Mont Tremblant for some more skiing.

After the lesson, Braham and I put up our skis and walked over to Le Shack, a place in Mont Tremblant’s colorful village that is known for its poutine. Yes, I tried the poutine, a comfort food dish eaten ... ...

I really like Old Montreal. We stayed at Place d’Armes Hôtel, a hip, boutique hotel, which though modern, has managed to maintain it’s rustic brick interiors as well. The location was great, right in the center of Old Montreal, so we were able to go to a nearby pastry shop, Café Europea, and try these neon macaroons, which give a nice sugar boost in the afternoon. They were light and airy, but also tasty. They were filled with different fillings, like caramel apple whiskey flavoring, hazelnut, ... ...

After a big breakfast, I didn’t want to leave the warm fire, but meandered over to the barn with Josee to meet my horse for the ride and my riding partner, Daniel Locas. Daniel would be riding Yanni and I would be on Judy, a mixed breed. Judy loved to go fast, but also listened very well, making her a pleasure to ride. We headed out onto the snowy, well groomed trails around the ranch, past the frozen Black Banks River with views of the beautiful Laurentian mountains all around. We varied groomed ... ...

For dinner, Jacques’ wife cooked up a delicious pastry filled with buffalo meat, zucchini, broccoli, couscous, salad with smoked salmon, bred with fresh homemade pesto, and cake for dessert. Everything was made with organic ingredients, making me feel healthy after a day on the trails.

After a cozy night in my cabin, I awoke to another great meal. Breakfast consisted of eggs, pancakes, potatoes and ham and spinach, black tea, and toast. We toured around the town, seeing a covered bridge and other ... ...

Jacques has about 20 horses and several cabins for guests looking to stay and ride in the area. I rode Tom, a 7-year-old Canadian mixed breed. Tom was wonderful and a good looking black horse. Jacques keeps his riding trails groomed in the winter and the horses have studs on their shoes, so that they can keep their traction on the snowy trails. We took off into the quiet woods, past an old sugar cabin and towards a large field, where we could try some faster trotting and cantering. Many of the trails ... ...

Riding at the ranch is diverse. We headed through fields of tall grass and mesquite trees, towards hills of oaks and up to a point where you had great views of the Brazos and Cooper Rivers. There's a lot of history in the area relating to Native Americans, 1920's wildcatters looking for oil and the early frontiersmen who lived and worked here in Texas. You still ride by old oil tanks that are sprinkled throughout this part of Texas.

I am enjoying the fact that everything is bigger in Texas here,by ... ...

Starting in January, we are excited that stations across the nation are scheduling a new season of Equitrekking. You may watch a video promo at Equitrekking.com.

Some listings of note include:

Albuquerque airs season two on KNME onThursdays at 7:00pm beginning January 10th and repeating on Saturdays at 7:00pm, also simulcasting the HD version on the HD channel on Saturdays at 7:00pm.

Boston on WGBX on Sundays at 4:30pm, starting Sunday, January 6, 2008.

Charlotte on WTVI on Saturdays at 5pm beginning ... ...

If you ask a Cherokee tribal member how long they have lived in this area of Western North Carolina, they will say that they have always been here, that the Creator put them here. If you ask an archeologist or Dr. Barbara Duncan, like we did, she will say that evidence dates the Cherokee as having been here for thousands of years. No matter what you believe, the Cherokee have been in Western North Carolina for a long time. They have deep rooted traditions and culture and a great history with horses. ... ...

Steve Davis, the Director of the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm, is a bundle of energy, whose passion for Morgans is evident from his handshake. We were joining Steve for a tour, and I was interested in meeting a foal or two.

Steve took us over to UVM Opie, a three-month old bay colt, who will be auctioned off in UVM’s yearly raffle in October. After seeing Opie, I purchased 10 raffle tickets.

Steve has been working at the UVM Morgan Horse Farm for over 34 years, so has had a hand in naming ... ...

Today we enjoyed riding in the Great Smoky Mountains with tribal members from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. I rode a Tennessee Walking horse, which was a first, and really liked its smooth gliding gait through the shaded mountain trails.

Forrest and his wife, Ashley, who train Tennessee Walking horses and are lifelong riders, let me, Doug and Chip (our crew) borrow horses for the ride. We would be riding and filming, which would be a logistical challenge on steep and rocky mountain trails. ... ...

So today, I took a break from the saddle to explore downtown Asheville's arts, restaurants and shopping and spend the afternoon rock climbing at Chimney Rock Park. No, I have never gone rock climbing before, and yes, I am still in one piece. It was a lot of fun and certainly a challenge.

Asheville is a nice mix of urban culture in a small area. We used the Chestnut Street Inn as our jumping off point. The Chestnut Street Inn is owned by a young couple, Eddie and Jesse, who had great recommendations ... ...

Today I went horseback riding on the Biltmore Estate, enjoying the grounds, trails and horses from an insider's perspective. It was a hot day in Asheville, NC, and with dry roads, we kicked up a lot of dust as we headed over to the equestrian center.

If you want to ride at the Biltmore, you can enjoy over 100 miles of surrounding Appalachian trails and many choices. Anyone can take a Western style trail ride at the Biltmore. Riders can also bring their horses to board at the stables and enjoy thetrails, ... ...

I am frequently asked to speak or write about safety for riders. Of all the tips I offer for anyone anywhere, the most basic applies to every rider every time you saddle up: Wear a helmet. Read more.

I just got back from riding with Stacia Hendricks, a naturalist on Sea Island, who took me out for a nature ride on the beaches and into the varied ecosystems of Sea Island. I rode Charlie, a very large Belgian Draft horse. At almost 18 hands high, I would certainly be getting a bird's eye view of things during our journey.

We rode over the Black Banks River and hit the wooded trails that lead to the wide, sandy beaches of Sea Island. There is a rich diversity of bird life on Sea Island. We passed ... ...

Today we ventured out to see more of the horses and wildlife on Cumberland Island. The horses on Cumberland travel in family groups, usually with a dominant stallion. Because the island is for the most part undeveloped and subtropical forest, there are not many grazing areas. The horses must compete for the few grassy grazing areas on the island, the majority of which are the lawns of the few houses and historical buildings or ruins scattered around the island. Fresh water is supplied by an aquifer ... ...

Today was fantastic! I spent the day touring Georgia's Cumberland

Island with naturalist Fred Whitehead, who has an intimate knowledge of the island's "wild" horses and varied ecosystems.

Roughly the size of Manhattan, Cumberland is a small island off the southern Georgia coast and boasts 17.5 miles of pristine beaches. It is no more developed today that it was in the early 20th century, as large landowners and now the National Park Service have tightly regulated development on the island for over ... ...

Well, I am sitting here with a sunburn after a very full day of beach riding on Sea Island. During my ride, Sarah, who was leading our small group of three down a wide sandy beach under a bright blue sky, said that it couldn't get any better than this. I have to agree.

Sea Island is one of the barrier islands off of Georgia's coast in a grouping known as the Golden Isles. The Sea Island Resort has been welcoming guests to the island retreat for generations, and people have been riding on the island ... ...

Today, I began my travel adventures on the East Coast, riding horses from the state of Georgia to the state of Vermont and filming for the Equitrekking™ television series.

Equitrekking is the first travel television series to explore the globe on horseback. Our new six-part series begins broadcasting nationally on Public Television in 2007. We're filming in high definition, in order to capture the beauty of the horses and scenery of each place that we visit.

We've already filmed in Ireland, New ... ...

Our new series begins broadcasts on PBS stations this winter. We have just put up a season two video promo, so that you may have a sneak peak at some of our adventures. Happy New Year!

We woke up at 5AM to make the three hour drive to Kipahulu. Along Hana Highway, we stopped to watch the waves crash on the cliffs and to take in the waterfalls and pools that dot this area of rainforest.

Keoni would be taking me out along with two other visitors. Keoni grew up in the area and has a deep connection to his Hawaiian heritage. He would serve as out Alaka’i or guide into the rainforest. Before riding, Keoni sang and prayed a traditional oli or call to his ancestors.

Maui Stables has about ... ...