Misty's Long Ride

MISTY'S LONG RIDE brings another dimension to great adventure. It's written from the horse's perspective. Few authors walk on four legs but Misty finds a way to bring humor 'horse sense' and a feeling of adventure to the reader. A Texas cowboy named Howard assures her they are traveling on a 'Long Ride'. It will take her from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. With that said he saddles her up and points Misty westward into a gathering storm. At first she didn't like it one bit. Her cowboy packed her too heavy. She suffered. Her cowboy learned valuable lessons. Things got better. Well into the ride it was a kind of loneliness out there in the middle of nowhere that took Howard's breath away. The sunsets dazzled with every color one could imagine. They sprayed shadows across the mountains and prairies. They reflected from colossal snow-capped peaks. Each day we broke camp before dawn and rode west away from stunning sunrises. Oftentimes Howard turned in the saddle and shared in words what he saw in those light banners streaking across the morning sky. At day's end mighty thunderheads boiled into the heavens painted with gold pink purple and orange. As good as Howard was sometimes there was nothing he could do about our situation in the burning inferno of Utah. In that agonizing desert a man's mouth became so dry he couldn't spit. I felt the heat cook my hooves at ground level where it felt like walking along at the end of a woman''s hair dryer. Above us vultures soared in the skies searching for road kill. Yet Howard pulled down the brim of his hat and pushed forward. I followed this cowboy because he was a Long Rider and I was his horse.