The light coming through the muslin panels on the French door and large window woke me at 5:00. I jumped up thinking I was late starting the day. We sorted out the time and went back to bed. I was up an hour later though and parked myself on the front porch until time to get dressed for the 7:30 meet-up. The view was serene and breathtaking with wild mustangs in the distance.

First order of business: feed the wild mustangs. They do not need to be fed since grass is plentiful this time of year, but for the sheer pleasure of the guests, they are given s snack to entice them to come close. We sat on the back of a hay wagon and drove through the gate that separates the wild from the tame horses and …wow… 300 or so mustangs were waiting for us. A few small bales of hay were separated and thrown off the wagon and then small bits were left for us to use to entice the brave ones to come and eat out of our hands. Really special. By the way, the herd is 800+ strong, so there were a few hundred on the other side of the mountain not at all interested in us or our free food.

We went back to the saloon after this fun and dove into a huge breakfast. Then it was time to saddle up and ride. Our destination was the top of Spruce Mountain. We drove to the base of the mountain, saddled up, and off we went. Three of us rode mustangs and Barb, the only real rider in our group, was on a quarter horse. We road up, up, up for an hour and a half going from 5,659 to 8,896 feet. We passed an old silver mine and a small herd of cows being tended by three dogs and two Peruvian cowboys. Lunch was laid out for us by the time we got to the top. The views were amazing as you can imagine. After lunch we headed down the mountain. My mount, Velvet, was in a big hurry and kept jogging along and did not appreciate my efforts to control her and make her walk. After giving it my best for about 15 minutes, I decided to get off and take the lunch truck down. Cleone and Barb stuck it out all the way down.

Some of us opted for baths and others showers to freshen up for cocktails. On the porch of the saloon we enjoyed drinks, mini pizza squares, fois gras on homemade bread rounds, and poached quail eggs.  Nix shared some interesting Navy Seal stories to include a couple about his friend, Chris Kyle, the American Sniper. An amazing Colorado lamb dinner (best chop I’ve ever had actually) was served in the saloon. Viktor was table side serenading us on the guitar.

Cleone headed to bed as soon as the apple cobbler (served in individual cast iron crocks) was cleared. I am blogging at the bar right this minute; Pat is chatting with Nix and the other couple, here from California; and Barb is chatting with Viktor about all things music.