So here is the story of our romantic sunset horse ride on the side of a volcano on Maui on the last night of our second honeymoon. First, I would like you to meet my new friend. Her name is Hanalei…
When we showed up for our ride, we were delighted to find out that there were only four people going… my wife and I, the trail guide, and this cool Hawaiian surfer dude who was learning to work with the horses…
That is our guide on the right, and her new ranch hand riding tall in the saddle, pardners. There is my buddy Hanalei, taking a drink. Now, I happen to know a little bit about horses… because I love them. Some of you may have seen right off that there is something special about Hanalei. Notice the huge hooves and the short. stiff, bristly mane. And look how strong she looks. As soon as I saw her, I asked our guide if she was part draft horse… maybe one of those Belgian ones I couldn’t remember the name of. Our trail guide was very impressed that I had spotted this, and she realized at once that I was no mere city slicker… no dude ranch cowpoke… no urban cowboy… you get the idea.
Because my wife and I were the only people who signed up to ride that night, and because she trusted us not to fall off our horses or get kicked doing something stupid, she did something awesome for us. Usually, with bigger, less experienced groups, she took them to this pond near the mouth of the valley, let them walk around for a half an hour or so while the horses drank some water, and then started them back down the trail. But she asked us if we wanted to cut the rest time a bit, and go further up into the valley…
Well, heck yeah, I wanted to go farther… further? I can never keep those two straight…
And we did… back where the grass is tall and the pot farmers have their secret pot fields…
It was so awesome… oh… dang it… you can see my wife’s head up there, sticking above our guide’s head… I am not supposed to put pictures of my wife on the blog…
Whoops… there she is again… And don’t go thinking that I was riding in back the whole time. I happen to be a much more experienced rider than my wife, and I was leading the way for a while, but I took these after we turned around to start back down, as can be seen by the fact that you can see the ocean and an island in the distance in this next photo…
Another neat thing about this little adventure is that it was a sunset ride…
It wasn’t the most spectacular sunset we saw on Maui…
But watching the sun sink into the Pacific ocean from the back of a horse on Maui is pretty cool…
I took one last look at the valley as we crossed the road and put an end to our journey…
And then I couldn’t resist taking a picture of our monster-vomit-green convertible Mustang as the sun disappeared… because… you know… Mustangs are horses… so… uh… yeah…
If you ever end up on Maui, give these folks a call…
The Lahaina Stables… totally worth it.
Pouring My Art Out 
I’ve only sat on one horse for 5 minutes once. Would love to actually go riding.
You sat on a horse that didn’t move? How did that come up???
It was brothers and I was scared lol
well get over it
I had a bet with myself that Hanalei was a draft cross. Those big feet were the kickers, no pun intended, lol. I own one too. Love her to death. There are few things more peaceful than riding into the sunset on your trusty steed. Thanks for sharing. Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed these.
I could put on armor and ride that horse in a joust.
That’s it! I will get a job at these stables, so when I am not babysitting a kazillion dollar home for the globe trotting owner I will still have income! YESSSSSS! Thanks Art! you’re the best!
As long as I get free rides.
Another one to add to my list. I am going to be a busy girl with all these new adventures to tackle.
It is nice to have things to look forward to.
That was spectacular. The only thing missing was…. a fairy wand!
sigh
I’m not going to give this up easily. You’ve planted this idea in my brain
You can always imagine me holding anything you can think up.
Ha! I need to find some time to play photoshops
Yeah you do.
And I have a post of me with big purple fairy wings
See, you are almost back to your pre-trip self – horsin’ around again!
oh yeah
Awesome!
oh yeah