Fetching Jien - The People
I started to panic about actually having a baby horse, as opposed to thinking about having a baby horse. Fortunately, several friends volunteered to go up to Bend with me to see this through. Judy was an automatic; it would have been tough to think about without having her around to get me out of trouble. Valena is my sister-in-law and also a horse newbie. She's a trouper, so I knew she'd be fun, and she seemed interested in seeing the breeding facility. Caitlin is really horse-savvy, and, between her and Judy, I figured we could handle almost anything.
The trip was perfect from beginning to end. On the morning we were to leave (Friday, 5 November), Caitlin was flying in from Ohio, and Valena from Utah. I was going to pick them up at the airport and return to work, where we would meet Judy, who was bringing the truck and trailer.
I waited for Valena to call as long as I could stand it, then left work to get a cup of coffee. As I was walking out of the coffee shop, Valena called to say her plane was in. I drove to the airport, circled twice and there she was. She climbed in, we went to the other terminal, circled twice and there was Caitlin. We went back to work and I had just showed them my office, when Judy pulled up. We piled in the truck and left for Bend.
The plan was to go as far as Weed that night, then roll into Bend on Saturday AM. There was no traffic on the way out of town, the weather was great, and we felt like going on, so we had dinner in Mt. Shasta City, and went on into Bend. We got there about 10 PM, and Caitlin directed us to a place she had stayed before - on the river, with kitchenettes. We moved in and started looking for a beer. We walked the three blocks into Old Town Bend and found a place to have a microbrew. It was clear but cold - around freezing.
The next AM we got up and had breakfast at the Alpenglow cafe - it you're ever in Bend . . . Their sign says no freezer or can opener on the premises, and I believe it. It was a wonderful breakfast.
We then rolled out to Robbi's Ranch. Robbi sort of took the day off to spend with us. I got stuck in the Baby Pasture, sort of chasing Jien around, but the rest of the crew took an all day tour of Robbi's place.
