Bryan & Brittney Austin

This last week was a total blast for me. I got the opportunity to go up and ride horses with my aunt Pat while on a cattle drive. It was so much fun. My butt and legs are sore but it was so worth it. I left after work on Thursday and made the three hour drive up to Blackfoot, ID. I met up with my aunt at her home. We both hit the sack right away since we had to be up so early the next morning. We got up at 4:45 am on Friday and got ready. We loaded into my aunt's truck and went to pick up her friend Jerry. Jerry was a very nice guy and I enjoyed getting to know him. He actually lives in a shack on his property. He is a carpenter and work has not been plentiful lately so he is slowly working towards being able to build a house. He had the cutest dog ever named Red. She was such a nice dog and she had just had a litter of puppies so I was in seventh heaven getting to pet all the puppies. We then headed up to where the cattle had spent the night the evening before. The day before the cowboys had pushed the cattle just down the road. The drive itself is actually a three day drive and I got to go on the second day. We got to the camp and I got to meet everyone. Everyone was so nice to me and just all around good people. Of course they are cowboys so the beer and whiskey were already being passed around before even getting on their horses. I got to eat some of the best fried eggs I ever had before we saddled the horses and got up to move the cattle. It was a joke at first of me trying to get used to riding again. It had been only about... mmmm... 12 YEARS since I had last ridden. I had to try to remember everything. But after about 15 minutes it all came back to me and I was doing good. We pushed the cattle down a country road for about 6 miles before stopping. It was some of the most beautiful country side I have ever seen. There are rolling hills all around and just fields and fields of crops such as potatoes and alfalfa. There were about 120 heads of cattle that we were pushing and about half of them were calves. They were so cute and they just wanted to stay by their mom's sides at all times. They mooed the whole time we were driving them and it was like music to my ears. I loved it. When we did stop, we stopped for a potty break, drinks and a quick bite. Sadly at this point I did not get to ride anymore. My horse, handsome Jack was having problems walking because he is not shoed and his hoof cracked all the way up. He was such a good horse to ride. I enjoyed it a lot. He was a tall black horse topping the charts at 25 years old. He did not ride like an old horse though, he rode like a youngster. So after we loaded Jack into the trailer, I got to ride in the beer truck from there on out. The beer truck is just that. I pulls the trailer behind the driving cattle and provides an endless supply of beer and whiskey to the cowboys. At one point we stopped for a 30 minute break for beer and provided beer for the cowboys as they sat on their horses and told old stories. It was like a painting. We stopped again for lunch at which time of the cowboys made their way back to town for some supplies and so then I got to drive the beer truck following. We got up into the mountains before they stopped for the evening and we caught a ride back to my aunt's truck. It was a full day of horses, cows, and the cool Idaho hill air. I loved it and cannot stop thinking of how I wish I could just go back. After coming back down and dropping everyone off, my aunt and I went out to some yummy dinner and then hit the sack. I am so lucky to have such and awesome aunt that would treat me so great while I was there and she knew how much I was enjoying myself. I got to meet a lot of new people that were so much fun to talk to and get to know. I love my aunt to so much and she is a great person to hang out with it.