By Jo Mixon
This week our featured I Know Jo business is Roadrunner Tours.
Last night Sheila and I from the Chamber of Commerce, my son Marcus, her husband Burt, and a couple of other friends were treated to a Chamber of Commerce appreciation Sleigh Ride and Cowboy Dinner by Nancy Burch of Roadrunner Tours. If you remember, last summer Nancy taught me how to ride a horse. Since then I have wanted to experience her sleigh ride dinner evening.
The ride began at the stables on the Elliott Barker Ranch, where Gunter Heinrichs, the main cowboy at Roadrunner Tours, met us. He introduced us to sleigh horses, Melvin and Jock. Melvin is a white full-blooded Percheron. Jock is a Belgian, Percheron mix. Percherons are noted for their heavy muscles, ruggedness, and power. The mere size of these draft horses is stunning! But they are certainly gentle giants. Nancy notes that she puts just as much care and effort into matching the team of horses that pull her sleighs as she does when she matches horse to rider in the summertime. She says to have a good team there should be one calm and easygoing horse matched with another physically and mentally strong horse. A Socrates and a Hercules so to speak, and then you get a dynamic duo!
We loaded into the sleigh under thick blankets of buffalo hides to keep us toasty warm even with a wind chill factor of minus three degrees. We meandered throughout the Carson National Forest talking, laughing, and admiring the breathtaking scenery of the Moreno Valley below us. As we approached the outdoor cowboy camp nestled in an open dale above the meadow, we could smell the aroma of Nancy’s home cooking. She greeted us with her million-dollar smile. Appetizers consisted of melt-in-your mouth elk tacos and hot chocolate. Once inside the sturdy fire warmed dinning room tent, we were served an authentic cowboy dinner of steak, potatoes, and beans. It couldn’t have been better!
On our sleigh ride back, Burt held a gas-lit lantern for Gunter as the horses made their way through the snow. The stars sparkled brilliantly above us. The ambience, the food, the sleigh ride, and our cowboy hostess made this a truly memorable adventurous evening that I would highly recommend.
Roadrunner Tours offers horse drawn sleigh ride venues of breakfast, lunch, and dinner trips during the winter season. Why not spend a morning, an afternoon, or an evening to experience the fun yourself?
For more information call Roadrunner Tours at 575-377-6416 or visit www.rtours.com.
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