морь бас нохой бас явган аялал oo яанаа! (More, bas Nahoy, bas yavgan aylal ooo yanna!)

Horses and dogs and hiking oh my! A few weeks ago I went dog sledding with Marc, and his friends Marina, Tom, and Alaia. It was a great deal of fun! We took a bus load of expats to a lodge outside of UB in the countryside. It took a little over an hour. We ordered some food for lunch and hiked up the back mountain. Unfortunately because my shoe ware completely lacked any traction (whatsoever) I spent most of the time going up trying not to loose footing and sliding all over the place and the way down on my bum because I couldn't keep from falling! 

The hike, was worth it however and it was a wonderful view. After eating a delicious bowl of vegetable soup we got back in the bus and headed for the next activity. Horseback riding! As we got off the bus we saw furry Mongolian horses lined up waiting for us.
I should have known the moment the man ask me if I had even ridden and then stated "good" when I said I said yes, that i was in for the ride of my life. They say they choose horses based on your personality. If that is the case, I am impatient, quick, temperamental, and thick headed. This horse wanted to be first in line to go anywhere. It was always running to the front of the pack and looking to race anyone at a-ny-time. If my gloves hadn't made it so hard to hold onto the reigns and my hood hadn't been falling in my face (it was WAY too cold to take it off) i would have been having the time of my life. As it sat, I was squeezing that beast in between my legs so hard when I got off I could barely walk. It was however, well worth it and I cannot wait to fear for my life again!

The dog sledding was also fun, though a it of a disaster. There were three groups that went. Marc and I were in the third group. By the time we got to go sledding the dogs were exhausted. We each had our own sled and at one point Marc's sled veered off to the right and tipped over on a bank because the head dog decided it wanted to chase a cow. It was humerus to watch especially since no one was injured. After the guide took Marc's dogs and he got into my sled, I managed to almost drive my sled into Alaia's. In order for the dogs to stop you are supposed to stand on the brakes however, I seemed to have a bit of trouble slowing them down just standing on the brakes and they only stopped when I jumped on them.

My slippery boots also slid off the rails of the sled and I found myself holding on for dear life as I was being dragged on my knees behind the sled and through the woods. It was a fantastic moment in time for sure. Towards the end of the dog sledding activity, the dogs had trouble finding any will to move further, even stopping at people who were hanging out by the river. Marc got out of the sled and got the dogs going but again, my shoes proceeded to slide off the rails and tip over. After about ten feet of being dragged like this I let go and decided that walking back was probably safer at this point. It was a great (entertaining day). I learned that though cute, furry Mongolian boots are HORRIBLE to do anything in besides walk on a flat (non-iced surface) and decided that if I ever decide to go dog sledding again, I will skip the horses (because they are COLD in the winter) and opt to go first when the dogs have more energy and less ornery! More pictures to come soon!

Where's Jenn?