U5969PVmichaelf
My girlfriend, her family, and I had rented an RV and were in Homer, Alaska on vacation. One morning my girlfriend and I wanted to go horseback riding. Since all we had was an RV and we were currently stationed in a campground we were unable to use the RV for transportation. Every horseback riding place we found was over 30 minutes away and we didn't want to pay for a cab to travel 30 miles each direction.We saw an Alaska Draft Horse vehicle parked at one of the local shops with a reasonable price so we called the number on the car and spoke to a very friendly man. He informed us that the location was 45 minutes away. This was discouraging to us but he mentioned that he would drive out and pick us up, bring us there, and even bring us back. It sounded too good to be true, but it was the best decision we made the entire trip!He was unbelievable friendly and extremely knowledgeable of the area. The car trip was actually a learning experience in and of itself. He explained all the local attractions and brought us to multiple spots to (hopefully) spot moose and bear. He had plenty of stories about himself and his land which were all very welcome, appropriate, and entertaining. He even mentioned that we should stop at the Black Water Bend and get a Black Water Bend "Bender Blender" which we did the following day and it was DELICIOUS! Awesome suggestion.When we finally arrived at the horseback riding location, the horses were HUGE but extremely friendly. He let us feed them and told us stories of the horses, where they came from, and how he trained them. The tour was supposed to last 2 hours but he asked us if we wanted to go longer and since we were enjoying ourselves and we agreed. He was able to explain almost anything we asked and would also provide explanations for vegetation that we didn't ask about. It was all really quite an experience. The location is out in the middle of nowhere, which originally made us a little nervous, but it was just absolutely beautiful since there are over 200 acres of land. He even built his own bathroom, which is one of the most innovative outhouse restrooms I have ever seen. It smelt great (I know, weird, but it truly smelt fantastic) and it had a clear roof which made it bright. My girlfriend and I both agreed it was quite cool!When the riding had finished, he drove us back. After we returned to the campground, there were people at a fishing hole. We had mentioned to him before that we wanted to try to catch salmon so he provided us with an explanation of "snagging" and how to spot the salmon. He even got out of his car and showed us how to follow the school of fish.Overall this was an incredible experience. We both wish that we did this when we first arrived in Homer so that we would have learned everything that this little town has to offer! Definitely a great place to go for horseback riding!