With 35 years of hiking, climbing and ski trips to the Mountain State, I felt like I knew West Virginia pretty well.  Last night, when we were getting ready for our morning departure, I pulled out an actual map and realized that just about every place I’d been in West Virginia falls within the eastern quarter of the state.  This is a huge damn state, by East Coast standards, and I’d only scratched the surface.  Well, this trip is correcting that.

We left home at 9:00 to a Reba serenade.  She’d been guarding the truck since 7:00, convinced that if she stayed close, we’d not forget to take her along.  She wasn’t pleased to be held back as we loaded up the horses and drove away.  Two hours later, we crossed our first state line from Maryland to West Virginia and the hills that already had our gas gauge plummeting got even bigger.  With a bed full of grain, hay and camping gear and a trailer full of horse, I was mortified to see we were getting 4 miles to a gallon on one of the climbs -- I’m asking for carbon credits for Christmas.  Two hours after we entered West Virginia, we’d only travelled about about 2 inches on a map that fills two pages of giant road atlas, but, thankfully we’d reached our destination – Kross Kreek Farms.

We were greeted by a snow white peacock and a very friendly former Marine pilot, Joel Kirk.  Joel and his wife Suzette own Kross Kreek, a horse boarding facility that also takes in travelling horses by the night.  It’s a pretty little farm in a narrow valley that’s more hayfield than forest.

We unloaded the boys who immediately saw the advantages of travel when they were put into a lush paddock carpeted in clover.  Joel then directed Kurt through an intricate truck-trailer ballet that was made more interesting by the fact that the peacock is apparently suicidal and kept running under the tailer or trying to peck the truck tires.  Chores done and lunch eaten, we took two reluctant horses from their paddock and saddled up.  Suzette cast a practiced eye at both horse and offered:  “The Morgan is a hot one but look at the gentle eye on the other guy.  He’s a sweety.”

Well, Guillermo is apparently done with playing ‘Steady Eddie’ to Juneau’s ‘Mister Flashy Pants’ and the game was on.  Joel hopped on his ATV and rode out over their 100+ acre farm, opening gates so we could canter up the grass hills and wind from pasture to pasture.  And, Guillermo cantered sideways through it all – throwing lead changes and sweat at Kurt by the bucket.  Juneau calmly trotted along behind, sniffing the wild flowers like Ferdinand the Bull.  I guess it just shows you, when you think you know a horse, that damn horse is going to change.  I suppose that’s what makes it so much fun.

By the way, Suzette thinks Joel should run for office, and I agree.  What a delightful spot and what nice people!

If you want to learn more about Kross Kreek Farms, https://www.krosskreekfarms.com/