I have just ordered a Hi
Tie, all the ones on 2001 seemed to do real well. Lots of good questions, Hope
we get the answers, And Jonni's post was great. Thanks AnnieG.
Where did the riders dump holding tanks? Can the shower water
be dumped on the ground? I can see where a fence would be a pain in the
butt. I am liking the Hi-tie more and more. How about propane tanks? Were
there places to refill those? Are the rest days in towns that can support
all the supplies, feed, groceries, propane and dumping or does one have to
drive to another town ? How many people joined in at different spots of
the ride? I don't think we can do the whole thing but we would like to do
Wyoming to Nebraska.
Lisa Salas, The ODd Farm ----- Original Message
----- From: "Jonni Jewell" <jonnij@xxxxxxxx> To: "Ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent:
Thursday, July 31, 2003 4:10 PM Subject: [RC] XP 04
>
>>>Well what advice would you give to us looking for a crew? What
kinds of > things did you appreciate, or hate about it? How can we
riders help the > crews best. I have never had anyone crew for me.
<<< > > The XP2001, and XP2004, you need to have a driver
/ crew. After every days > ride, you are in a new camp. So as the rider
heads out on to the trail each > morning, your crew needs to load up,
and head on to the next spot. If you > have extra horses, they need to
be able to load them in the trailer, and > DRIVE said truck / trailer
safely. We had many different types of crews in > 2001. Some were family
members of the rider, others friends, while others > hired strangers to
work for them. One rider hired on a different driver from > the area
they were passing through at the time, for a week or two at a time. >
At the end of their time frame, the rider gave the crew a ride back
to their > home town, and then hired someone local from the next area
we were passing > through. This worked well for them, but I am not sure
it would work for > every one. Another rider found some college age
students, who were off for > the summer, and hired them. It was a great
adventure for them, and they > worked hard, and did a great
job. > > Also, there were different expectations of duties from
different riders. > Some just wanted a driver, to haul the rig and other
horses to the next > spot, settle the horses in with food and water, and
that was it. Others > wanted more help with the horses, and maybe other
duties during the ride. > Shopping, laundry, fueling the rig,
replenishing the water tanks, dumping > any holding tanks in the camper
/ living quarters, buying feed etc. etc. > Some wanted the crew to do
meals, while other riders did pretty much > everything, AND
rode. > > I had a great situation, knew my rider and her horses
well. I did most of > the care, and also daily chores etc. We did most
shopping on days off, and a > trip to Wal-mart actually became a
highlight of the day! <grin> I was > lucky, as we didn't use
any portable corrals. We tied the horses to the > trailer the full 8
weeks. I felt sorry for the crews who had huge corral > panels to deal
with everyday. Unload and set up, then the next AM, tear down > and
put back on the rig just to drive to the next camp, and set them up >
again. That was a LOT of work for some of the crews to deal with, and
it got > real old, real fast for some of them. > > The
best thing a rider can do, is communicate with the crew, as to what is >
expected up front. Spending days on the road with someone you know
well or > family can be trying at times. Doing so with casual
acquaintances, or > friends can end up in squabbles. (heck, married
folks squabbled and did not > speak to each other at times
<grin>) > > What you CAN NOT DO, is show up to a ride like
this without someone to at > minimum, drive your rig to the next spot
each day. Management has a lot to > do as it is, and they can
not move your rig for you. And unless you are > family, chances of
someone doing this for you for free are pretty darn slim. > Plan on
housing the crew, and feeding them. If you are not going to do so, >
then be sure this is all spelled out in the beginning, so both you and
the > crew know what is expected, what the pay and "benefits" will be.
(and if I > was a crew for someone I did not know, I would get it in
writing) We had a > few riders who would not even feed their
crew/ driver, and were not paying > them either. Thankfully for those
crews, usually other riders or crews would > "take them in" and make
sure they were fed etc. > > A ride like this is a great adventure,
for riders and crews. But, it is a > long time on the road, and one must
be flexible to go with the flow when > things are not going as you might
have envisioned them. You need to work > well with others, as you may
need help from another crew one day if you run > out of water, break
down or a number of other things that can happen. > > I'm sure
some of the others from the list can give their thoughts...and may >
disagree with some of mine (which is fine LOL) . I am looking forward
to > riding in 2004....and we already have our crew lined up!
<grin> > > Jonni in hot, hot
Texas > > > >
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