Cascade Escapades (On Hold Indefinitely)

Chapter Three: In the Beginning

The last week of school. Teachers got anxious for their vacations and students anxious to start up their summer life. Many would party and run wild through the county. Many would graduate and start new lives. Few went on to college and even fewer actually did anything responsible. For the kids who didn't want to work in the lumber industry either logging or manufacturing there wasn't much to do out here except sling burgers for minimum wage, stock shelves or run a deli all locally. It was a 45 minute drive to your nearest WalMart, and even further for a name brand store. Macy's was almost hours away from where Ashley and Shana lived. Because of this they frequently stopped when they were competing out of town, or they shopped online and had it delivered. Life out in the country wasn't all that bad though. You could spend all day long outside and never be bored. Riffe Lake was just a few miles from home and hosted numerous families and their boats water skiing or fishing over the summer.

You could ride the Goat Rocks with your horses and pack mules, trail ride any logging road that was washed out or not used any longer and overgrown, drive for days on the logging roads, share some campfires, work cattle, hang with your friends, or anything else that you could find to do. Friends were plentiful, parties where fun, and the parents always worked. Out here in the "sticks" as the kids called it there was always great fun to be had. Shana and Ashley tended to spend more time riding their horses and taking project horses from the local community and putting the much needed time into them to relist and sell them as broke horses. They earned money doing it, and it kept them out of trouble. Along with the lack of supervision, also came with it's down fall. A good portion of the girls and boys ended up young parents. Sometimes their maturity was not enough to handle it and they ended up staying with the parents of one of the two until stable jobs could be found for at least one of the young parents.

Mark was certain that he'd be able to provide enough for his girls that he'd never have to deal with unwed children and grandbabies that soon. They lived simple in a three bedroom modular home that looked quite nice actually. They leased a plot of land near the lake for the cattle to graze and lived on 18 acres at home. The house set back along the back part of the property. The landscaping was simple with low maintenance shrubs around the house and along the driveway. The rest of the property was pretty bare since there was so much horse traffic. When the girls started to ride as heavily as they did Mark took his tractor out and tilled up a 200x175 plot of land. Worked the dirt until it was soft enough for the horses at rigorous speeds and events. In the beginning money had been great with both he and his wife working they were able to afford to put up the railings and a pole barn not too far away. But since Anne left Mark and the girls, they got used to taking care of their own tack and cleaning it. They cared for their own horses and learned to barter their services if they wanted something that dad wouldn't let them have because of cost. And it wasn't that he couldn't afford it, he just wanted them to learn to work for what they got. And it was a valuable lesson for them.

So here it was, the last week of school. The Jr. Rodeo's started same week and neither Ashley nor Shana had their horses ready in time for the weekends show. "What events are you focusing on this year Ash?" Shana asked as she made herself a sandwich. Pulling the lettuce apart and carefully arranging it on her bread she then reached for the mustard when Ashley grabbed it and started to toss is up and down in her hand. "Oh I don't know, what are you running?" Shana shot her a smirk and then said "Oh no you don't! I will NOT be competing against you this year! Can I have the mustard please?" Ashley signed and then handed her the mustard. "What is so bad about competing with me?" Shana rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, that's right because last year I stole your buckle at the last series!" Ashley finished her teasing. "Because that's exactly it Ash, you got me." Shana grabbed her sandwich and walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Ashley followed and sat across from her in a recliner and turned on RFD-TV. A live horse auction was going on and the girls watched the catalog as it was displayed each horse. "This is a pre-recorded auction, but nice stock." said Shana. "Yeah if you're a Driftwood fan, what is this? A ranch dispersal?" retorted Ashley. "Nothing wrong with Driftwood, at least they aren't Poco Bueno or Impressive." Shana remarked. "Well everyone has their own likes and dislikes..." trailed Ashley. Which was true, everyone has their own preferences and both the girls liked their own bloodlines. "Well, enjoy the sale- I'm headed outside." Ashley stood up and walked outside leaving Shana behind on the couch eating her sandwich.