Alaskan couple hits the trail in Sisters

It's not unusual for horsemen to trailer up and head for the Sisters country for some beautiful autumn trail riding. Most folks, however, don't make the trip from Alaska.

That's just what Bill and Diane Sullivan of Chugiak, Alaska did. The couple loaded up their Kentucky Mountain Horses and headed south down the Al-Can Highway, 4,700 miles to Sisters.

"We had a cold, rainy summer," Diane said. "We're down here trying to chase more summer down."

The weather turned the tables on the couple earlier this month. They hauled their motorhome and horse trailer up to the Three Creek Lake area and camped. They got a lovely ride in on the Tam McArthur Rim - but then the weather hit them. They were snowed in by six inches of autumn snow.

Not knowing what the weather patterns are in Central Oregon's high country, they weren't sure they'd get their big motorhome out.

"It was scary," Diane said.

However, the snow soon melted off, and the Sullivans came down the mountain.

"We made it down okay," Diane said. "Hearts in our throats, but we made it down okay."

The couple located Dan and Teresa "TK" Schnell's Eagle Bear Ranch through a visit to Sisters Feed & Supply and decided to put up there and confine their riding to lower elevations.

"It's been so comfortable here with TK," Diane said. "We've stayed a lot longer than we planned."

The couple has ridden their gaited horses extensively in the area, even riding into town for coffee.

"That's something I've always wanted to do," said Bill.

He told folks he was "bringing back the old Sisters."

Bill said the couple had passed through Sisters a decade ago on another trip and thought it looked like good horse country. They made it a stop on a "Gypsy" vacation.

"We didn't have any destination," Bill said. "We were thinking of heading to California; we may go to California; we may go to Utah; there's no telling."

Bill operates a water well drilling business in Alaska. Like many independent businessmen, he's tied hard to the job.

"The only way you can get away is to close the doors and walk out," he said.

The couple left Sisters last weekend to continue their trek. They'll end up in Idaho where they'll leave their motorhome and horses with friends and fly back to Alaska. Then, next spring, they'll fly back down and haul their horses back home.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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