Burbank, the media capitol of the world. Wow! What a place! I fell in love with this city my first day there. This city is not only the home of all the major studios, but there are tons of riding trails and friendly horse people. I felt at home right away and relaxed easily after the stressful ride through Hollywood.

Horses are a luxury in Burbank. Keeping horses there takes a lot of dedication because of the large population and close proximity. Many horse are practically living in the owner's garage. Horses are treated like royalty, though, getting the best care and plenty of exercise. If there were any problems with my horses or how they were treated, the Burbank residents would have hung me by my thumbs.

I survived by picking up work, camping out or staying with friends. One morning, I awoke from camping by the Disney Animation Studios to a lady who delivered breakfast and coffee to me. Now that's some good ol' LA hospitality, and the kindness didn't stop there.

Every evening I would ride around the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, either by myself or with groups of other riders. Most people ride late in the day because of work and the coolness at night. Many evenings were spent on fun trips to Hollywood with groups of friends to see the city lights. Griffith Park has good trails through the foothills and by the many museums and attractions.

The more I learned about riding in heavy traffic, the bolder I became. My favorite thing to do was ride by the production studios. Warner Brothers and Universal Studios were especially fun. It was a kick riding down to NBC and chatting with people waiting in line to see The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. One day, the workers went inside the studio and brought me two glasses of lemonade!

Hanging out at Johnny Carson Park was always enjoyable. I would graze the
horses and watch people come and go on the back lot of NBC Studios. Access Hollywood and Jay Leno are right there. Hollywood stars and producers would drive by in fancy cars. They sure looked surprised to see my high-tech pack string in this busy part of town.

I was invited on a jeep outing to Calico, a ghost town in the Mojave Desert. While exploring a mineshaft, my helmet light went out. I turned around to return to the closest person with a flashlight when I fell straight down a vertical shaft. The fall was close to 80 feet. My friends pulled me out and bandaged my bleeding head. Though dazed, I was all right with a slight concussion.

Later, as we neared camp, the driver of the jeep started over the edge of the mountain where our friends were looking up at us from way below. The jeep turned sideways and started rolling over and over all the way to the bottom. The impact jolted me so hard that my seat belt broke, the seat snapped loose and landed outside the jeep at the bottom of the hill. I had a new cut on my head and this time and was really dazed!

Burbank had a grip on me and it was difficult to leave. If there was anyplace that could hold me down, it would be Burbank. The high-tech style of the Expedition fit in better there than anywhere on my travels. There was no criticism or talk of how I am doing things wrong on the trip! The travel bug hit me once again, so I turned the pack string north and rode down Glenoaks Boulevard, taking fine memories along.