The day was sunny and mild - a perfect day for riding. The bison were grazing in the distance. That was best until the men gained a little confidence riding. The bison were accustomed to having the horses graze around them, but the scent of strangers might make them nervous.
"They were up by the fence last night," Rob said, watching the bison nervously. "I never realized they were so big."
Jared into action by his words, she launched into her narration about the safari animals they were observing.
"A mature bull weighs over a ton and can be six feet or more at the hump. You may notice the fences are high here. Bison can jump six feet high."
Gerald whistled. "You wouldn't think something that big would be agile."
She nodded. "They are, though. They can run up to 35 mph and they have more stamina than a horse."
Rob gave her a sour look. "That's a fine thing to be telling us while we're riding out in the open like this."
Carmen grinned. "Would it make you feel any better to know they can out-maneuver the horses in the forest?"
Her gaze brushed past him and rested on Aaron, who was eyeing the bison with obvious concern. It wasn't her intent to scare them. When he glanced up at her, she smiled.
"They're used to seeing horses out here. Besides, their eyesight is pretty bad. I doubt if they can even see us this far away."
Gerald glanced at her. "How fast can a horse run?"
She winked at him. "Oh, about 30 miles per hour."
He grinned. "Really?"
She laughed. "It depends on the horse. These could probably run around 45 miles per hour in a sprint. A fast race horse about 55 miles per hour. Of course, they can't maintain that for a long stretch."
Aaron smiled his relief and Rob laughed.
"Are you thinking about running from the bison, Gerald?"
Gerald laughed. "I'm just planning ahead."
They reached the tree line and descended to the creek. They paused briefly, letting the horses drink while Rob took some pictures of the creek. Then they waded the horses across and headed for the ruins. They were riding slower than she had with Alex, so it took them longer to get there, but the men were impressed with the attraction.
"Can we go up there?" Rob asked.
Carmen nodded, pulling her horse to a halt. "Watch for snakes. I see copperheads a lot around these bluffs."