Got another load of laundry in, and did a few jobs in the morning before we headed out for another ride on these terrific trails. We started out going in reverse from the previous day, heading north on the Governor’s (Yellow) trail, carrying on past the cutoff and working our way through some lovely narrow, forest trails. Blazes were a bit more intermittent and the trail wasn’t marked as well as the Palmetto Trail, but just when I had my doubts, another yellow marker would usually pop up. This was a really windy trail, and Apollo really had to concentrate, which kept his active brain busy, and thus out of any trouble. We almost missed one intersection when we reached an area of private property, but eventually discovered the trail went directly across a road. A couple of guys were on the private property doing some dog training, looked like hounds learning how to follow bait that was being pulled around by an ATV. Fortunately the occasional gunshot was far enough away not to startle the horses too much, and we got by that area without incident. Then we were on sandy roads for a bit, and we got a few nice trots and canters in. We didn’t take the Governor’s trail the entire way, as we got started too late in the day, so we took a few roads back to the Palmetto Trail and headed back towards camp. More opportunities to trot and canter, and the horses behaved themselves splendidly, so we got back to camo without incident, and having finally worked the horses back to riding mode. Too bad they’re going to get a whole week or more off after this! Can’t wait until we can get back to riding 2-3 times a week consistently. Should be able to do that after this next job, our last of the year! Yeah! Managed to get another load of laundry in before the evening was out. Settled in for the evening, well satisfied with our ride today.Archives for December 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 – Another Ride at Millcreek Park
December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Got another load of laundry in, and did a few jobs in the morning before we headed out for another ride on these terrific trails. We started out going in reverse from the previous day, heading north on the Governor’s (Yellow) trail, carrying on past the cutoff and working our way through some lovely narrow, forest trails. Blazes were a bit more intermittent and the trail wasn’t marked as well as the Palmetto Trail, but just when I had my doubts, another yellow marker would usually pop up. This was a really windy trail, and Apollo really had to concentrate, which kept his active brain busy, and thus out of any trouble. We almost missed one intersection when we reached an area of private property, but eventually discovered the trail went directly across a road. A couple of guys were on the private property doing some dog training, looked like hounds learning how to follow bait that was being pulled around by an ATV. Fortunately the occasional gunshot was far enough away not to startle the horses too much, and we got by that area without incident. Then we were on sandy roads for a bit, and we got a few nice trots and canters in. We didn’t take the Governor’s trail the entire way, as we got started too late in the day, so we took a few roads back to the Palmetto Trail and headed back towards camp. More opportunities to trot and canter, and the horses behaved themselves splendidly, so we got back to camo without incident, and having finally worked the horses back to riding mode. Too bad they’re going to get a whole week or more off after this! Can’t wait until we can get back to riding 2-3 times a week consistently. Should be able to do that after this next job, our last of the year! Yeah! Managed to get another load of laundry in before the evening was out. Settled in for the evening, well satisfied with our ride today.Tuesday, December 6, 2011 – Laundry, Shopping and Blog Catchup
December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Another deep night of sleep, followed by a day of doing laundry and catching up on my blog as well as other final paperwork. Sent Hubby of to the Post Office and grocery store, and naturally he got lost (our Verizon GPS pretty worthless out here), so the half hour trip turned into a two-plus hour journey. I spent most of the day trying to work on my computer, but since the cell phone signal is so weak here, it takes forever to get anything downloaded on my aircard, so I’m doing mostly local stuff. Did a bunch of loads of laundry, though, even got out my clothesline and hung some things up outside. There’s a slight breeze and lots of sun, so even though it’s a bit cool, it’s doing the job. Quiet around the park, though, no one here but us, just the way we like it! Hubby finally got back, and we eventually settled down for the evening.
Monday, December 5, 2011 – Work, then Ride Day at Mill Creek Park
December 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Been sleeping until 9 or 9:30 since we’ve been here, and it’s been the deepest sleep that we’ve had in weeks, feels great! Got caught up on some work, then finally decided it was time to go riding. The weather was beautiful, and it seems like so long since we’ve been out! Of course, last time Hubby took a little fall, and I was still sore from the previous ride when I fell that we were both a bit tender going out, but we worked the horses through their paces slowly, walking a long way before doing a long jog. There was one time that Apollo started to act up a bit, but I managed to stay on, then I jogged him until he was tired, than finally found a nice spot to break him into a canter that wasn’t accompanied by a rodeo leap first, exactly as I had hoped. We rode for just about two hours, just what we needed to literally “get back in the saddle again.” The trails were mostly sand, mostly pretty soft with a few areas more firmly packed. The first trail we went on, the Palmetto Trail, started out along a utility line, then had a nice wooded stretch, but it soon opened up into a mostly clearcut area, so it wasn’t very pretty, but it was well marked and easy to follow with all the other horse sign. Eventually it got back to mixed pine woods. We went as far as the first staging area, then took the blue connector trail (which wasn’t very well marked) back to the yellow Governors trail (which was). A perfect ride for the task at hand!Sunday, December 4, 2011 – Rest/Work Day
December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Another day of computer work, but our day of rest was shattered by a problem with an electrical circuit. We had some sort of ground fault that kept tripping the electric circuit from the supply post. It took us over two hours to finally get it working again, by then the football game Hubby had wanted to watch was over. I’ve been busy doing laundry (water and electricity, can’t miss the opportunity!), and we eventually turned to watching movies and relaxing the rest of the day. Meanwhile, the campground all but emptied out by the end of the day, with the exception of one other rig way down the hill.
Saturday, December 3, 2011 – Rest/Catchup Day
December 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Slept late, didn’t even hear it when Jamie left. Spent the day getting caught up on the usual post-training camp chores, as well as some other computer work that needed doing. Hoping to have at least one or two days of total rest before we head off to Anaheim for yet another training camp soon. We can hope! We had several neighbors move in nearby, and a rousing bonfire went on till quite late, but we weren’t bothered. It was a great night for it!
Friday, December 2, 2011 – Travel Day to Mill Creek Park in SC
December 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Got out early, stopping several times, for fuel and propane, then breakfast, and finally shopping for a week’s supply of groceries. Arrived at the horse camp in Mill Creek Park around 3:00. What a place! Now THIS is a horse camp where we could stay a long time! Over 120 campsites, all with water and electric, the entire campground has posts for highlines at pretty much every campsite, there’s a bathhouse with hot and cold water, there are several buildings of covered stalls if you prefer not to highline, and there are enough other trees around to highline as well. Several campers also put up portable corrals. This is a REAL horse camp! Can’t wait to see what the trails are like, but that’s not going to happen until we take a few days off and recover from the intensity of the last few weeks. Met Steve, the guy who looks after the place, and our neighbor Jamie, who is here for a night with her grandchildren. A few other campers arrived after us, but it’s still pretty quiet here. Just what the doctor ordered!Thursday, December 1, 2011 – Travel Day Back to Sky’s the Limit Farm
December 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Had another bagel breakfast at a cafe across the street from the hotel before heading down the highway back to the boarding place in Lumberton. Arrived just after 4:00, tired but satisfied. Horses greeted us with their usual nickering and whinnying, and we worked for a while getting things ready to go tomorrow. Said our good-byes to our gracious hostess Peggy, as she will be gone when we leave tomorrow. Looking forward to heading south again!