Archives for August 2019

Got up with the alarm at 7:00, finished packing, and managed to get out before 9:30. I'm happy to say that Flash gave me no trouble at all today getting in the trailer, he just took one side step, then immediately jumped on the ramp and ran in. Just a matter of time before he got used to that! It took a little maneuvering to back up onto the road, which seemed the easiest way out of the camp, and we managed it with no problem. We made several stops, one at a Giant Food Store in Cuba, NY to stock up on Zweigles White Hots (you have to be from upstate NY to understand 🙂 ), again at a truck stop on the Seneca Indian Nation territory (no tax, so diesel is only 2.78/gal, while everywhere else it's upwards of $3.25!), and finally at another truck stop next door for a nice breakfast before hitting the road again. We took a slightly longer route because we wanted to stay on good roads for this monster rig, but when we got close to the park, we made the mistake of following the signs rather than the GPS (usually it's the other way around!), and we ended up turning into a very narrow road, where my back wheels got caught a bit in a ditch, though I managed to pull it out without any apparent damage. At least, I hope so! We reported in at the office, paid our bill for 10 days (though we may stay a couple of days longer, depending on the weather), and made our way out, first to the RV dump, though Hubby made a mistake in the directions and we went down the wrong way on the loop, which put us in a bit of a pickle as there was no easy way to turn around, but finally managed to do it by backing up down the road about 75 yards, then finally to the campground which, again, have a very narrow entrance, with a tree I barely missed and which looks like it's going to be even harder coming out. Sigh. I love this trailer, but it's extraordinary length is no doubt proving to be a challenge! We arrived at a nice big field around 4:00, where there were two buildings, one apparently an old observatory with a picnic pavilion, and another smaller pavilion off to one side. The larger building had electrical outlets all around the outside, but the water spigot didn't function. The smaller building had electrical outlets around the inside, but none of the sites had individual boxes. There was signage for the site numbers, but I called the office just to make sure, and sure enough, electric comes from the small pavilion. There was only one other trailer here at the other end of the row of sites, so we back into out spot right next to the pavilion with no problem. There were a couple of old apple trees where I put up a highline, and there's also highlines already in place way at the back end of the site. I couldn't believe how large an area each site was allowed, so after getting the trailer mostly set up, I pulled out the portable corral and set up a large area for the horses to graze. I started a load of laundry (our sheets were overdue!), got the screen room up, all while Hubby sat in his comfy gravity chair and looked on, throwing the ball for Lola. Our neighbor had a labradoodle that Lola started playing with, and they ran around camp together while I was setting up. Nice to see her getting along with other dogs, and even learning how to play! Good progress! As the afternoon progressed, more trailers came in, so it's obviously going to be a busy weekend. Of course, that also means there must be some decent riding, since it's attracting such a crowd. I'm sure we'll be back on our own again after the weekend, but for now, we've got company! We finally got around to dinner at 8:30, though neither of us were that hungry, but I threw a few Zweigles on the grill just for fun, and that did the trick. Well, that and our usual ice cream for dessert! With fresh sheets and a couple of showers, bed time won't be long in coming!

Set the alarm extra early today in order to be able to cope with all the potential problems that might arise, and managed to get out of camp is around an hour, including topping off the water tank in the back of the truck, since we know Turnpike only has a hand pump for water (gotta love that 1st century AD technology!), and we're only planning on spending the weekend here anyway. As soon as we had a cell phone signal, I stopped and called the ranger station, and the man I spoke to wasn't positive about what size rig might fit in there, so he sent someone out to take pictures and text them to me so I could see for myself!! What incredible service! We had a few stops to make anyway, and headed down to the Tractor Supply in Olean (which, remarkably, carried the Nutrena Balance I feed Apollo to keep him from getting fat!), and stocked up on feed, but, unfortunately, I used my last bale of hay for their breakfast in the trailer this morning, and no one could point me in the direction of a feed store or haymaker that had some. They've been having rain up here, too, so I guess they've had a hard time getting hay in this year as well. I'll have to check on craigslist when I get where we're going. Then we diverted to Walmart to do some shopping, and sure enough, I got a bunch of pix texted to me, showing several large horse trailers already there! I asked if there was still room for us, and he said, but it's first come, first served, and after all, this was Friday! We flew back onto the freeway and drove the 40+ miles to the campground, coming in the more difficult west side of the forest road loop where it's located (naturally!), so it was a bit of a rough ride in, but sure enough, we arrived at this small camp in good order, and found a perfectly level spot that we fit into easily enough! I've had such mixed reports on this camp I was afraid it would be unsuitable, but with covered stalls, covered picnic tables, and enough room to get the slide out (though where I parked I can't quite get the awning out the entire way, so no screen room unless I move the trailer again), so I think we'll be quite comfortable here for a few days. The only drawback is the only water source is a hand pump, but we left with a full 110 gallons in the tank in the back of the truck, so we should be good for a while! Once we got a little settled, I went over to meet the neighbors, a total of three LQ trailers, and to see if they knew where I could get some hay locally, and unfortunately, they didn't because they bail their own, and didn't bring enough to spare. Sigh. Anyway, I went back to the trailer and found I did have enough cell signal to get online, so I did a search for hay and found just one source near Bath, which is a bit of a drive, but it can't be helped, since no feed stores around here seem to have hay. A few minutes later, one of the ladies from the group named Carol came over and told me she was sure she had met me before, and it turned out we met had met at Sugar Hill back in June 2012, and she recalled with great clarity how we had all watched the International Space Station do a flyover, and there were Boy Scouts in the camp that weekend, and all sorts of other details, most of which I recalled. She also told me she had just been at Sugar Hill last weekend, and have had a conversation with someone there about us! What a small world, full of connections! Anyway, we had a nice chat before I started to get Hubby ready for dialysis, and a little while later, she came back again and told me that she had arranged for one of her group to bring me some hay! How incredibly thoughtful! Not long afterward, Glenn came by with six small bales of hay, and when I went to pay him, he refused it, saying it was a gift. Above and beyond, for sure! So my immediate need for hay disappeared, though I'll still need some more in a few days, but at least the horses won't be going hungry anytime soon! Finally got on with the dialysis, which, for the first time since last December we were able to do with our new Fresenius Ipad (yay!) then settled down for the rest of the evening, though some rain came in, which was fine because I put all the buckets out and collected enough rain for at least a day or two for the horses!