Archives for August 2025

Hey Darlin'!
Today was a rest day in camp, though I was the only one that truly rested (well, me and the livestock). Maureen, Tony and Ann went for a hike, and Chase and Keaton hiked over to the Yellowstone River to do some fly fishing. Once everyone was out of camp, I ventured into the woods with a shovel to do my requisite ablutions, a first for me! After that, I managed to do a quick wash of my hair using cold creek water, which was enough to breeze my brain! That exercise was followed by me sitting in a chair in the meadow and getting some sun and reading for a few hours until the bugs found me, than I retreated to my tent for awhile and had a quick doze. Once everyone got back to camp, we had a burrito dinner before calling it a night. Once back in my tent I had what I would normally call a "sponge bath", with a collapsible bucket with a little creek water, bar of soap and a washcloth, but felt much cleaner afterwards. I had a pretty good night sleep last night, and with the rest day today, I'm feeling much better, more normal. I'm hoping to settle into a good pattern now, though I'm already in bed and it's barely 8:00, so I'll have to read as long as I can o get back to my normal rhythm. Looking forward to another ride day tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin'!
And I thought I was exhausted yesterday! Whew, what a day! I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so finally got up around 5:00, had breakfast and finished packing, and was ready to go at 6:30. I relatively uneventful trip to the Philly airport (other than not being able to go over a bridge because it wasn't wide enough for my dually!), and the United flight to Denver went without a hitch. Very nice first class service, which turned out to be the only good thing that happened today. I had a 3.5 hour layover, then the flight got delay, and delayed again, then delayed again, then reverse delayed (less delayed?), then delayed again... Well, you get the idea. Apparently the reason was because they didn't have a pilot. Three more hours of layover added to my already longer than usual time. Finally got off the ground at 7:15 (original time of ARRIVAL was 5:22!), arrived at 8:45, gathered my luggage, and then one of the other passengers who was local offered to drop me and another lady off at the hotel I had reserved, which was a relief because there were no taxis and Lyft was supposedly 20 minutes out, if they would come at all. Finally got settled into the hotel, walked over to Albertsons to pick up a couple of things, was all set to take a hot bath, but discovered they had no drain plug, so I took a a hot shower instead (my last for at least 12 days!), put my email on vacation hold, am writing this post, and now, I'm going to bed! Hoping for a good seven hours of sleep! Will be journaling the old fashioned way for awhile, will get this diary caught up when I get back, with LOTS of pix! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Almost time! Spent the day packing and going over list after list to make sure I had everything. First, I packed everything I could think of, then pulled out my personal list and filled in the blanks. Then I went to the list the outfitter suggested and did the same. Finally went to my Amazon recent orders list, to make sure that everything I bought for the trip over the last few months was also packed. I sure hope I have everything after all that! If not, well, I'll just have to make do! I even made a list of the stuff I'll need to pick up at the grocery store once I get to Cody, very happy there's an Albertson's practically next door. I'm getting very excited! Once I had the bulk of that packed, I finished organized the trail markers, glad that job was done. Watched a few Havens, have quail eggs on toast for dinner and generally tried to relax the rest of the afternoon. We have to leave at about 6:30 in the morning to get to the airport on time, so I'm planning an early evening. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
Was up before the roosters started crowing this morning, in the park while it was still dark. I took the time to print a replacement sign for the one that fell out of the back of the Gator, and arrived early enough to get it out and to check on another trail I was concerned about, but the park guy assigned to take me out there was very upset about having to help me, so I was barely able to get the sign up, and certainly wasn't able to check the trail I wanted to check, and only after he yelled at me and threatened me for no reason, just because I was trying to do a good job. Not a great start to the day. It went downhill a bit from there, when a couple of calls came in with people getting lost, not because it wasn't marked, but because they missed seeing them. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react to people that ignore markers, or turn when there are no markers telling them to turn, and generally not paying attention. It seems I could put up 8000 ribbons, and because a person doesn't see three of them and misses a turn it's somehow my fault. Frustrating to say the least. So that's my rant, feeling underappreciated and pitiful. Anyway, we started out on our first round of retrieving markers around 10:30 a.m. for about two hours, then had to wait around until the last 50's were well on the trail, heading out around 4:00 and finishing about three hours later. Still a few short sections left, but I've already said I'm not helping tomorrow, I have a full day getting ready for my Yellowstone trip, sorting and packing everything I need. Regardless, I spent the evening sorting through the ribbons, but couldn't do as much as I wanted because not all the markers made it back to the farm. Feeling exhausted, wish I felt a little more satisfied and fulfilled with the work, but I guess at least I was able to catch up with some friends today. Desperately need a shower and to get to bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
What a long and tiring day! Woke up early, Richard and I were on the trail before 9:30 to finish up marking the few trails in Horseshoe Bend park while waiting for the signs, which we finally got around 10:45. We went straight up to Frenchtown Preserve to finish marking, but the trails were difficult for the UTV to navigate, and there were a lot of trees that came down in the storm, so it was very slow going. We worked our butts off trying to get it all done, and managed to just finish up by suppertime at 6:00. We did the riders meeting at 6:45, and I finally got back to the trailer by about 7:30, totally exhausted. Barely have enough energy to write this post! Since I have to be back over there by about 6:15 a.m., I'm taking my shower and getting to bed very soon! Whew! What a day! Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had another busy day, finishing off putting out ribbons on the private properties we’re using. Flash was great, as usual! I also finished making the maps so that’s done. We had a terrible thunderstorm come in late in the afternoon, which I’m afraid has played havok with all the markers I put up since Monday, so I’m going to have to check on them all tomorrow. I’ve also been informed that we can put ribbons up in the state park tomorrow, which means the only thing left will be the preserve on the north end of the course. I had hoped to give Flash a day off, but doesn’t look like he’s going to get one after all! Hoping I’ll have for all of that tomorrow! Did a few odd jobs around the trailer, washed the black sheepskin saddle cover I’m going to take with me, and sewed an elastic band on my new saddle cover pad so that I can hook it around the horn, which will hopefully keep it from sliding around. Between those two items, plus my gel pad, I expect I’ll have a very comfortable seat no matter what kind of saddle they put me on in Yellowstone! I’m slowly collecting everything I need, I just hope I can remember to pack it all. That will be Sunday’s chore! I’m just chugging along, though it would be nice to have a day off, I’m thinking my flight on Monday may be my first chance to rest, but cross country travel is never that relaxing, even in first class! Anyway, my day is nearly done, heading to bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!