Our vet appointment was for 11:00, so we had everyone packed up and ready to go by 10:30. Sorry to say, that although we headed out on time, Google Maps on my smartphone really missed the mark on this one, leaving us a good 3-4 miles away from the actual location. In fact, the address it took us to was the Civic Center, which was a very busy polling place today. We called the vet and got someone on the phone who walked us through the rest of the way, and for the next 90 minutes or so, everyone got their appropriate shots and treatments. The Animal Care Center had a very laid back attitude, very friendly, but almost to the point of being less than fully professional, but I assumed she was just so distracted because of the recent death of her ex-husband. Whatever, everything got done, though a lot less than usual (no worm check in the stool, no blood test for heartworm?), but we got the health certificates for the horses, which was the most important thing. Then we headed over to the next town for ice cream, shopping, liquor, and some time finalizing details on the new RV. Got back to camp just before the sun went down, so early these days now that we’re into winter. Settled down once again, for a somewhat more relaxed evening.
Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 – RV Decision Day
We had originally planned on taking all the animals into a vet for their annuals today (which after last year, I had finally managed to get everyone on the same schedule), but the vet I had selected had had a death in her family and preferred to wait until tomorrow, which turned out to be fine with us, as we were on the brink of making a decision about the new RV trailer. I had been discussing the two units, in Florida and Texas, with both sales guys, and after many hours of emails, phone calls, and discussions with Hubby, we decided the answer was the Florida one, partly because of convenience, but mostly because it really had more features that we liked better than the Texas one. We negotiated terms, and set the wheels in motion. It means a lot of work over the next few weeks, but at least we’ll have something to show for it soon! We had considered heading straight to Florida and being there by Friday, but word came down that some of the parts for the retrofit would have to be ordered, and would take a week to get there and several days to install, so we could take a somewhat more leisurely journey south, though not too leisurely, as it’s getting too darn cold up here! Had a more relaxing evening, having finally made the decision that had been plaguing us for months. Yeah!
Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 – PERFECT Ride Day from Fell Hunt Camp in Sumter National Forest
Spent the first part of the day making phone calls and sending emails after two trailers we had found, one in Nacodoches, TX and the other, coincidentally, in Palm Beach County, Florida, where we were headed to my brother’s house anyway! The Texas one is a 2013, the one in Florida a 2012, but still new. Neither had everything we wanted, but both would do the job if necessary. After I started everything in motion, we headed out to saddle up the horses in perfect weather. Not knowing what the trails were like, we booted up the horses just in case. I spent a few more minutes rasping Clio’s hooves just to make sure the boots fit well enough, and they slipped on beautifully. She didn’t seem to mind them the other day, and they certainly had a workout on those rocks, so I guess these will work out fine for Hubby and Clio. Anyway, since the clocks changed last night and our bodies are still on circadian time rather than government time, we got out about 11:30, crossing the road and heading out the trail that would take us to the lake. Seems we’ve been taking a lot of trails to lakes lately. The footing was the best we’ve done in a while, with dirt, sand and pine needles, but very few roots. The trail started out on the edge of a field, then quickly ducked into the woods, mostly deciduous with some pine stands along the way. The trail was well-marked for the most part, though there was a time or two that we were uncertain because of trails that were out there but not on the map. We managed to find our way to the lake, which was also the overflow campground we had heard about, and it was a lovely spot. The biggest problem with this area of the forest is that the loops are REALLY long, with the shortest being about 12 miles and the longest being about 25. Fine if you have a gaited horse, a bit rougher with horses like ours. Anyway, the trail was linear for us, out to the lake and back, and there were only a few opportunities to trot, except the great field at the beginning and the end, so we had a lovely gallop across that to finish off the trip. Full length ended up being about 10.8 miles, and a lovely ride it was, under sunny skies at 70 degrees, good footing and no worries, it was just the kind of day we live for on the trail!Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 – Travel Day to Fell Hunt Horse Camp in South Carolina
Hubby and I first discussed the possibility of moving over to the overflow area to spend the rest of the weekend here, but after the rockiness of the trails yesterday, and the fact the weather was getting colder than we like, we decided to head south as soon as possible. We also wanted to walk through an RV with a floorplan we were interested in that happened to be on the way, so we headed out to Sumter National Forest to Fell Hunt Camp. I had already spoken to the office about the likelihood of there being room here for us, especially considering it being the hunting season., but we reassured there would probably be plenty of room, and if not, there was another campground about a mile away that would work as an overflow. We stopped at Sonnys RV to walk through a 2010 Open Range 337. We didn’t want one that old, but we did want to get a feel for the layout, as they hadn’t changed much over the years, and from the floorplan, it seemed to satisfy our needs. It’s hard to know for sure, though, until you get a chance to walk through one, which we took our time to do. We liked it, and unless there’s a small miracle with the custom builders, it’s probably the kind we’ll end up with, though a newer one. We continued our journey until we reached Fell Hunt, and was gratified that there was plenty of room for us, with both sites in the woods and out in an open field. We decided the field would be best, so we can get a satellite dish. There were numerous water spigots around, which made things easier, and we quickly got the horses out on the grass with their anchors before finally putting them on the highline for the night. It didn’t take us too long to get settled again, and we enjoyed a relaxing evening. Good news, there a good cell phone signal here, which means I can also get on the internet, a perk that allows me to pursue our new trailer.Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 – Rocky Ride Day from Cane Brake Camp
Weather was fine this morning, though a bit cool at first. Had to spend some time rasping Clio’s hooves so that her new boots would fit her properly, but once that was done they slipped right on. Saddled up and headed out on a trail with a couple of loop options that led to the lake, recognizing that this will likely be the only chance we get to ride. While it was a lovely stretch of woods, the trails turned out to be MUCH rockier than we had hoped, and there was enough climbing and descending that eventually I could tell the horses were a bit frustrated with the footing. We did manage to get down to the lake, and only had a couple of missteps, because there were a few trails that turned off in unexpected places, and we didn’t realize it until the blazes disappeared, even though very often the trail didn’t change much between when we were on the trail and when we weren’t. Once, the turnoff was halfway up a hill we galloped up, so naturally we didn’t notice at first. Fortunately we didn’t let ourselves get too far before turning around, so it ended up being a pretty nice six and a half mile ride, though most of the time the footing was less than what we normally like. There was a nice field near the end of the ride where we were able to get another good canter in, but most of the ride was walking on rocks, not our favorite. Either we picked the rockiest trails out here, or we’re missing out on the reason why so many people seem to flock here. The campground had filled up while we were gone, with most campsites now filled, and people milling everywhere. As night descended, the place took on a party atmosphere, with lots of bonfires, music and conversation abounding. We tucked into the RV and watched movies all evening.Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 – Errands and Problem Solving
Spent a little time in the morning trying to set up the satellite dish, Hubby finally had to give up because there were too many trees in the way. Several messages and emails came in late yesterday about the trailer design, plus we still had shopping to do that we missed yesterday, so I spent most of the day running around or sitting in the parking lot of Walmart on the computer. Made a little progress, but not as much as I would have liked. Got back around 4:00, helped Hubby with the chores before settling in for the evening.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 – "Challenging" Self-Inflicted Disaster Day, Travel to Cane Brake
Got off to a little later start than we thought, the atomic alarm clock reset itself to the wrong time, so was 20 minutes off. Otherwise, we got out okay, stopped for gas in Powhatan and breakfast in Farmville, and a quick stop at a Lazyboy gallery to check out a loveseat I had found online. Can’t really decide on comfy furniture unless you actually sit in it, which we did, and found the one we want. Actually a sectional rather than a loveseat, but it has extra storage between the seats that we like. Hopefully we can get that worked out. Carried on toward the Uhwarrie, and made our second to last stop of the day for fuel at a Wilco in Asheboro. That’s when the trouble began. The main sign clearly posted had regular prices in red and diesel prices in green. When I pulled onto the pump, I automatically picked up the green nozzle, because that usually signifies diesel. Unfortunately, at this station, that was not the case. The diesel was actually all by itself in the back (no signage that I could see), but I didn’t notice it until the tank was full. I was just about to get going when Hubby raced out of the store and informed me that I had just filled up with gas, which he had learned from going inside to clear his credit card off. The girl behind the counter explained to him there was no diesel on the aisle where I was. Anyway, what a mess! I wasn’t sure what to do, whether the engine would run on a 2:1 mix (I had about 1/3 of a tank of diesel when I pulled in), but rather than take any chances, I got on my new smartphone and called the nearest GM dealer, which happened to be a GMC/Buick dealer about a mile up the road. After speaking to the service guys I was SO glad I didn’t try to crank it up, because they said if I had, the whole system would have to be cleaned out, but as it stood, if we got it towed, they could drop the tank to drain it, then refill it with diesel and it should be fine. They called us a tow truck, which wasn’t big enough for the job, then while we were waiting for another one, we disconnected the truck from the trailer and pulled it out of the way, then moved the trailer to the back of the gas station, where fortunately there was plenty of room. It wasn’t long before the flatbed showed up, which was still barely big enough to pull the truck onto, with the dually wheels almost hanging off the back end. The full load of hay didn’t help much, either. Finally we headed out, Hubby to run a couple of errands, and me to the dealer to get the job going. The service manager tried to tell me that the job couldn’t be done today, and that we should start making arrangements to spend the night. I, on the other hand, was determined to get it done, and explained to him that I believed in miracles, and would work toward that end. After some discussion with the shop guys, it seems they didn’t have a lift big enough for my truck anyway, so they wouldn’t be able to drop the tank, so it was decided they would try to pump it out with a little hand pump they had but had never used. They gathered a bunch of gas containers and started siphoning, but it took 10 minutes to fill the first tank. As the mechanic went to empty the container, I started pumping instead of just siphoning, and speeded the process up immensely, filling the next tank in just a few minutes. After I filled the next tank, one of the guys took over and started pumping as well, so things started happening a lot faster. Before long, the tank was nearly empty and one of the guys ran out to get diesel to refill the tank. Twenty gallons later, we cranked up the truck, and it seemed to run okay. We let it run while I paid the bill ($200, half for fuel and half for labor, not to mention the $100+ that went down the drain and the $80 for the tow…), but at least we didn’t have any engine damage. Apparently if I had tried to run it, we would have had to completely flush the engine and many be even put in new injectors for $2600 or something. Glad I had the sense to call first! Anyway, by the time that was done, we knew we didn’t have enough time to shop if we wanted to get to camp before pitch dark, so we hurried down to the horse camp at Cane Brake, a place we had come once before but had never ridden in because it rained for three straight days. The camphost put us in a double site that was open until Saturday morning, and we quickly got the horses highlined and us settled in, though the sun was down before we started, so most of it was during twilight. Finally got done around 8:00 before we were able to finish dinner and relax for the rest of the night. At least the truck seemed to run okay on the way down!Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – Cold and Damp, Rain Diminishing
Wet and foggy this morning, more rain overnight than we’d had yet, a repeat of yesterday mostly. Despite the storm, UPS managed to deliver our package from Valley Vet with Hubby’s new horse boots. Considering the cable failure of the Boas, Hubby decided to try a pair of Cavallos like mine. These have worked incredibly well for me, and despite my initial worry that they were held on with “only Velcro,” I’ve never had any trouble with them despite some challenging terrain. Now’s he’s looking forward to seeing how Clio likes them. Not sure when that will be, hopefully later this week.
Monday, October 29, 2012 – Rain and Wind and Little Else
More off and on rain and some wind today. Nothing too bad here, the worst of it stayed east of Richmond before heading north, never getting this far west. Another day on the computer, not much else to do.
Sunday, October 28, 2012 – Unspectacular Entrance of Hurricane Sally
With morning there came little sign of the approaching hurricane, with just a few gusts of wind. In fact the day started out quite sunny, clouding up later in the day as we tried to rest from our busy schedule the last few days. The wind and rain came in a bit later, nothing serious, just a little bit of a blow here, though it seems the NYC area is likely to get hit pretty bad. Relaxed most of the day, not a good day to be outside, but Hubby had managed to set up the satellite in such a way it was protected between the van and the RV, so we didn’t lose our signal. We took one side trip over to the horses’ pasture to put on their rain sheets, for when the horses came out of the shelter to eat grass, which they were doing when we arrived. Not much else to do when we got back but curl up with a warm computer in my lap and look to solve impending challenges, which lately has become the solution to our trailer swap. We’ve been looking at new trailer units since July, including communicating with several custom builders in an effort to get a floorplan we really like. It’s been a very slow process, with long delays between emails and difficulties in trying to get what want, so painstaking it’s starting to take its toll. Somewhat productive today, however, we feel a breakthrough coming soon, hopefully. Otherwise an uneventful night, which is just what we needed.