Another lazy morning, it's so quiet here, it's lovely to indulge in sleeping late! It was after noon before we started getting ready to go for our ride. Though the forecast had said upper 80's, it was just overcast enough to keep from heating up too much. Though we were staying in the State Park, we decided to risk taking Lola along, she listens well enough that I know she won't bother anyone. She's actually gotten in the habit of steering clear of any people or horses, going way off the trail until everyone gets sorted out, then rejoins us on the other side, a perfect trait for the trail, especially for those folks with horses that aren't used to dogs. She literally disappears long before we meet up! Though today, we didn't meet any other horses on the trail, we did pass a jogger, a couple of park rangers (who, thankfully, didn't say a word about Lola out the trail, maybe because she came to us instantly when I called her), and a family of folks picnicking and fishing at a pavilition, and who were evidently not used to animals, because when three of the kids saw Lola they started running away from her. Of course, she thought they were trying to play and started to follow them, but I called her back. When we got closer, I asked the adults if they wanted us to come and say hello, and they welcomed the teachable moment for the kids. One little girl was even brave enough to feed Clio a nugget! The rest stayed further back, but lots of pix were taken, and they seemed happy that we stopped by. Of course, that got us off the trail, and we missed a turn, which made us have to go right past a ranger building, so I stopped and put Lola on a leash until we crossed the road and started to head the last mile to camp. We made a great discovery today, though. Since our last ride a couple of days ago, where Hubby was getting short of breath often and we had to keep the pace really slow, today he brought along a bottle of 5-hour energy. Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT highly caffeinated, which would be bad for his heart, it's actually a vitamin B compound, similar to injections they give to provide more energy, to both people and horses. After the first trot, he got a little out of breath, so he drank half a bottle. Then, before he trotted and cantered her again, he would take a few deep breaths to get himself oxygenated. Since he always lags behind me anyway, we figured out that if he just prepared himself, then started off when he was ready, we could hear him coming from behind, and join him in a nice canter. He never got out of breath again the rest of the day, even though we must have cantered a dozen times! What a great ride! I'm so happy we solved the problem, because the last ride we took, having to go so slow was really frustrating for me, but whatever it takes to keep Hubby healthy, I'll do. Today, though, was fantastic! My horse tired out before his did, and even though he still kept shying at nothing along the way, we now have a path toward getting him over it, something we have never really been able to do before. By the time we got halfway through the ride, his horse had settled down to a lovely lope, also something that we've also never really been able to do before. This looks very promising for future rides! Of course, once we're away from Florida and back up in the mountains, the chances for canters will decrease somewhat, but, hey, we'll take whatever we can get! The ride was about 7.75 miles today, arriving back in camp around 3:30, just in time to have a chat with our neighbors, who were just pulling out. They had come in and tried to ride, but evidently were discouraged by the horseflies (which have hardly bothered us at all, thank you Bronco Fly Spray!) We chatted for just a few minutes before they departed, leaving Hubby and I alone again, naturally! We got the horses in, and started our evening, since it was just about beer-thirty anyway!

After a pretty good night sleep and a leisurely breakfast, Hubby and I saddled up and headed out on the trail, heading to a lake in the north section of the Hampton Tract of the East side of the Green Swamp Wilderness that the ranger had told us about when we first signed in. We took Lola with us, but decided to leave Billy home, as it was quite hot out, and the trip was going to be at least eight miles, and we thought that might be too much for him. The trail was more like a forest road, and at times, a dirt/sand road suitable for vehicles. It started out nicely in the woods, then opened up into a long stretch in the hot sun, before turning into the woods again for a bit. We started out slow, then started some trots and canters. Unfortunately after the second trot, Hubby felt a tightening in his chest that he said felt like he did when he was taking a chemical stress test at the doctor's last year, so we had to slow down after that. We reached the lake hoping to get the horses down for a drink, but the sides were too steep. We stopped at an overlook for a picture, and just as we were turning away, we heard a big splash, the kind a large alligator might make when getting into the water, so we were kind of glad we hadn't found a way down to the lake! As we headed back south again, we passed a small pond, and I noticed a little baby alligator near the shore about a foot long. After further inspection, I noticed half a dozen little alligators hanging around the pond, a regular little gator nursery! Knowing that mother wasn't probably too far away, we scooted on down the road. We tried the occasion trot and canter, just short ones, and Hubby felt mostly fine for the rest of the trip, with only a couple of minor problems along the way. As it got more into the heat of the day, Lola was rubbing her hot back on every patch of cool grass she could find, and toward the end, she was literally running from one shady patch to another. I stopped once and poured a bottle of water over her, which she really appreciated. We arrived back in camp around 4:00, grateful for another great day on the trail, and to be back on the road again, looking forward to all our new future adventures! Spend an hour with our neighbors again before settling down for the evening.

After spending the morning washing vehicles and packing up stuff as we prepare to depart our winter Florida "camp", I packed up the horses and brother Jeff and headed out to Riverbend to take him to the new (to us, anyway) trails that Hubby and I had found in and around Riverbend and Cypress Creek. We were saddled in short order, and took much the same route as Hubby and I had taken on Friday, doing one small loop backward for variety. Apollo was being a bit skitzy today for some reason, even though there was no wind, but all went well until we came across a peacock on the trail. For some reason, both horses were sure it was a horse-eating peacock, and we had a dickens of a time getting past it. I spent a few minutes schooling Apollo, and was actually backing him up in the direction of the bird, with my intention being to back him up right past the dang bird, and that was working until a guy on a bike came along and we had to stop to let him pass. By then, the peacock had moved just off the trail, so there was still a lot of snorting and prancing as we went by, but at least we managed it. Silly horses! As brother Jeff said, you would think that horses with as many trail miles on them as these guys wouldn't panic at the sight of a big bird, but there you go! Horses never stop being horses, do they? Anyway, all went well from there, and the rest of the ride was drama free, except once when Apollo tripped at a canter and nearly fell on his head, but he managed to recoup before he got to his knees. Gotta love the old fashioned four-wheel drive! Another beautiful day on the back of my horse, couldn't ask for more!

Though we've taken a few uneventful rides around the neighborhood, we finally decided it was time to give our horses something new to look at, so we packed them in the trailer and headed down the road 10 minutes to Riverbend Park. My brother has been telling me they've been putting new trails in around the area, so we thought we'd go exploring a bit today. They've got the entrance to the park all torn up, evidently they're putting in new parking and/or a new building, so we had to bounce through that short area, then reached the trailhead field as usual. We saddled up and headed out, not sure which way to go, then decided since we were looking for something new, we headed straight north on a grassy trail we've never tried. That weaved through the woods, then soon curved around a lovely lake with some nice grassy stretches, perfect for a canter. It was windy, and the horses were fresh and full of vinegar, so we had to be careful lest they get too excited! We followed the edge of the lake, went through a couple of horse gates, then paralleled a canal for a bit. We passed a wildlife photographer whose mega-lens was trained on the nest of a swallow-tailed kite, waiting for someone to come home and feed the chicks. We passed a few words, then headed down to where the trail ended on Jupiter Farms Road. We turned around and headed back, around the lake again, this time crossing a bridge that took us toward Indiantown Road and the new Cypress Creek parking and viewing area. Unless we wanted to following along Indiantown Road away from the park, we could only turn around again and head back to the park, as the trail around the back side of the lake didn't allow horses. Across the bridge once more, then this time we stayed on the shellrock trail, until we reached the park road. Across the road there was a sign for Battle Field Trail, another grassy trail. We weren't absolutely sure whether it was an official horse trail or not, but it looked so inviting we followed it along the river, then finally curved around and back to the trailhead. Less than five miles, by a very nice 90 minute ride on a beautiful day, with my wonderful Hubby on our two fabulous horses... who could ask for more than that!

Hubby slept like a log, and I wasn't far behind him, the most comfortable and relaxed we've been in quite a while. Wonderful! We headed downstairs looking for the breakfast and found it just up the street at one of the restaurants, with another really nice buffet, lots of local fare but also lots of Western choices as well. We loaded up on food, then headed over to the stable for our 10:00 ride. The leader was a young man who had worked there for 12 years, and in additional to leading the trail rides, he apparently also taught riding lessons. Hubby was put up on a bay horse names Felicia with a hornless Australian saddle, while I was put on a palomino named Bonita, with an English saddle. It's been years since I've been in an English saddle, so I thought it might be a challenge! But it worked out, though I felt I had to have my stirrups shorter than I usually like them (more appropriate for English), and it really hurt my knee after a while. I'm not quite sure why they chose these two horses, though, because they didn't seem to get along, and though there wasn't any actual kicking, there was lots of posturing and flattening of ears whenever Bonita tried to get next to or in front of Felicia. We rode around the round pen for about 10 minutes just to demonstrate we were experienced and to get to know the horses, then we set off down the road toward the golf club. We thought that we would be spending more time in the wilderness (probably because it was called "The Jungle Ride," but about 65% of it was along the road getting from one forest trail to another. Still, it was time on the back of a horse, and as I've said many times (along with many others), those hours are never wasted! The ride was just about two hours long, and all arrived back at the stable safe and sound, always a good thing! Afterward, we go into our bathing suits and sat out by the pool for a while, but the water was too cold to enjoy, and the air handlers were a bit noisy behind us, and there were two guys swinging machetes at the bamboo border around the pool, so eventually we went back up to our comfy room until cocktail hour, when we went down to the bar and had a couple of Singapore Slings (when in Rome, right?), the first alcohol besides beer I've had in a long time. I had ordered a Guinness at the Italian restaurant last night, and it was served from a can, and it just didn't taste right, so I decided I'd pass on that. Hubby has decided his Tiger beer reminiscing had been well satisfied (tastes fine when your 22, not so much when you're 82) and splurged with me. We stayed there until the French restaurant across the street opened at 6:30, then went over there and enjoyed a fabulous meal. We were the only ones in the place, and again, there were only a few people wandering the streets, which really surprised us. Almost like a ghost town. I guess if you used your imagination, and considered that this was a French town after WWII that needed some maintenance and cleaning up, yet the people were still too scared to come out, you could justify it. A reach, I know, but hey, whatever it takes! Anyway, it was a lovely dinner (though the sound track was a bit weird, old American music mostly from the 70's, starting with Linda Ronstadt's Desperado and the like), but I felt sorry for the waiter, who spent almost the entire evening folding dozens of napkins at a table on the back wall. At one point, we had a Filipino trio come out and serenade us with oldies for a few tunes as well before they made the rounds at the other restaurants. We luxuriated over dinner before taking a walk through town and ending up back at our room, more relaxed than we'd been in a long time. Love that we're starting to wind down a bit, with two nights at each place. As much as I enjoy driving, it's time for the chauffeur and logistics expert to emjoy HER vacation!

After an incredibly peaceful night, with perfect sleeping temperatures and a long-distance view of Brisbane to die for, we woke up long before the alarm. We had apparently crossed into a different time zone, even though Sydney and Brisbane are nearly on the same longitude, and I found out later it was because one goes into daylight savings time and the other one doesn't, apparently quite a controversial topic around here! In any event, we had a leisurely breakfast, and still headed down toward the barn by just after 8:00 local time, even though the scheduled muster was 9:00. Turns out even that was optimistic... Anyway, I finally met Daryl, who gave me a big hug and bragged to everyone around that we had driven all the from Melbourne in two days to do this ride, proving once again (in his mind) that we Yanks are a crazy bunch. Frankly, 800 miles in two days is no big deal for us, but it seems to impress some people so I let Daryl go on with it. In any event, we finally got everyone signed in and paid up, a lengthy process that took a lot longer than I thought it would, and, I'm sorry to say, Daryl charged us $30 to stay out in his pasture, which surprised me because he made it sound like a friendly invitation, not a commercial offer, and for $30AU we could have stayed in a Holiday Park with water and electric, or more likely, just gone to one of the many free camping grounds in the area, but whatever. It was a beautiful view and we enjoyed ourselves with the horses mingling around so I let it go. We finally got down to the paddock where the rest of the crowd was getting basic instructions (and by now, everyone knew about our extensive experience from Daryl, and no one was worried about our experience or credentials), and after some more milling about, we were finally assigned our horses. I was on a nice little brown horse named Dan (the Man), and Hubby got a spotted paint named Pappy. Both started out a bit unresponsive on the bit and sides, but that quickly changed once we got going, and the horses discovered we knew what we were doing. At LAST we got on the trail by about 11:15, in a long line of nose to tail single file with over twenty riders and three or four trail guides. The first 20 minutes or so was agony for us, watching people who had never ridden struggling with the most basic commands, but before long, they were dividing us into amateurs vs. experienced, and that was quite the relief! Once we divided, the ride became a whole 'nother ride. We began trotting and cantering regularly, particularly up numerous hills and dales, through woods and across the occasional field. It was wonderful! It turned out Dan loved to run, so I often held him back when the group went off the trot, until we had to canter to catch up. It was heaven! He had a great little canter, and he loved to run, passing a few other horses (though we weren't really supposed to pass, but I had no choice, of course!) There were a few sections where we had to ride along a road, but for the most part it was cross country through a lot of woods and cattle country, passing quite a few cows and calves along the way. It took over two hours to reach the winery, but it was located on a beautiful spot. They had rings and tie straps on a bunch of trees just below the restaurant, and it didn't take long to get settled in. Hubby and I got a couple of scotch ales while they served us crackers and cheese, and before long the newby group joined us, and they served up some wine for tasting as well. We had also ordered lunch as part of the morning waiver ritual, and that was eventually served as well. It was a long, leisurely lunch, with great food, great conversation, great wine and beer, and a great time was had by all! After two+ hours, we paid our respective bills and headed back down into the yard to collect our patient horses. I helped Hubby climb up (they were all on a slope, so we didn't even need a mounting block) and before long we were on our way again, with a new group leader. Evidently, they switch off with the experienced group, to make it more interesting for the guides as well. This time, we took a shorter route, beginning with a fabulous couple of canters in a partially wooded field, which was a spectacular way to start the post-lunch ride. After that, it was mostly along the roadway until we reached the edge of Daryl's property, but we did finally see a live kangaroo in the wild cross the road in front of us, yippee! He was too quick to get a picture, though. Then we all snaked down to the bottom of a long and windy hill, then again, we split up. The new young leader pointed in the distance at a great long hill and asked Hubby, do you think you would enjoy cantering up that hill? Hubby, despite earlier concerns that he needed a day off before we rode again, but who had been doing swimmingly all day, replied, "Sure!" So off we went. A few short ups and downs, and then we reached the long stretch, and away we went! Sure enough, Hubby's horse Pappy was all about reaching the top before anyone else, and he didn't stop until he climbed the whole hill. Dan, who had raced and passed everyone in front of him all day, made it about two-thirds of the way before slowing to a walk for a short distance, then he kicked it up again to make it to the top. I was so proud of Hubby! He really got the feel for the canter on this trip, and his stamina was incredible today! He was pretty proud of himself, too, as with all the ups and downs, so soon after another ride where his back ached after all the ups and downs, he didn't seem to suffer a bit. Just beyond the top of the hill was our starting paddock and the end of the ride, a fabulous end, too! Many rides just kind of peter out, but this one really had a climax to it. We got the impression they don't usually go up that hill (the horses kept trying to get through another gate at the bottom), but we think they were trying to impress us a bit. After all, if we drove all the way from Melbourne, it had better be good, right? No pressure, right? Suffice to say, it was very satisfactory, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, with the horses, the company, the other experienced riders, the whole day. Wonderful! Once we got back to the barn, though, with only an hour left before it got dark, Hubby and I had to leave quickly. Fortunately, I found a gold-mine of a free camping area in nearby Petrie. A motorhome/caravan/campervan only rest stop, with water, a dump and all free of charge, only 25 minutes away. We headed out and was there in no time. We filled up with water, used the dump and found a nice spot under the trees. The only down side is that the park is sandwiched between a commuter rail track and a little road, though the train seems to be electric so it's pretty quiet, and the road doesn't seem too bad either. I didn't care by this point, it had gotten hot during the day and all I wanted was a cold beer, a hot shower, and few minutes and writing and reading, then off the bed. So that's exactly what I'm doing! Good night!

Woke up extra early, grabbed breakfast, and was ready to start rolling at about 8:00 when PHHHT! The van wouldn't start! We had no idea why, though we did see a strange fault light on yesterday that had something to do with the lights, but we thought it was just because a bulb was faulty or something, at least according to the flaky manual that comes with this thing. Everything's reversed on it, so we had a heck of a time even finding the battery! Not under the hood, as you would expect, but rather, under the passenger seat (though the manual said under the driver's seat). Naturally, we had no jumpers, but fortunately for us, our neighbors at the campground was well equipped, though I had to rouse them out of bed to give us a hand. They very generously helped us with a jump, and even though he seemed like a very handy guy, even he was stumped when it came to finding the battery. According to most of the paperwork, it appeared that this unit should have an auxiliary battery under the hood, but we never found it, so we're guessing that there is no auxiliary battery, and the main battery doesn't have a controller on it to stop it from discharging beyond the start voltage, yada, yada, yada, but we really have no clue. Anyway, a quick jump and we were off and running! Thanks, neighbors! We headed out to Mount Stirling, and arrived just a little after our scheduled time, though Sally, our guide, had called to confirm we were on our way and knew we were a bit late. We arrived at the designated meeting point, and in no time, got all the requisite paperwork, helmet and horse assignments. Today, I had a buckskin mare named Arrow, and Hubby a sorrel gelding named George. Sally was on a brown horse, and pony-ed a gray pack horse carrying lunch, and was also an extra, "just in case." That was the first time THAT had happened since we've been on the road! Anyway, it wasn't long before we were up in our Aussie saddles and heading up the dirt road, which soon turned to dirt track, and before too much longer, was honest-to-God trail! All uphill at first, with absolutely gorgeous trees along the way. Apparently this area is a HUGE alpine skiing resort in the winter, but in the summer it's only used by a handful of hikers and horseman, so it was very quiet. We really only ran into some 4X4 guys all day, and a couple of folks at Craig's Hut, the lunchtime destination point. The ride was marvelous! The horses were the best we've seen since our start, extremely responsive to both hand and foot, yet felt totally safe and well-broken. Really wonderful to ride! We had no issues with irregular strides, and they all rode just beautifully. We climbed for a long time until we reached The Summit, where the 360 degree view was absolutely stunning. Sally pointed out some landmarks, including where they filmed certain scenes from The Man From Snowy River, and we gawked for quite a while, until the cold breeze finally chased us down the other side of the mountain, out of it's chilling grasp. We continued downward, then upward again, from private resort land to the Mansfield State Forest, where we eventually arrived at the afore-mentioned Craig's Hut, with it's origin in the movie. The original film version quickly deteriorated, so the local shire decided to rebuild it to stay, then that burned down during a big fire in the last decade, until they rebuilt it in a new and safer location, where we were having lunch. "Huts" in general seem to be something of a mainstay here, like the line shack of the old Wild West in the U.S. There are quite a number staged around the area, with supplies and firewood to last a lost hiker or skier for quite some time. We passed half a dozen during the ride, including an outhouse known as the "loo with a view," because, it did, in fact, have a magnificent view on the overlook. Anyway, we had a lovely lunch near the famous Craig's Hut before heading back down a different trail back to the parking area. The ride was much longer than our other "day ride" and exactly what we were looking for, but in the end it was about a half hour too long for Hubby, whose back was starting to hurt from all the downhill pressure. Nevertheless, we made it out just fine, and very appreciative of the good care Sally took of us and the horses. We soon hopped into the campervan and headed out to our next adventure, stopping at an IGA for a few groceries, then headed north. Hubby felt we needed to get into a holiday park with electric to recharge the battery, so we found one a little after 7, and for the first time since we've been in Australia, I cooked a meal and we settled down for the night, albeit later than we hoped, though with no dump and no wifi as advertised, unfortunately. And for the first time, we wanted to be not FREEZING! Temps went up every mile as we headed north, rising from 22 degrees C in Manfield to nearly 35 degrees by the time we got to the park, and we actually had to put the AC on for the night! It didn't matter, though, we were determined to get a good night sleep, though we were right by the highway and the truck traffic seemed rather heavy, so we'll see.