Hiya Sweetie!
What a busy day today! My camping neighbor Linda came knocking on my door at 7:30 to ask me for help finding her missing horse, a gorgeous leopard Appaloosa named River, so I jumped into clothes, then my truck and immediately started checking along the road. It wasn't long before I found distinct tracks that went from the camp all the way up to 13 Mile Rd, about four miles from camp, where I lost his tracks on the tarmac road. It looked like he went left, so I drove up a couple of miles with no sign of him, then the other way for a short bit, still no sign. Headed back to camp to regroup (Linda had been calling all hands on deck), but Janet W. had heard about the tracks leading to 13th and had picked up the search from there, and ended up finding more tracks up a nearby dirt road (after an apparent diversion into a field), and finally found him about another mile and a half away. We drove over, then ponied him back to camp, with Janet holding the lead and Linda driving Janet's car. It took about an hour, so we got back to camp around noon. River was none the worse for wear, and soon settled down to hay and water. Meanwhile, I got back to my site, and since my plan had been to take a nice long ride with Flash today, I got him saddled up and headed out. I had to shorten my plan a bit, but we ended up going up to Trails 24 and 25, which are in the far north quadrant, and one of my favorite rides, all rows and rows of mature pines, plus some incredible old growth oaks. Flash was his usual brilliant self (man, I love this horse!), with lots of lovely gaiting, and a great gallop down Trail 10 back to camp, just in time to get him put away and settled down before my friends Chris and Melvin arrived, soon followed by their granddaughter Alayna and her two year old son Austyn, who I am meeting for the first time. We had a nice visit, it was great to see them and get caught up! Settled down for the evening, finishing off some popcorn I had made, plus a bit of watermelon, and I expect to lose a little weight tomorrow, considering the math of how much energy I expended vs. how many calories I took in! Managed to watch a House, but am more than ready for shower and bed tonight! I did jump my generator this evening, but it overheated and shut off after only about 10 or 15 minutes, so I had to run the borrowed generator for half an hour to charge my batteries. Very frustrating! Still waiting to hear back from the two resources in Indiana that I contacted, so tomorrow I'm going to have to make some more calls to get an appointment on the books. Meanwhile, I'm done for the day! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Took a short ride on Apollo today, starting out with Linda and Sherry, saw a deer in the woods that didn't run, so their horses jumped at it (not Flash, of course!) but they wanted to take the lake loop, and that would have been too much for Apollo, so I headed east and took a little loop across the road. Ran into the woman who was kind enough to jump start my truck the other day, they had just finished a ride when I was passing through, chatted with them for a few minutes. Apollo did fine, even though there were a few hills, though nothing too serious, and seemed to enjoy himself. Relaxed most of the rest of the day. Managed to start my generator this morning, it even had enough charge to not have to jump it. Just ran it long enough to cook my bacon, though later in the day I started it again (this time with my new jumper, which took me a few minutes to figure out), then ran it for a full hour. Even though it seemed to be very hot, it never shut off, which surprised me. It would be too much to ask for this to have resolved itself, wouldn't it? Anyway, watched some House episodes, settled down for the evening, looking forward to a good night sleep. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe!
A decent night sleep, was just about to saddle up Flash at 9:50 for a 10:00 start when Rob called to say they would be another half an hour. No worries! Did some more chores, and they arrived, the first thing we did was unload the generator that they have generously offered to me to use until things get sorted with my generator. As soon as he cranked it up, I immediately confirmed my load of laundry, still in the wash from yesterday, started up on its cycle. By the time they saddled their horses and I saddled Flash, the laundry was done, and I managed to get it on the line before we hit the trail. So grateful!! We headed out toward the beaver dam lake area, with Rob having a few issues with his horse Velvet. This is only his 8th ride ever, and he's on a horse that trips and stumbles a lot, and by the end of the ride, we had pretty much confirmed this horse has some serious hock or stifle issues in his rear legs. Flash was very patient today, actually walking for nearly four miles before he just had to bust out, so once we hit Trail 17, which is a long, wide dirt road, we took off at a blazing hand gallop. I rode him out for a good long ways, then turned him around and rode him back again, about five or six times, just because he loves to run! About the fourth or fifth time, I ran into my Shore to Shore buddy Sam, who was there with friend Luanne, and we chatted for a few minutes, until Rob and Lori caught up. I had Sam look at Velvet as well, and she agreed with our diagnosis. We got back to camp, checked Velvet for any more girth gall (none!) so her saddle placement was better. They left shortly afterward, so I took the opportunity to run into town, I had to pick up some MSM at Tractor Supply, and a package containing my new jump starter at Alayna's, and was back in camp in no time. A bit later, Sam and Luanne came by, and we ate and chatted for awhile, getting caught up. Just as they were leaving, Linda and her friend came by, she wanted to see what I had devised as the best stopover for her for an upcoming trip to TN she's making, so we chatted some more. I've done more chatting today than I can remember doing in one day in a LONG time! A lovely day, though, the ride, and Flash, were spectacular, gorgeous weather, so glad I have a backup generator, so life is good! While that generator was running, I cranked up mine to see if it would, and it did, right away! So I don't think the starter or solenoid is the problem, but whatever it is, I'm hoping I can get it fixed when I'm down in Indianapolis. I decided to go to Ft. Custer instead of Silver Creek, because they have electric there (and a dump), so I won't have to worry about power, and will be able to do a good clean-out of my black water tank before I leave. I made that reservation, and now I'm just about ready to call it a night. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a tough time getting to sleep last night, after the evening ran so long, and ended up sleeping later than normal. After chores and breakfast, I started the generator, and it only ran for about 10 minutes before stopping, darn it! Waited until it cooled off, started it again, this time leaving the compartment door open (even though the manual tells you not to, but it always conks out quicker when I close it), and it ran long enough to finish one load of laundry and get about ten minutes into the next one before conking out again. I hung up the first load, then waited for it to cool off enough to start it again, but was never able to. It would crank and crank but not start. I called Cummins, but never got any additional advice (other than to bring it in and leave it until they could get to it in about three weeks!), so that was no help. I did some work on the computer, put in my request for reimbursement for the road service charges I paid when my wheel fell off, and made a few other phone calls, took Lola and then Apollo for a walk, then realized my Starlink wasn't working, and the reason was that I was powering it from my truck, as well as using my truck to charge some other stuff, and I overdid it and killed the battery. Grrr! I tried to jump the truck, but my battery jumper's battery has started to expand, just like the first one of these that I had, and it's not safe to use when that happens, so I ended up getting a jump from one of Linda's friends who happen to be coming by. So now I have no generator, and my truck is on life support, though I did run it for nearly two hours, I hope that's enough for me to be able to start it! I reached out to Rob and Lori, my new friends from earlier in the week, as they had offered to bring me a generator to borrow, and they have been kind enough to agree to bring it out tomorrow for me to use this week, or until I solve the problem, whichever comes first. Frankly, I don't know what else it could be, based on the information I have been able to glean from the internet, but now I'm thinking of getting to Joyce's early so I can have it looked at down there. There are more Cummins mechanics there, so hopefully I can figure something out. Lately, it's always been something! Oh, well! Joined Linda and her friend at the campfire again tonight, though I didn't stay quite as long, will be off to shower and fresh air-dried sheets soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Slept well, almost got a full eight hours in, read a bit before getting up, then did my chores and ran the generator for quite awhile, and it never shut off, yay! After breakfast and a walk with Lola, I drove down and filled up the water tank, and while I was waiting, I got into a conversation with a woman named Linda, whom I had met on the trail previously, riding a standout leopard appaloosa. She and her camping buddy ended up buying a couple of books, which was a nice outcome, though unexpected, as I haven't really plugged the book much lately. Got back to my site, filled my camper tank as the clouds moved in, and it wasn't long before it started raining. I love a rainy Sunday! Ended up making a batch of popcorn and watching TV during the afternoon, though the rain was mostly light, and I only got a couple of inches in the rain barrel, so not much help! After dinner and evening chores, Linda texted and invited me down to her campfire, and we sat and chatted until 10:00, much later than I expected, but still barely after it got dark. I hate daylight savings! Did my Spanish lesson (up to 1520 days straight!), and it won't be long before shower and bed, just waiting for the water to heat up. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Woke up to cloudy skies with just a touch of rain, not enough to accumulate in the rain barrel, unfortunately. Had a relaxing morning, then went down to fill up the truck tank and distribute water to the trailer. I felt like I needed to recover from all my physical activity yesterday, so I relaxed most of the day, reading, then late in the afternoon, starting to watch some TV. Unfortunately, my generator has been gradually getting worse and worse, starting with a boost, but cutting off more and more. The last week it's been cutting off in about a half hour, but today it was about ten minutes, less progressively shorter and shorter. Naturally, I started doing some analysis and research, confirming that it wasn't the air filter, the oil level, or the air intake. I have concluded, at this point anyway, that the problem is with the spark arrestor, which is part of the exhaust system. I checked the exhaust pipe and it was clear, but the spark arrestor requires the removal of a square headed bolt (naturally, a very atypical bolt requiring an atypical tool). Once it's is removed, you're supposed to run the generator for five minutes with a full load, which is supposed to clear out any soot that has accumulated. Considering how much I've been using my generator this summer, it doesn't surprise me soot might have accumulated. I tried to remove the bolt, but a regular socket doesn't work, and it's so rusted up anyway that it's super stuck. I'm still searching online for a simple solution, but half inch square sockets (either 4 point or 8 point) seem to be hard to find. I've still got a few other things to try, but it was getting late, so I sprayed it with PB Blaster, hoping that soaking it overnight might help. Meanwhile, my batteries are just about dead, not even sure they'll last long enough to run the water pump for a shower, but I'm dirty from crawling under the trailer, so I'm hoping for the best! Not the way I like to finish my evening, with problems staring at me, but c'est la vie! Can't have every day be perfect! Anyway, I'm going to give the shower a try, hope I don't burn out the water pump from low voltage in the process! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hiya Sweetie,
Up with the alarm at 7:00, out of camp by 9:00, three uneventful hours driving to Hungerford, then managed to find the perfect spot with a clear sky to the north for my Starlink, Site 22, which is the same site on the corner where we stayed the last time we came here together. This site wasn't available last time I was here three years ago because of deadfall, but was glad to see it reopened, because it's fairly easy to get into, all things considered. Got the horses on the highline and mostly set up before heading out to Tractor Supply to get feed and three propane tanks filled, then to Walmart for a couple of grocery items before heading down to pick up some hay nearby, a dozen bales at $6 a bale. Still haven't touched the second cutting bales I stored a few weeks ago, trying to save that for as along as I can! With all of the physical activity putting everything away, I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Finally sat down for dinner and was just finishing up when one of the other campers came by and asked for help with one of their horses who was behaving oddly, but by the time I got there, the mare was back to normal. Had a nice chat, then came back to camp, watched a couple episodes of House before finishing off the evening. Lola wandered over to the next campsite over, and was returned by three girls from over there, chatted for a couple of minutes, and now I'm calling it quits for the day, feeling very tired. There's rain in the forecast, so I put out the rain barrel, since getting water is a chore and I wasn't able to fill up when I came in, but I will have to do tomorrow, but hopefully, if the barrel fills up, it will service the horses for a few days. We'll see! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
A better night sleep, then a beautiful and busy day! Clear skies, perfect temps, a great day for the laundry, as well as for everything else I did. Spent a lot of time online firming up travel plans, putting flight reservations on hold, and trying to work with a travel agent, but in the end, I think I may do my own reserving. Didn't seem like he was listening to what I wanted, but I tried! Was hoping to save some time and convenience, but as usual, if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself! Got as much packing done as I could, and still had time for a short visit from Sandy, who stopped by on her way home. Was sorry we couldn't do kayaking today (if only we had today's weather yesterday!), but c'est la vie! Finally was able to settle down for the evening, off to shower and bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, probably because of getting home so late, and ended up sleeping in until 9:30 this morning, would you believe! It was a gray morning, and then later it rained quite a bit, which wasn't called for in the forecast, and didn't clear out until late afternoon. Our plans to go kayaking didn't pan out because of that, but you know how I love a rainy Sunday, so I spent the day reading and later watching some House episodes, loving my new Starlink! It felt good to relax, and I did little else except put Apollo out on his anchor and put my spare tire away. I considered putting it on the trailer, but figured if there really was an axle problem and another tire was going to blow, I would rather it be one of the non-matching tires than the new matching one that is now my spare. I'll sort it all out at some point, just not at the moment! Not much else to report, just a lovely rainy Sunday! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a decent night sleep, spent most of the day just hanging out reading, then headed down to Hale for the rodeo at the Iosco County Fair around 3:30. Wandered around a bit, then met up with Sandy and wandered some more, had some food, first a pulled pork dinner provided by the FFA (not quite as tender as some I've had), then Sandy and I split an elephant ear, the only junk fair food I'll allow myself. I couldn't believe it was $13 for one elephant ear! Then we watched a rather strange bubble-making show, and finally headed off to the rodeo where she met up with a bunch of her friends from the not-for-profit organization that she volunteers for, that deals with horses and at-risk kids, as well as others. There was a fine mist in the air, but no real rain, and the temps were quite comfortable, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Crazy stunts by the rodeo clown, games for the kids involving bouncing dragons and one-shoed foot races, a touching celebration of small town rural America. So great to see these kinds of traditions being passed down, and so many kids being raised right! A fun way to spend the afternoon and evening. Got back to camp just after 9:00, fed the horses, ran the AC long enough to cool it down to outside temps, now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!