Hi Darlin’!
Had a good night sleep, still slept late this morning. Guess all this activity has worn me out! So I decided to make today a quiet day. Well, except for a few extra chores. Lola managed to open a seam in her bed and proceeded to pull a bunch of stuffing out, so the bathroom floor was a mess. She hasn’t been on the trail in a couple of days, and because of all the activity I’ve had to keep her mostly tied up, so she was really ticked at me, her face this morning said it all! So after chores, breakfast, and sewing her bed back together, I took her down to Crooked Lake boat launch just down the road and we fetched and played for quite awhile. We actually saw a seaplane take off from the lake, as well as some boaters doing a variety of activity. She was much better after than, no more evil eye the rest of the day, thank goodness! Got back to camp and mostly read for the rest of the day. Had a couple of visitors, first Paul, then Chad, and then late in the evening some friends of Chad, who presented me with a beautiful painted rock. It’s gorgeous, but I explained I don’t need to carry any extra weight, and they suggested I place it out in the woods like some of the other ones, or give it to someone else, which is what I plan on doing. It reminded me of an old Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz movie called the Long, Long Trailer, where she decides to collect big rocks at every place they stop, until the weight gets to be so much they can’t get up a hill. It was a really stupid movie, but it came to mind for obvious reasons! Anyway, I finished off a limited series program I’ve been watching, now it’s time for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Though it took awhile to get to sleep, I ended up having a good night, nice and cool this morning! Almost too cool! But I put on my sweats and did my chores, changed my water filter since the charcoal one I put in not too long ago is already clogged up, read for awhile, then took a ride out to the local store, just over a mile up the road to the Village Market, where I was able to get onions, mayonnaise and eggs for the deviled eggs and macaroni salad I’m going to make for the big Saturday night dinner. I also asked about a palette. It had occurred to me that if I put a palette down and put my mounting block/stairs on top of it, it might be tall enough and sturdy enough so that I could raise the trailer up high enough on the front to be level. Lo and behold, they had one! They were going to give it to me, but I insisted that would bring it back before I left. I don’t need to carry the weight and it was a really sturdy one that they were using to block leaves from getting into their HVAC system, so it seemed only right to do that. Anyway, it worked out PERFECTLY! It’s like having a little deck, it created an extra little step, and raised it high enough so the first step out of the trailer is very comfortable rather than terribly scary like it was before. Problem solved! I read most of the rest of the day, while watching the campground fill up with trailer after trailer coming in. I chatted with some of the neighbors, got invited to go riding, which I turned down, I was really just wanting to relax today, then had my dinner, then sat around with some of the other campers for awhile. Then a huge old LQ horse trailer showed up, and suddenly it seemed like the population of the campground tripled! It was like watching a VW full of college kids unpeel from inside, one after another after another, people of all ages somehow appeared. Evidently it’s a very large family that camps here every year, and have done for over 40 years, so it was quite something to watch them all set up. As it got dark and the mosquitoes started to come out, I decided it was time to come in, but first I stopped to put blankets on the horses. Yes, blankets! It’s supposed to get down to 47 degrees tonight, and the last thing I need is for the horses to start getting their winter coats in September! One extreme to the other in just a few days, but I have to say, I like the cooler temps much better than the hotter ones! At least I can dress in layers and not sweat like a pig. Anyway, I’m off for my shower and bed, I have plans for a good long ride tomorrow. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Well, a good night sleep, slept rather late because I read late, but it was nicer because it was a little cooler after the rain, thank goodness! No worries, I had such a short drive today, probably the shortest I’ve ever done, less than 30 miles, but it was all back roads so it took about an hour. When I was at the dump I asked a guy to listen for my electric brakes on the controller, it’s not reading that it’s connected, even though the lights come on, so I don’t know what’s wrong. He said he didn’t hear anything, which means the brakes aren’t working, so that’s a problem I’ll have to address asap. Meanwhile, I drove VERY CAREFULLY on al those back roads, making the mistake of following Google maps. They actually had the horse camp right, but I thought I needed to check in first, so I was trying to find the main entrance where they usually have a ranger station where they do that, but instead it took me near the riding stable, with no ranger station is sight, and pronounced that I had arrived! Naturally, there was no place to turn around so I kept going, then turned on to another road thinking that I might back up and turn around, but there were bends on both sides and I didn’t dare back out without help, so I checked to see where the road I was on went, and decided that could bring me back to the horse camp, where I had decided to go first. Well, I made it, but the roads were almost all dirt and gravel and had some slippery spots and a few steep hills, so it was a bit dicey. Once I got to the camp and filled the trailer with water, I called the reservations office to see which sites were going to be open the full two weeks I plan on staying here, and after getting that list, reconnoitered around the campground until I found quite a nice spot. Like Brighton, most of the sites aren’t very level, but I did manage to find one that wasn’t too bad. Of course, according to their website, my rig wouldn’t fit into ANY of their campsites, when in fact there are a number that are just fine. I opted for a shady spot, even though the forecast is for cooler weather (not falling for THAT again!), so I won’t get as much solar energy, but I shouldn’t have to use much propane if I’m not running my AC anyway, so it sort of balances. Anyway, I got all set up, my only con is that the site goes uphill at the back, so I had to run up my levelers so high that the stairs/mounting block leaves me with a very big first step out of the trailer, which I’m going to have to be careful with or I’ll be doing a header straight to the ground! The slope makes the screen room very tall, the bottom just touches the ground, so no problem with the door opening against the awning like it does sometimes. Despite getting lost, I was pretty well set up by about 2:30, so I headed out to find the ranger station, where a very nice gentleman helped my get registered and paid up, then I headed off to Jackson, the nearest town, to fill up two propane tanks and do some overdue grocery shopping, and was back by around 5:00. Did a few more set up chores, like the grill, then settled down for the evening. It’s much cooler, and supposed to get down into the low 60’s tonight, and the low 50’s over the next few nights, so we’ll be going from one extreme to the other! But I’d rather have 70’s during the day and 50’s at night anytime! That’s always my weather goal, and I’ve finally made it! Seems like the first time in awhile, though I’m sure it hasn’t been that long. Anyway, all settled in, time for shower, bed, reading, then sleep after my busy day! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Took a long time to get to sleep last night, but ended up with it being a good night. I spent most of the day just putting stuff away, letting the horses graze, reading and watching a movie, a nice relaxing day. It was actually more relaxing after I texted this Dan guy to tell him to buzz off, turns out he’s not only a poor communicator, but he’s been increasingly high-maintenance, and NEVER on time for anything, with no apologies for it, or any sense that being late is the least bit rude or wrong. Not what I need in my life! So once that was done, I was able to relax the rest of the day. As I was putting stuff away, Flash kept coming over to see what I was doing, and at one point, he literally leapt into the trailer! I don’t know what he planned to find in there (breakfast maybe?), but when he discovered there wasn’t any grain in the manger, he promptly turned around and leapt out again. Silly horse! I remember the days when I could hardly get him in there! How times change! Anyway, I managed to get most things put away, then a line of thunderstorms came in late in the afternoon and cooled things down, yay!! It’s supposed to be a much cooler and absolutely beautiful week, and I’m so glad, this heat has been a real killer! Being that it’s almost September, I’m hoping I’ve seen the last of the great heat, and that I can time it right to get to Florida before seeing any frost this year. I’m setting my sights on a Halloween party at my friend’s in Jacksonville, figure that’s about right weatherwise. Then I can bounce around the state all winter, wherever the weather suits! Well, I’ve already had my shower, just need to finish making the bed (oh, yeah, I did laundry today, too), and retire for the night. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Had an excellent night sleep, seems like the first in a long time, probably because I splurged and ran the AC for a couple of hours to well and truly cool the trailer down before I went to bed. We also had some rain move in, which helped a bit, so it was all good! It rained a bit in the morning, managed to get the horses fed between showers, then I put them out on the grass for most of the day. It got really hot and humid once the rain passed, though, and the mosquitoes were swarming so bad, I just couldn’t see doing anything outside, so I literally spent most of the day in my recliner with a floor fan blowing on me, so for the first time, I actually felt pretty cool most of the day. Still had to run the AC in the late afternoon, though. I considered riding, but frankly, just didn’t feel like dealing with the heat and the bugs! Can’t wait for a cool front to come through, this has evidently been an unusually hot summer here in Michigan, just my luck! Anyway, watched some good programs, did a lot of reading, played games on my computer and just generally did nothing today. Not very exciting, I know, but it’s hard to get up the energy to do anything when it’s so hot and humid! Anyway, the day is done now, off to shower and bed. Good night sweetie! Love you!

Hi Babe,
It was so hot, it took me forever to fall asleep! I did run the AC for a bit, but not long enough, and I ended up having a terrible night. Sandy slept on cushions on the floor and said she was more comfortable than last night, but it still must have been tough with the heat. Of course, up in the “loft” the rising heat is always worst, and I don’t think it ever got below 75 last night, if that. Anyway, we had breakfast, didn’t have enough time to ride, so Sandy was all packed up and left just before 11:30. I changed my clothes and head out shortly afterward, first to my second massage this week, then down to a nearby farm for some beautiful hay, and finally to TSC to pick up propane and a few bags of horse feed to get me through. When I got back it was so hot, I just had to run the AC for a couple of hours just to get the heat out, and to be somewhat comfortable. Hoping I’ve done enough to get me through the night, it does seem a bit cooler in here now. I settled down for leftovers and a movie, now I’m headed to bed to read and hopefully, SLEEP! Would like to have a good night sleep for a change! We’ll see. Heading off to my shower and bed now, my love! Good night!

Hi Babe,
Well, another year has come and gone, my second birthday without your physical presence, but no worries! You’re still with me! Had a quiet morning, did some reading, and thought about going riding but frankly, my hip has been sore for the last few days, maybe from the fall, maybe night, I don’t know, but in any event, I decided against it for now. My friend Sandy drove down to spend a couple of days with me, and it worked out well that we met at an Irish pub for a late lunch/early dinner, so I had a nice plate of bangers and mash and a couple of Guinness drafts, all served in delightful air condition, so I was a happy camper. Got back to camp and decided to head for the beach to cool off, as it was very hot again today, too hot to ride anyway! We got in our bathing suits, grabbed Lola and headed for the beach, where we tossed Lola’s frisbee and swam a bit to cool down, it was lovely. There were several other dog folks around, and Lola had a good time playing with a big German Shepherd names Ava, and we all had a good time while we cooled off. Stayed until nearly 7:00, when some clouds moved in, and radar showed some rain headed in our direction, so we got back to camp, Sandy went ahead and fed the horses while I cleaned up, and then we sat in the screen room enjoying the cool breezes that preceded the storms. It cooled down beautifully, so it was a much more comfortable evening, thank goodness! I even got phone calls from every one of my brothers today, what a nice surprise! Sandy and I discussed plans for tomorrow, now she’s gone off to bed and I’m headed for the shower and bed, too! A nice day, a nice way to spend my birthday.Thinking of you, my love! Good night!

Hi Darlin’,
Another late night to bed, though I woke up before my alarm this morning. I had scheduled a massage this morning, I’ve been rather achy lately, and I found this well-reviewed woman about 25 minutes away so I went to see her. My priority is still trying to get my shoulder straightened out, and I have to say, she seems to grasp the problem better than anyone I’ve ever worked with before. She spend the entire 90 minutes working on my upper body, and there was a lot more tension there than even I thought, which she attacked vigorously. I can say that my arm and shoulder do seem to be freer, but the rest of me is still in pain. I had some unexpected lower back pain when I got up this morning, and was hoping we’d have time to work some of that out, but we didn’t, so I left with that still hurting, as well as most of the rest of me. I scheduled another one for Thursday so hopefully we can get a full body massage in, with a final checkup on my shoulder, I’m hoping by then I’ll be able to tell if she truly fixed it or not, which would be a damn miracle if she did! We’ll see. When I left there, I headed east for about an hour to solve a problem for Jeff. He’s been looking for a replacement deck for his John Deere lawnmower, and apparently they’re very difficult to find, but one of his friends found one for sale in a town north of Detroit, so I agreed to go pick it up for him, which I did. A long drive out and back, but it seems like it’s in good shape, so I trust Jeff will be happy with it. He doesn’t want to ship it, but his friend Mike, who has a place in Michigan, is heading to Florida later in the week, so hopefully he can take it off my hands and deliver it. Otherwise, I’ll be lugging the thing around with me until I get down there, months from now. Not sure where the best place to store it is, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Not really a big deal, just an extra 100 clumsy pounds to carry. Got back to camp, filled up the truck water tank, then let the horses out to graze for the rest of the day. Settled down for the evening, feeling tired, probably because I took three ibuprofen to help with my backache. Heading off for shower and bed shortly, hopefully a good night sleep. Slightly cooler with less humidity tonight, so fingers crossed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Babe,
My body clock is definitely on the late night cycle now for some reason. Can’t seem to fall asleep till long after midnight, can’t seem to get up before 9:00. Gotta fix that somehow! Well, I had planned on doing some housework today, but just couldn’t get up enough energy to do it. This heat is really taking it out of me, made worse by the fact the trailer is baking in the sun most of the day. Inside the trailer is the hottest place in the park! I did get my laundry done, that was one thing, then I decided to blow up the kayak, and in the afternoon, I took it over to the nearest pond, which is very close to the horse camp, but it was so choked with weeds and the water was so low I decided against it. Someone else that was there looking suggested the lake over by the main campground, so I went over there instead. Not much of a lake, I managed to paddle around the entire thing in less than an hour, probably a half hour, I don’t know I didn’t check my watch. There is a beach there, which was full, naturally, and they have something I’ve never seen before, something called Jump Island, which is essentially a collection of huge bounce houses of various shapes and sizes right in the water. It looked like fun, but then I discovered it was run by a concessionaire and it was pretty pricey, so I’m probably going to skip that! It was a nice paddle, though, and it did cool me off a little. Got back to camp, took the rest of my laundry down, let the horses out to graze (everyone else in camp was gone by late morning), and settled down for the day. Then I got some sad news. Wayne, the ranch manager at Loretta Lynn’s ranch, was swept away in the floods that followed 17 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, he didn’t make it. Most of the ranch is underwater, except the mansion and Loretta’s house, it looks like at least one of the barns has been destroyed. The mill and the town around it looked like it was barely hanging on by a thread, and the main road through that whole area was completely underwater. Apparently there are dozens of people missing, countless homes destroyed, a real mess. I got to know Wayne a bit when I was there in June, he was even going to help me by welding a new set of steps on my trailer but didn’t have time before I had to leave. So sad, and so sudden. Apparently a lot of animals drowned as well. Not sure how this bodes for upcoming events, I’m sure there is way too much damage to be fixed quickly or easily. My heart goes out to them and their latest challenges! Well, enough of that, I’ve had my shower, trying to get to bed soon, but am still trying to solve a problem for brother Jeff. Will head out soon. Good night, my darling! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Had a better night sleep, then a rather slow morning while I was waiting to go to the Woodward Car Rally, in Pontiac, MI. According to brother Jeff, this is a major car event, one he dreams about entering his refurbished 442 in at some future date. Anyway, Dan had asked me if I wanted to go, so I decided I might as well. Wasn’t quite what I expected. He had a friend who belongs to a car club that had staked out a yard along the Cruise route, but all the main action apparently happens down the road a bit, though there were a few classic cars parked in the yard we were in, and a lot of cars did drive by. It also happens more in the evening tonight, and all day tomorrow, so I guess you could say we saw a preview. Not bad though, there were a lot of fun cars that went by, too many pix to post, and I took a lot! It was a very hot day, but most of the time there was a little breeze and the occasional cloud that thankfully came by. I took Lola, and she was a bit hot, and the loud cars gunning their engines bothered her a little, but she did get used to it, though I imagine her hearing will never be quite the same! We stayed for several hours, finally left around 6:00, dropped him off, picked up fuel, got back to camp around 7:00, then went down to fill up the water tank. Several trailers had just come in, so I guess it’s going to be a busier weekend than I expected. It was so hot in the trailer I had to run the AC just to blow the hot air out. Not enjoying these high 80’s temps! Unfortunately that’s the forecast for all of next week! Well, it is August, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, at least I CAN cool it off in here when I need to. Settled down for the evening, off to take my second shower of the day, then to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!