Spent the day at the book selling books, chatting with folks, dodging raindrops, and otherwise hanging around with horse folks!

Well, after getting up with the alarm so that we could get in a ride in time to get back to our vending area by lunch, Hubby and I were saddled up and on the trail a little later than we hoped, by 10:30, but as the Green trail I had selected was only 4.5 miles long, we figured we'd be back in time. We were delayed because I put boots on Apollo, but Hubby couldn't find Clio's boots, so unless we misplaced them (not likely), they must have been stolen from the trailer at some point, darn it. We finally made our way to the trailhead on the far side of the sawmill, and headed down a dirt and gravel road that looked like a logging road, and it had quite a downhill grade. We followed them map until we reached the turnoff to the Green trail, then missed another turn, but realized afterward that that section had a series of XXX on the map, indicating it was seriously muddy, and essentially closed off. We soon reached the "Pretty Place" on the map, a wide open field with about a 300 degree view of the Nashville Basin area, gorgeous. Could see the area of the plateau where we live, just beautiful. We continued down a gravel road (not liking the footing much, a wide gravel/dirt road, slippery with the rain we had yesterday), until we reached the turnoff to the Green Trail, where in that section on the map was marked "Aggressive." We debated between gravel easy and unknown "aggressive," but since it seemed to be a single track trail more to out liking we struck out on that. While the trail was rocky, it was less so than the road, but it was quite overgrown so we had to push a lot of wet leaves and branches out of the way. Then we headed down into a very slippery and steep incline, where I had to do a few quick switch-backs just to keep from sliding straight down the hill on the mud. It was, indeed, quite challenging, and Hubby's mare slipped badly a few times, almost going to her knees because it was so slippery. We finally made it through the worst section, with a pretty good climb back up to the plateau, then had a bit easier (though still gravel) road for a bit. Then we had another serious climb, and halfway up, about a quarter mile from camp (though we didn't know that at the time), the sky opened up and we had to break out the rain gear. The final push was up was on a sort of rock wall, no loose stones, but no real steps either, just a lot of crags for the horses' to climb on, but pretty slippery. When I finally reached the top, I realized that was the trailhead on the other side of the campground from where we left, and was SO glad we hadn't tried to go out that way, it would have been quite a challenge going down! We moseyed through the campground to the barn and quickly put the horses away. We can't say we really enjoyed the ride, though we were glad to get the horses out, but with the stoney footing and the pouring rain, it wasn't our favorite :-). I trust there are other trails that are better, but we probably won't have time or inclination to find them. Afterward, we headed over to the dining hall to man our booth for the day, where we had a great location to hear (and sometimes see, when trucks weren't parked in front of us) the bandstand, which had non-stop music all day and evening. I brought Billy with us for awhile, and he behaved like our little greeter for awhile. Managed to sell a few books today, have heard that tomorrow will be a busier day. Have met some new folks and gotten reacquainted with some recent friends we've met at other events. Took a dinner break, then came back for a while before packing it in for the night.

At last, we had our first ride at AH Stephens State Park! After a couple of days of rest and rehabilitation for Hubby's arm, we finally saddled up and headed out for a short ride on the Red Loop, which was just under 3 miles. We had to maneuver around the concessionaire's trailer which was parked right on the trailhead, but the horses got past that obstacle with no problem, and we hit the trail. Well-marked and well-mapped, these trails are truly lovely! They were fairly wide, sometimes enough for two horses abreast, and they weaved through the woods in a wonderful fashion. Having been on the flat for so long, it was fabulous to finally have some small hills and dales to traverse! The horses were quite engaged, with even slow-walking Clio a bit more active lately. We had several nice places to trot and canter, and it was, indeed, cooler in the woods. The trail wound by a lovely picnic site by one of the several lakes in the park, and we stopped for a moment to enjoy the view before heading back to camp. After putting the horses back on the highline, we took a trip out to go shopping, which dragged out longer than anticipated because the county we were in was dry, and we had to drive quite a ways to find an open liquor store. Eventually we got back to camp and settled in for the evening.

Got up with the alarm at 7:30, made coffee and proceeded to finish packing up and departing. We ran back to the regular campground to dump, then hit the road for an "all back road" route up to Crawfordsville. With a quick stop for breakfast and another for shopping, we arrived at the park around 3:00, where a young man checked us in with no problem. Last time we were here, we only stayed overnight, this time the plan is to ride, every one of the 14 miles of trails. Despite a weather forecast that assured me of NO chance of rain today, we had a few stray sprinkles just before we arrived, then just as we were finishing setting up, it began to rain quite a bit more, so I had to run out and put the tarp on the hay. They offer stalls here now, for an extra charge, but we decided to put the horses on the highline again. They're building another 10-stall barn on the other side of the campground as well, so I guess they've learned how to cater to the equestrian community. In fact, we parked in the same site we did last time we were here, and it was perfect for getting a good satellite dish signal, and of course, since it's only a few miles off I-20, the cell phone signal is great here, too. Looking forward to doing some riding here, hoping Hubby's shoulder is up to a quick ride tomorrow. Meanwhile, with the rain, cold breeze and low temps tonight, we elected to put the rain sheets on the horses, since they no longer have any winter coat left, and they've been in such warm temps until now! Settled in for the evening, same living room, different back yard! Gotta love it!