Hey Darlin'!
Had a good night sleep, but still got up pretty early, got busy with chores and getting everything packed up, then got slowed down with a conversation with one of the remaining campers, so much so we ended up being the last two campers to get out of camp! A nice chat, though, Mandy was interested in my freewheeling lifestyle, which I always love to share. Finally got out just before 10:30, made it over the bridge with no problem (much easier going out than coming it!), stopped for fuel nearby ($5.09/gal for diesel, which turned out the be the cheapest price I saw all day!), then stopped at TSC to look at and ultimately buy the cordura Aussie saddle I've been eyeing on FB marketplace. It's a bit heavier than I expected, but still more than 10 pounds lighter, so it's an improvement, and the girth and saddle blanket accompanying it were more than worth the price I paid. It's not exactly the same size, but hopefully it will still work on Flash. If not, I can always sell it again! Only had another 75 miles to go after that, so I was pulling into Clark State Forest before 1:00, and was fully set up in about 90 minutes. I found a lovely site where I decided to set up a paddock rather than highline, with enough sunlight to get some solar power, and give the horses some grass. I'm close enough to the spigot to reach it with hoses, so I filled up my tank and the horses' buckets, and there are two manure bunkers within easy reach, so this is going to be a comfortable site for the next two weeks. Settled down for the afternoon and evening, satisfied that I can relax for a bit, and get some work done as well as getting some riding in. Can't wait to try out my new to me saddle! Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Had an excellent night sleep, up fairly early, got my chores, breakfast and walking Lola done before heading down the registration area around 9:00. They had a lot of volunteers today, so I was only on floater duty, and literally had nothing to do for hours, so I mostly just sat and read, waiting for a job to do. After 1:00 or so, I went back to the trailer for a few hours, because sitting with no back support grew uncomfortable, to so I lounged in my recliner, almost nodding off a couple of times. Went back down eventually, ended up holding a couple of horses while their owners registered for tomorrow's ride, which was about the extent of my volunteer duties today. Tomorrow I will be scribing again, so that should make the day go faster. I looked for a haymaker, since I'll need hay by Monday, and thought I might have found some near where I'm going, but found out he had sold out, so I need to look further. On a lark, I also looked for a cordura style Aussie saddle, which I occasionally research, and lo and behold, I found one available directly on my journey on Sunday! I've been looking for one because it's more lightweight than my leather one, not to mention I've pretty much worn out my other two. The only drawback is it's one without a horn, but I'd rather have something more lightweight, so hopefully it will work out. I also had a long talk with my old high school buddy Steve, who called to chat for awhile. Attended the awards and ride meeting, then back to the trailer, fed the horses, watched one episode of Damages, heading to shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Was in bed nice and early, slept very well, and even woke up half an hour before my alarm, so I went ahead and got up since I knew I had a busy morning. Quick breakfast, finished packing and was heading out of my campsite before 9:00 ET. Stopped at the dump, then had an unfortunate accident when my sewer hose fell off just after I opened it, so I had quite a mess to deal with. Unfortunately, the hose at the dump was too short and had very little pressure, so there wasn't a whole lot I could do except dilute it. We finally headed out of camp shortly thereafter. According to flattestroute.com, straight up US 127 was the best route, but all I can say is, if that's the flattest route, I'd hate to see what the hilly route looks like! It was only about 125 miles, but it took me three hours because so much of it was twisty, windy switchbacks hugging the sides of cliffs that had me sweating bullets at every turn, hoping no one was coming the other way, since I had no choice but to swing into the other lane to avoid skimming the rock wall alongside of me. Most of it was between 25-45 mph, with the occasional 55, so it was slow going. Nevertheless, I made it safely to Shaker Village, then the REAL fun began. They have this incredibly narrow bridge, with a curve in front of it, that, after three tries, I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to make, period. My rear trailer tire just would not straighten out in time to get on the bridge. I finally figured the only way was to pull into a so-called "trailer turnaround" (not a hope in hell!) that was just big enough for me to swing way over to the right side, which almost allowed me to straighten up enough to get over the bridge. Fortunately, a woman coming in a car in the other direction offered to help, so I asked her to direct the right side of my truck as close to the right edge as possible, since that's the one spot I couldn't see, and with her help, managed to swing just enough to get my trailer wheels onto the bridge straight. Whew! That was CLOSE!! Seriously, that is one dangerous bridge! It looks like it will be easier coming from the other side, though, hopefully! Anyway, got in to the barn area where the ride is based, then while backing up to where I wanted to go, I ran over a plastic garbage can. Was trying to avoid a Portapotty and missed seeing the garbage can. No harm done, it survived, but it was a bit embarrassing. Got the horses into their paddock, had to unhook to get water from behind the barn, filled up my trailer tank and the horses' water, set up my solar panel, and once I got settled in, went down to see where they needed help. I ended up scribing for the vets from about 4:30 to 6:00, then shared the pot luck supper, sat in on the riders meeting, took Lola for a walk, put blankets on the horses (supposed to go down to 39 tonight), and finally settled down for the night. Been a long, tiring, white-knuckle day, so a shower and bed will be happening soon! Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to quite a cold morning, in the upper 30's, so I stayed in bed longer than I normally would on a travel day before braving the cold to turn up the thermostat and get dressed. Everyone was gone except one other volunteer who came over and chatted with me while I was packing up. Despite that, I was able to finish packing up and heading out of camp just before 10:00. When we drove in coming for the west, going east into Asheville, the traffic going westward was backed up for miles, and I was rather expecting that this morning, but was relieved when, in fact, we were able to go the speed limit almost the entire way. Of course, with all the construction, that was down to about 35 mph in some places, but there was only one very short section right after the TN border when traffic went below that, and only for a minute. As a result, we made good time! I stopped at the Buc-cees in Crossville (they seem to be popping up everywhere, and they do have the cheapest prices!), even though I still had almost half a tank, but I didn't want to have to get fuel again before the next leg, plus the price was "only" $4.89/gal for diesel. Still outrageous, but the lowest I've seen. Arrived safely just after 1:00 local time, which is now Central, but will go back to Eastern at the next stop, very glad that I didn't have any tire problems, or any other issues on this leg of the journey. This is my first time at East Fork, and it's very conveniently located, far enough off the four-lane from my campsite not to hear it. They gave me a good spot, on a corner lot so I have extra space, and let me highline on trees instead of using their picket line, which frankly, hadn't been cleaned up very well, so I was happy not to have to put my horses down there. I haven't got the greatest view, just of a barn and a manure pit, but it's far enough away not to concern me. Got everything set up, then settled down for the evening, finishing off some leftovers from last week for dinner, did several loads of laundry, watched a few episodes of Damages (they have very good free wifi here, yay!), and won't be long out of bed, even though on Central Time it's early. Figure I better stay on Eastern time physically, since I'll be changing back on Thursday anyway! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, though it was chilly in the morning, but I had set the furnace at a less than stingy setting so it wasn't too bad when I got up, though the first thing I did was punch up the temp! Was about to have breakfast when I got a text saying that breakfast was at the mess tent, and since I knew the morning awards ceremony was going on, I opted to drive up there and save myself the hassle of making breakfast here. Had to take two Hardee's biscuits just to make one egg and sausage biscuit (I gave Lola the other biscuit later), then sat through the awards ceremony, where I was able to catch up with some of my ride friends from Florida. Afterwards I helped do some packing of stuff, including tents, until it was almost 11:00, at which point I came back to feed my critters. My neighbor Steve and I got caught up in a conversation, and since he's on his own (his wife Cam stayed home with an illness), he was taking his own sweet time to pack up, and we chatted off and on for a couple of hours. He finally finished packing and headed out about 2:00, then I got started with a little packing, then worked on the gpx files of the trails I checked this week so I could send them to Stagg, one of the managers, to add to their collection. I haven't been able to send it yet, though, because the signal here is so bad. I also rinsed my truck off, it's been so dusty here. Despite all the forecasts of rain, we never got ANY, and the gravel road throws up dust everytime a vehicle passes. I waited until late in the day, hoping there wouldn't be much traffic, before I took the truck over to the washrack and rinsed all the dust off, then wiped it down. I just discovered that there is a guest wifi signal here, though I don't think it's strong enough to do much, but I do know that my phone goes on roaming and jumps from one bar to four or five bars, which seems to work better for calls but not for data. Maybe with the password to the wifi it will do better, but I didn't get that. I'll have to remember to get it next time! Happy to learn that there will be a Fall ride, there was some question about it for awhile, but it's mostly set now. A bit later, late in October, so the colors should be gorgeous, but the weather at that time of year can range anywhere from 80 to a blizzard, so fingers crossed! Finally settled down for the evening after putting away most of my stuff and putting blankets on the horses, and even managed to get enough of an intermittent signal to watch an hour of TV (though it took a lot longer to watch since it kept buffering!) Ready for bed soon! No big hurry tomorrow, only 200 miles to go, and I filled up with fuel yesterday when I was in town, so it should be a straightforward drive, assuming I don't lose another tire! Even so, that only seems to slow me down for about 15-20 minutes, and I'm back on the road, now that I have all the tools! Anyway, heading to bed shortly, looking forward to my next couple of stops, places I've never been before! Whoo-hoo! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Slept a bit better, but still woke up too early, considering my alarm was already set for 6:30, but I got up with the alarm, had a quick breakfast, got all my chores done, then headed out to my first crossing guard job, at what is known as the Big Rock, a rather large abutment next to the road which creates a bit of a blind corner, so I helped cross a bunch of horses there for an hour. Then I had a couple of hours off, where I helped settle and walk a neighbor's poodle. The owner, Gayla, had to go to the hospital after falling from her horse at the mounting block yesterday, so everyone's been pitching in to look after her dog and her horse. My afternoon job was another crossing guard duty at the SE Lagoon crossing, that was for most of the afternoon, and I stayed an extra 15 minutes until the last riders went through. Got back to camp, Art came by and took Lola for a walk while Steve walked Enzo and I walked Lola, all in different places. I stayed around for Gayla's parents, who came to get her dog, then headed up to dinner at the main tent. They do it a little oddly here, where they do the awards ceremony before serving dinner, so it was a lot later than I would normally eat, and of course, it was heavy on the carbs (pasta, garlic rolls, cookies and salad), so now I'm pretty stuffed and it will likely affect my sleep pattern tonight, but oh, well! At least I didn't have to do any cooking and cleaning! Got back to camp after 8:20, fed Gayla's horse, let Lola out, where she promptly started grazing, which I know means she'll be throwing up later, hopefully before I let her back in. Settled down with my Sleepytime tea while the water for my shower gets heated, and in bed shortly thereafter, as my first job tomorrow starts at 7:15, which means a very early morning for me! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Woke up with my alarm, had breakfast and finished packing, managed to catch the horses without too much trouble, and was out the driveway by about 9:30. Had a relatively uneventful drive to Asheville, stopping once to top off my fuel tanks at Buc-cees, the first time I've ever stopped at one, but they had the cheapest fuel. I didn't go in, but I was impressed with the number of fuel islands they had! So many people have told me I needed to stop at one, so I was happy to do that, and managed to get in and out without too much trouble. Had to add some power steering fluid, I have a leak there, but am handling it. Made it to the Biltmore fine, but as I was coming in, I thought I noticed a problem with one of my tires. Once I reached my camping spot, which is a bit more north than usual, I looked at it, and saw that the sidewall had split on it. The worst thing was that it was my "newest" tire, the one I bought just seven months ago, but was four years old according to the date on it, and the one that I paid over $400 for, which I thought was a ripoff at the time, and now that it's lasted me less than six month, I'm sure of it! So disappointing. So in addition to my usual setup, I had to add putting my spare on, again, and making some calls to find another replacement. Thankfully, there's a Discount Tire in town, the same chain that replaced the last tire, and they were able to look up my last purchase with ease and will hopefully be able to get a replacement before I leave. I even told them that if they can get me three tires, I'd replace them all, so at least I have all the same type. Seems like a waste since all the ones I have are different ages, but it doesn't seem to matter, since the two latest failures were the two "newest" tires, though the one I took off today was over five years old when I first bought it, which, coincidentally, was the last time I came to the Biltmore! Crazy! Anyway, it took me almost three hours to get set up, including changing the tire, so I'm exhausted! A couple of bourbons and a burger later, I'm feeling a bit better, but I have a busy week ahead, which I am looking forward to! Nothing like being on the back of my own horse on the trails to make things right! Planning on an early night, can't wait to get back into the saddle tomorrow! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a very quiet day today, trying to conserve some energy for the busy week I'll have next week, and because there was supposed to be rain today, though we barely had a sprinkle first thing in the morning. Lola and I did take two walks around the pasture, one in the morning and another in the evening, but otherwise spent the day reading, on the computer or bingeing on Damages, which seems to have a great cliffhanger on just about every episode. Tomorrow will be busier getting ready to move out on Monday. Looking forward to getting back on the road again! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Finally had a good night sleep, seemed like I may have slept almost straight through, thank goodness! Woke up more refreshed than I have in awhile. Did my morning ritual here, feeding the horses and walking the perimeter of the pasture with Lola before breakfast for us. I asked Linda's husband Richard about using his floor jack to change out the spare tire for the new one, and he brought it out, but as soon as I saw it was only 3.5 tons, I doubted it would work, and I was correct. I ended up bringing out my little 12-ton bottle jack, and that managed to lift it enough, though it has a bit of a leak, so it kept slipping, but it got the job done. Then Linda helped me put the spare away, so that job is now complete! Glad I decided to do that today, I had thought to do it on Monday on my own by running up on the Jiffy jack, but I'm glad I did it today, because having help made it much easier. Started a load of laundry, had a nice chat with Linda for awhile, who then showed me how to feed her dogs and barn cat, as she's going away for the weekend and I'm helping her out with that. Then I spent some time in the afternoon working on my travel schedule, since I haven't planned anything after Biltmore except the Shake It Up ride in KY the following weekend, but I can't get in until Thursday, so I was looking at options for Monday thru Wednesday, plus where to go after that. After dinner, I decided to wash the truck, it's gotten dirty since my wash and wax at Michelle's earlier this month, and it's supposed to rain over the weekend, so I wanted to get that done. Cleaned off the dashboard a bit, and used Invisible Glass on the windows (BEST STUFF EVER FOR GLASS!), before settling down for the evening. A productive day in the end! Good night, baby! Love you!