Hiya Darlin',
Had a pretty good night sleep, then once I got chores and breakfast done, I concentrated on doing all the internet computer work done that's been put on the back burner while I had such a terrible cell phone signal. Did a lot of Peru vacation planning, reduced my cell phone plan, and generally ran down the list of things I've been accumulating for awhile now. It turned out to be quite a hot day, would have been nice to be on the water, but plans to kayak fell through, and it was just as well, I needed to get this work done. I put the horses out on another site south of me, and for some unknown reason, Flash decided to head down an old trail I hadn't even noticed (probably a perimeter trail around the campground, or down to the group camp), wandering much farther than I would have expected away from his buddy Apollo, until he tangled himself up, and started whinnying for help. I actually had a hard time finding him, he had gone so deep into the brush! Silly horse! Got him untangled and back home, but a few minutes later, he went back into the paddock and started eating hay, so I closed the gate and disconnected him from his anchor, since he obviously wasn't interested in eating fresh grass. Apollo stayed out, though. Finally settled down for the evening to few episodes of House, so happy that I am able to do all of this will minimal delays and buffering! Such an improvement! Not perfect, I did lose the signal a couple of times, but it usually remedied itself before too long. The app says there's an obstruction, but it can only be the tips of trees, so it comes and goes. No worries, I'm thrilled with it! I'm obviously going to have to find a more open site at Hungerford, which could be tough considering how wooded it is there, but at least I know what direction I need to have clear, and unlike the old satellite dish, it's NOT to the southwest, but rather to the north! Sort of the opposite of what I usually like to do, but it is what it is! Just need to adjust to the new normal. Settled down for the evening, shower and bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Woke up to another gorgeous morning, did my chores and breakfast, then saddled up Flash to try to find the missing trail out of camp to the north. I couldn't find it out of camp, so I decided to try to find it from the other side, going out past the swimming hole in the river, but once I got to where my GPS said it should be, there was nothing, not a trace. Whatever trail had been there that's shown on the map is obliterated. So I went back down around the other way, the section of trail that was used for the endurance 10 mile trail, and decided that would be just fine. Got back to camp and diddled around for awhile, mostly reading, then Sandy arrived after 3:00 (with my freshly delivered Starlink in hand!), and we saddled up both horses to take that same route, only this time I went backwards, saving the best for last. I had her ride Flash while I rode Apollo, worried a bit about his stumbling, but I had given him a bute at breakfast and he seemed to be handling it pretty well today. Slow, as always, and he had some challenges climbing up some hills, but he did more trotting, even up hills, so I think the exercise is doing him good. I hope so, anyway! When we reached the waterhole spot where folks like to swim their horses, Sandy and I took a nice dip, marveling at the fast current, but quickly getting used to the cooler temps. It was lovely! Feels like the first time I've been in natural water for a long time! Got back to camp after 6:30, she headed out and I took care of the horses, then set up my new Starlink, which took me all of two minutes! So easy! I made some supper and finally settled down to a couple of episodes of House on my TV instead of my tablet, a nice change. Afterward, I did a couple of things online just to check it out, like uploading some pix on past diary entries, and it was blazingly fast, at least compared to what I've been used to lately. I have a lot of stuff to do online over the weekend, and since I rode twice today, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon, I'm guessing I'll spend the day getting caught up on computer work tomorrow. A great day, had a wonderful time with Sandy, love having both horse out together (even though it was mostly a slow ride), and ending on a positive note that my future internet and communications issues are now solved! Off to shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a bunch of thunderstorms come through in the evening, and despite giving Lola two gabapentins along with her Carprofen, she paced and panted for nearly two hours! Not sure if she finally quieted down because the pills finally kicked in or if she just wore herself out. Rain continued past my getting to bed, so I put in my earplugs and enjoyed a nice sleep, and even laid in for an extra hour of reading, just to get my day off started. At first it was pretty cloudy, but as noon approached, the sun started peaking through, so I started on a couple of loads of laundry, and also hooked up the hose and filled up everything, which should now last me most if not all of the week. Spend the in-between time reading, and later in the day, watching some more episodes of House on my tablet. Made Lola some Satin Balls, walked her a couple of times, but otherwise spent the day doing as little as possible to recharge my personal battery banks. Looking forward to a good night sleep as well! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Let myself lay in late this morning, the first step of recovery from this long couple of weeks. Wished I could have stayed in bed longer, but I had some things I had to do today. By noon I headed out to Tawas, dropping off the rim of the remaining wheel that needed a tire, as I had ordered it from Simple Tire and had it sent to Janis Tire there. It was due to be delivered, though it didn't arrive until after 3:00. Meanwhile I parked for awhile in the McDonald's parking lot and did some necessary computer work, reserving a car for my upcoming reunion, selling some stocks to pay for my Peru trip, getting fuel, shopping at Walmart for some essentials, watching the swarms of Mayflies that had inundated the town, the likes of which I had never seen before! Apparently they only live a few days, but they were in full force along the coast today! Went back to the tire store and did some more computer work in their parking lot until the tire was ready (only $25 for mounting, the best price I've seen in years!), then headed back to camp. Had a nice steak dinner and watched some episodes of House on my tablet which I had downloaded in town. Glad to finally have something to watch! Can't wait to get my Starlink! Ordered a few more things to be sent to Sandy's, due on Wednesday, though Starlink is still saying Thursday for that package. I felt more rested earlier, but all the running around and walking Lola has worn me out again, so I'm heading to bed soon. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up with the alarm, did chores and breakfast, then drove over to the group camp and got started on my day of vet scribing. Was just settling in when my friend Sandy arrived, and we had a nice gap between horses when we were able to visit and get caught up before she had to go to a birthday party. It was a very casual day, and there were quite a few differences between this ride and many others I've worked, the most notable being that the horses didn't have numbers, everybody went by their names, so it was a bit more difficult to fit into the system, since they all knew each other, but we managed to make it work. This ride had both endurance and competitive trail riders, which are two quite different sets of protocols, so I asked a lot of questions and learned quite a bit more about the CTR, which is primarily a regional thing that I first came across at Kankakee. The day moved fairly quickly, then mid-afternoon I went back to camp to fill up my water tanks, using the new sillcock key that Sandy delivered to me after I had it delivered to her. It was slow going, and I nearly fell asleep waiting. I finished off my deviled eggs for the potluck tonight, then read for a tiny bit before heading over in time for supper, awards and the riders meeting for tomorrow. I was back at my site by 8:00, took Lola for a walk, fed the horses, and will soon head to bed. I felt exhausted this afternoon, not having a day off in quite awhile is taking it's toll on me. It's particularly frustrating because I can't watch an hour of TV, which always helps me unwind. Can't wait to get my Starlink! Off to bed soon, hope to put a small deposit in my sleep bank tonight, if I can manage to get to bed early enough! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Did not get enough hours of sleep, though I did sleep well in the cooler weather! Managed to get all my chores and breakfast done just in time for Brian's arrival at 9:00, though he arrived in his old Ford truck rather than the ATV that we had planned on. Apparently, he couldn't get it started this morning. So we headed out and started bouncing our way down trails, clearing as best we could. I had grabbed my folding loppers and my mini chainsaw, but was in a bit of a rush, so I forgot to put a battery in it, duh! We worked right through until after 1:00, with the last mile or so just walking, as Brian went back to get the truck and I carried on and met him close to the end of the trail. Exhausting work! But it looked a lot better afterwards, of course. He dropped me off at camp, and I decided that rather than use up the hay in my stall and then have to go searching for more, that I would find hay here and store it under the gooseneck for the duration, which would mean I could leave with a full stock of hay. I found a place on Marketplace, and went to check it out, but it turned out to be goat hay, not fit for my horses. I passed the Barclay Ranch along the way advertising hay, so I pulled in and discovered some nice hay for $6.00, and bales were very heavy! There was an honor tub for payment, so I loaded myself up with eleven bales, left a check, and headed back through Hale, stopping for a couple of groceries and at the hardware store where I bought a sillcock for the water here, but unfortunately, it was the wrong size, so I'll have to order the 4-prong one from Amazon and return this one. Was exhausted by the time I got back. I feel like I'm walking through a fog! I let the horses out on their anchors for awhile, had veggies and bacon for dinner, barely finished off last night's House episode on my tablet, which seems to do better on a weak signal than my TV, which was never able to pull it in, and finally got online long enough to order a Starlink Mini. I've been talking about this for years, and with the terrible cell service throughout Michigan, I decided I've had enough struggling with it. I spend so much time on the computer or watching TV, it's just ridiculous I have let myself struggle so long. Having it sent to my friend Sandy's, hope it gets here in a reasonable amount of time. The website says 2-3 weeks, but I suspect it will be here sooner, I hope! Anyway, I'm a dish of ice cream and a Spanish lesson (I just passed 1500 consecutive days!) away from shower and bed. Good night, baby! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hiya Babe!
It was 11:30 by the time the mechanic finished up last night, so even with a quick shower, it was after midnight before I was finally got to bed, even later when I got to sleep. Woke up even before my alarm, before 6:00, do I didn't even get much more than five hours of sleep. Packed up and was on the way out of the rest area by 7:15, and had a much welcome uneventful drive to South Branch, stopping once for fuel (diesel down to $4.83 at Marathon), and arriving around 11:00. I was very glad that I looked back at my diary from 2013, because I was able to pinpoint exactly which site we stayed in, and why. I even mentioned the site number, #7, and we stayed there because there's a pump house right across the street, even though it only has a stupid spring spigot with no threads, so essentially useless without major modifications. Thank goodness I've learned a few tricks since then! Later on I took a look behind the well and found another spigot with threads, but it needs a special key, which I actually have somewhere, but I searched high and low and never could find it. Discovered I can buy one at the local hardware store, so I'll be making a trip down there before long! Meanwhile, I put the horses on anchors and got all set up, later putting up a fenced paddock for when I can't keep an eye on them. Right next to me I ran into another MTRA gal that I met on the Shore to Shore ride a few years ago, and she was camping with another two gals (no horses this trip), and in the evening, we ended up playing some euchre together, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Haven't played cards with other humans in a long time! My partner said she hadn't played in years, but it came back to her in spades, because we ended up winning both games against the other gals. I ordered a new tire to be delivered to a shop in Tawas, put up my portable rain barrel and caught a little rain when some showers came through (very little, though) made arrangements for trail clearing with Brian tomorrow and possible trail marking on Thursday and Friday, and generally spent the afternoon keeping busy, though I probably should have taken a nap. One thing for sure, I'll sleep tonight! Temps are going down to the low 50's, just perfect for a good night sleep! Not to mention, finally cold enough to enjoy a hot cup of Sleepytime tea! Tried to watch an episode of House, but the cell signal is pretty weak, so I only got halfway through it before quit, so off to shower and bed! Another early morning (though not quite as early!) and a busy day ahead! Good night, Sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
What a day, and not in a good way. Woke up bright and early after a decent night sleep, managed to get packed up and even out of the RV dump by 8:30, ahead of schedule. Was very happy that it looked like I was going to arrive by 3:00 or so, which would give me plenty of time to scope out a good site. I deliberately avoid I-94, since that is the worst interstate I've ever been on, and was doing quite well until I was just south of Lansing, when I heard a tire explode. After all that trouble to get new tires a few months ago, I was sure I wouldn't have any tire problems for a good couple of years, so you can imagine my disappointment. I had just passed an exit, so I pulled off of the acceleration lane, which was as far off the road as I could get. When I went out to look at it, imagine my astonishment when I realized that not only did I have a flat tire in the front on the passenger side, but the back wheel was completely gone! All eight lug nuts had snapped, and the brake hub as sitting on the ground, with no wheel in sight. It was no wonder the other tire shredded, since it would have been impossible to carry that much weight on one tire. Grrrr! I tried to call my insurance company for road service and got some woman who could barely speak English and kept asking the same stupid questions, who couldn't send me a text to confirm my location, and on and on. I finally gave up and just started calling around myself. By then, the state troopers arrived and gave me the name of a towing company right at the exit I just passed, and they sound out a gal who thought she was only changing a tire with a spare (which I would have done by the time she got there, if that was the only thing), and she ended up calling her boss, who came out and saw the rest of the problem. We did change the spare out, and managed to limp to a rest area that was just over half a mile farther, thank goodness. Then I had to call around and find someone who could change the hub, or a least put in new lugs, and to get a new wheel and tire. I also go on Facebook and asked for help in case I needed to get the horses safe, but it turned out the rest area had a lot of nice grass and was edged by woods, so as the day dragged on, I decided to just stay here rather than transport the horses somewhere else. I had lots of response to my request, though, nice to know how many horse folks are out there willing to help! I managed to find all that I needed, but not everything was a perfect replacement. The tire guy said he had an aluminum wheel, but turned out he didn't, so now I have on steel wheel (I'll make it my spare once I replace the other tire), and last guy took a long time to find all the stuff he needed. He thought he had the right hub, but didn't, then thought he could change the lugs out, but ended up running around finding the right ones. He didn't get back to the trailer until about 9:30 this evening, and is still working on it as I write this. Fingers crossed he's able to complete the job and I'll be able to get out of here, though I'm already late for my shower and bed, which will make getting up at the crack of dawn (which I did this morning) all that much harder. But at least I'll be able to make it to South Branch tomorrow, hopefully, though I hate to go that far without a spare. I'll need to order one to match the original ones, and have it sent to someplace near South Branch, though I'll still have one odd brand out. Can't be helped. Anyway, it's been a long, exhausting day, can't wait to take my shower, put in my earplugs, and go to bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin'!
Finally had a wonderful night sleep! Maybe because after the rain it cooled down nicely, maybe because I gave Lola a gabapentin, I don't know, but I went to bed early (though I had to get up once because I heard water running below me, turned out my neighbors used the water spigot very late last night and turn of the valve but not the spigot, and my valves were open, so I was overflowing), but fell asleep pretty thoroughly, even without earplugs! Was up early, since our start time this morning was 9:00, and I was on my way up to the start before 8:45. We started and 9:01 and was finished a little after 10:30, a bit longer than yesterday (we had trouble locating one plate), but still ended up in first place. I decided to join CMO so that I could earn the points, just in case I decide to do some more. They are rather fun, and it was an excellent socializing event for Flash, who was even better behaved today, changing from last to mid-pack to first several times during the ride. He was less frantic and more cooperative, finally figuring out he didn't need to outrun everyone, because we were going to stop and hang out occasionally. And he really enjoyed going fast in the woods! So it was a lot of fun. Meanwhile, I managed to get two loads of laundry done, some housekeeping, I pressure washed the truck's water tank (since water at South Branch may be problematic, I still haven't discovered if there is a spigot or hand pump there, only that I can't get into the group area until Thursday), filled all my tanks (not that I want to drag an extra half ton or water with me, I just don't know what the water situation is!), did most of my packing and got the truck hooked up, so I should be ready to go pretty early tomorrow, which I'll need since it's over 325 miles of driving tomorrow. Wore myself out today, though, so another early night, and hopefully another good night sleep, and seven hours of driving is going to feel like a day off! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a terrible night's sleep, Lola was restless the whole night, and even putting in earplugs didn't help. Then the AC kicked on a few times, and it was generally just a bad night, only got a few fitful hours at best. After chores and breakfast, walked up to the rider's meeting, was assigned to a team of three ladies I met yesterday, Pam, Becky and Stacy, otherwise knows as the Stay Calm, Ride On team, walked back and saddled up Flash and was back down and ready to go by the time they finished tacking up. Got our maps and headed out. These gals like to move out and Flash was raring to go! I started out in the back, then moved up to third in the line because Flash was going faster than Pam at the back. We found every plate, and during the last mile or so, Flash took the lead and we made some great time back to camp! We came crossed the finish line in 1:29:05, having found all 10 paper plates, and took first place once all the teams came in. Flash really enjoyed moving out with the other horses, and he was a tiny bit calmer today than yesterday, so I think he's starting to figure it out and is going along with it. At the very end of the trail, I ran into two ladies I met at Kankakee, so as soon as I was done checking in, I circled back and chatted with them for a bit. Finally got back to camp, hosed Flash down, and relaxed in my recliner, tried to read but ended up falling asleep. No surprise there. Eventually watch some TV while a tremendous rainstorm came through, a delicious cool front that's going to make temps down in the low 60's overnight! Yay! Linda had bought me some eggs, which I picked up on my way back to the camper, and started making deviled eggs, as promised. Headed up to the pot luck just before six, sat next to Cathy Weeks, another Florida full-time horse camper that I'm sure I'll hook up with again somewhere along the line. Got back around 7:30, fed the horses, took Lola for a walk, watched one more House episode and am ready for bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!