Pix to come!

Hiya Babe,
I ran the generator much later than I normally would, just to run the AC until I went to bed. Even then the outside temp was still 80+. Not comfortable! It was okay after my shower for awhile, until the cooler air eventually dissipated, leaving a pretty hot and steamy rest of the night. To try to make it a bit easier today, I booked a float down the Tippecanoe River, and for three glorious hours, I paddled quietly in some lovely cool water in a tube. Of course, once I got back to camp, I had to deal with the heat again, but there was a decent breeze, so at least it was tolerable, though it got bad in the peak of the heat in late afternoon. Once again, I'm running the AC until I go to bed, and I'm on my last tank of propane, so a trip to Tractor Supply tomorrow is a must! The forecast for the rest of the week isn't any better, with mid-90's and a heat index as high as 109! Really should be farther north, won't make the same mistake again! Already took a shower this afternoon, and will be taking another one before I'm going to bed. Starting to wonder if I can find someplace with AC that will take dogs where I can hang out, but don't really want to leave the horses all day either. May just have to bite the bullet and run the generator most of the day, but it's been overheating and turning itself off when it gets too warm, so that may not be a viable solution. I considered moving, but with July 4th weekend coming up, everything with electric is booked, so I'm just going to have to grin and bear it! Yet another challenge of living on the road! The good still far outweighs the bad, so no complaints! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
My morning habit seems to be waking up around 5:00, reading, then falling asleep until about 8:30, which seems to suit me just fine at the moment. Today was a very hot day, and frankly, if I had seen the forecast before booking another week here, I may have changed my mind and gone someplace with electric. Instead, I'm just expecting to make it up with using more propane than usual to run my AC when necessary. It was too hot today to do just about anything! I did manage a couple of loads of laundry done today, but that was about it! I mostly read and watched TV, had a few problems with my generator overheating, but managed to make it work, made arrangements to tube down the Tippecanoe River tomorrow, figuring at least I'll be cooler on the water, since tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. Poor Lola was panting like a fiend, so I finally broke down and got out her dog pool, and once she saw it filled up, she laid it in for quite a while, then came in and blessedly slept for several hours. I also put an ice pack on her to help as well, and put some ice cubes in a bandana around my neck for me. Still, it's unbearably hot, which is why I usually get above the 42nd parallel by this time of year! My mistake this year! It was so lovely last week, I had high hopes, but they've been dashed. Too hot to even ride, and more on the way. Oh, well, we have to take the good with the bad! I finally managed to get the AC running in hopes of blowing out the hot air before bed, not sure it will work, but I'm definitely burning more propane than usual, but I don't care! Tractor Supply is only 15 minutes away, and this is me, not worrying about using an extra tank or two or three a month to try to be comfortable. Something weird happened last night with my phone though, it inadvertently sent out an SOS, which I discovered happens when the power button is pushed five times in a row. Not that I did that on purpose, but I was having problems with my charger on the phone. So I got a couple of text this morning from folks that were notified, even though they weren't on my emergency contact list, so I updated that, and learned something important! Now I know! Anyway, a long, boring day, heading for a cold shower and hopefully a good night sleep, if I don't sweat to death in the process. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
I had hoped to take Apollo for a short ride today, but the weather forecast was for rain most of the day, which never actually materialized, so I spent the day getting caught up on a lot of little chores. I finally put the right taillight on the truck, it's been needing to be replaced for a long time, and I've been carrying around the new pair for ages, so I finally got that done. I also did a few inside jobs, like hanging some photos and trying to fix some hooks and things. Took Lola for three walks today, but mostly just hung out waiting for it to rain, which it never really did. Did some planning for the next couple of months, seriously considering just staying in the Indiana area rather than go all the way east, figured I would save over 1000 miles of driving that way, but it depends on a few things that I need to hear back on before I decide for sure. Feels like so much is in flux right now! I guess you could call that freedom, since nothing is carved in stone! Read, watched TV, not much else to share! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Woke up a bit early but slept again afterward, got up and did my chores, did some research on gas regulators, only to discover later that it may not be a problem after all. Took Lola for several walks today. I had fully planned to ride today, but then I found some hay not too far away, 80% grass, 20% alfalfa, so I headed over there to pick up enough to last me the next two weeks. By the time I got back and got everything stored, there were a lot of clouds around (in fact, I ran into a little sprinkle on my way back, but fortunately everything dried out before I got back to camp), so I decided not to ride. Had a leisurely afternoon readying and doing some research on the computer, especially learning about Peru, watched a few episodes of my latest binge, now I'm ready for bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, though it rained most of the night, and it was a lake around me in the morning! Called for Wellies for sure! Very glad I moved onto the gravel, which made it much easier getting out this morning. I had breakfast, took Lola for a walk (she seems to be doing well!), finished packing up before loading up the horses, and was heading out of camp by 10:30. I surprised myself and was able to get out of the gate in one pass! I thought I would have to back up a time or two, but I swung wide enough to make it the first time. I had an uneventful drive, although it was interesting. Even though it was pretty much a straight shot east with only a few turns, the road itself kept changing. It was everything from a well-lined, well-shouldered, cats eye road to something so narrow with no markers, it would barely qualify as a farm road, though they were always paved. Fascinating! Arrived safely, and when I checked in at the gate and asked about packages, the woman there was already aware and told me there was one at the office, so I stopped by and picked that up. Got into my campsite very easily (naturally, the campground was empty and there was nobody watching!), and got settled in pretty quickly. My first order of business, even before getting the horses out, was to get out their anchors and replace the old twisted rope with the new braided rope that was in my package. A much better rope! Softer and better built, and it didn't take me long to get the anchors fixed up and the horses out grazing on the grass. Last time I was here, I put up a fence around the whole site, but this time I'm just going to put them on anchors while I'm here. Of course, there's the requisite metal hitch rail, which I'm ignoring, and I put up a highline between a couple of trees for nighttime use. I got out a bunch of hoses so I could reach the spigot across the road, and it took a lot of joints to do it, so I got online and ordered a 100' Zero G hose so I can get rid of all that. Supposed to be here tomorrow, which would be great! Got everything else set up, then settled down to braid some baling twine. The last bunch of hay I bought had a lovely teal colored twine, so I've been cutting it near the knots so I can braid a few more of them. It's amazing how I always seem to have some use for them! Once evening hit, I took Lola for a walk around the campground loop, which turns out to be half a mile, and she did magnificently. Settled down for the evening, binged on a few more Being Ericas, and am ready for shower and bed! I didn't get any laundry done today, I figured it was too late to start them by the time the clouds cleared, but tomorrow is supposed to be a lovely, clear day, so that's my first chore in the morning. Then I'm planning on getting a ride in, then we'll see what else! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up early with the premise of starting my work day at 8:00, but some of the 50 milers were going so fast, they came in at 7:36, and Robin came looking for me just as I was finishing brushing my teeth. When I quickly made my way over to the pulse box, I soon realized that of the two clocks they were using, one was on Eastern and one was on Central, and they had been using Eastern, which would have made it look like I was late, when in fact, I was early. Whatever, it didn't matter, and I went to work. The day passed quickly at a nice steady pace, adding a couple of walks in between. One of the other pulse timers offered to put a special kind of K-tape on Lola's leg to secure her torn ACL, so she came over at the end of the day to do that for me. Then it was potluck dinner and awards, followed by another walk with Lola, and a camper tour for our neighbors Mary and Margaret. It was a busy day, so soon off to bed, because everyone is fretting over the forecast of rain tomorrow. They're suggesting I pack up and move over on to gravel before days end tomorrow, though I don't relish the idea of have to make yet ANOTHER move this week! I'm waiting until the forecast and actual data for tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm exhausted, heading to shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had an excellent night sleep, thanks to a very quiet and cooperative Lola-girl! I think moving her bed to the bottom of the stairs did the trick, I hope! We'll see how it goes tonight. She was a bit strange today, I put her on the cable and she crawled under the camper and stayed there for literally hours. She didn't move the whole time I was out working. Had a busy day, lots going on with dozens of trailers coming in during the day. I was all set to go out and work on trails, but then Robin decided to take me along to put out water troughs, which was fine, because Deb had her two sisters come in to help on the trail, and the UTV would have been too crowded. We put up tents and canopies, set out the awards, particularly some five gallon water jugs, which everyone seems to love, and generally kept busy all day. One driver went a bit too close to the treeline and ended getting stuck, so we spent some time dragging her out of there. We had her truck, then Robin tried to pull her out, but that didn't work, then I hooked up in front of her and that didn't work, until we disconnected the trailer. The truck came out easily, then we had to drag the trailer out far enough to hook up on dry land, and my truck seemed best suited, so we did that. Probably took about an hour all told to get that job done, but it was a nice break in the day! Reminded me of my old wrecker days! I finally got Lola out from under the trailer and took her for a walk. Helped a bit getting the volunteer dinner ready, pigged out on that, sat through the rider meeting, took Lola for a walk, did her PT and red light treatment, now I'm ready for shower and bed! I'm a bit afraid since Lola rested all day that she's going to be restless again tonight, but we'll see! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Lola was restless like crazy last night, so my sleep was constantly being interrupted, sorry to say. Still haven't figured out what makes her sleep through the night sometimes, and not at other times. It's almost like when I give her the pills, sometimes they actually make her worse! Last thing I need are sedatives that make her anxious! Decided to cut back her dose this morning just to see what happens. She seemed fine all day, although she was still barking for no apparent reason. Sigh. Anyway, finally met the ride managers today, first Deb, who had to tell me that I was parked in the crew area and would have to move, darn it, and later Robin. I helped put up Deb's popup camper, and unloaded some stuff from her truck and trailer, then went about moving my trailer, which was a bit tricky. The ground is still a bit soft and slippery, and though I managed to pull up on the gravel, I then backed a good ways into the field before doing a circle around to the position I wanted. Then I wanted to back up a bit closer to the treeline, and didn't get far before my tires started slipping, but at least I was far enough off the road in. It took about an hour or more to get everything moved. I put the horses on their anchors, though I tied them off to a tree, and moved their highline to another set of trees that will work just fine. I'm hoping it won't get too breezy, since I'm now broadside to the prevailing winds, but the stairs do fit better now. Getting out will be interesting, since it's supposed to rain on Sunday afternoon, and the turn is too sharp and the bumps a bit too big, which means I may be scraping bottom, etc. Not the ideal situation, unfortunately. The biggest problem is that I had to leave my rain barrel in place, no way I was going to empty that with no way of filling it back up again. Fortunately, it's not too far away from the horses' new highline position, so it's just a matter of me having to transfer some water by hand as needed. Helped Robin put up a fence along the road for security, using her posts and my fence charger, which was great because it meant I didn't have to move all my hoses to get to my fence posts. Finally settled down to a steak dinner, watch the series finale of my Drop Dead Diva binge, then joined Robin and my neighbors for a little group socializing before coming home, doing dishes, and now I'm ready for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Had a decent night sleep, only got woken up once by Lola barking, but she settled down and I was able to get back to sleep. The rain came in around 10:00 in the morning, and I was glad I put my portable rain barrel together yesterday. I positioned the awning so all of the rain would drain to one corner, put the rain barrel and another storage box at that corner, and it didn't take long for the rain barrel to be filled! In fact, I didn't realize I had left one of the spigots open, about halfway up, but when I saw it draining and closed it off, it continued to fill all the way to the top. That's about 50 gallons! Then I used a small bucket to transfer enough to fill the horses buckets, and then it rained again and filled it almost to the brim again! So I don't have to worry about water anymore, very happy about that! Did not relish the idea of either using the hand pump or having to take another trip to fill up my truck tank, which still has over 60 gallons in it, so I'm good to go. Spent the day reading, on the computer, or watching TV, a nice, relaxing day. By the late afternoon, the sun came out, mist was forming in the field, and it turned into a beautiful evening. Bodes well for the rest of the week! Ready for bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Well, today was full of surprises, both good and bad! The first surprise was climbing out of the bedroom and discovering that Lola had managed to get herself into my recliner! That's her favorit spot to sleep, and I was thrilled that she was able to accomplish it. It didn't take too long to get breakfast and finish packing up (and I slept late, thanks to a quiet Lola!), but there was no hurry, we only had to move 80 miles or so. Left the site shortly after 10:00, stopping at their marvelous RV dump just at the entrance, and was leaving there before 10:30. It took about 20 minutes to get to the freeway, but after that it was clear sailing. The next pleasant surprise was that I was looking for fuel, and a few placed had really come down on price. I remembered reading that some kind of truce or treaty was supposed to be signed with Iraq and the Hormuz Strait was to be reopened to all, so I imagine that has something to do with it. That made me look up my investment portfolio, and sure enough, we were at more record highs! I tried to stop at a Casey's before getting on the freeway, but it wasn't easy to get into, so I skipped it. As I was driving along, I still had enough fuel, but I didn't want to cut it too close (nothing worse than running out of diesel, so much trouble to fix that!), but then I noticed I was coming up on something that looked an awful lot like a Buc-cee's! Countless aisles of pumps and plenty of room to get around, so I quick pulled off to check it out. Price was $4.69, just about the cheapest I've seen, and I had no problem pulling straight into an aisle. It was called Wally's, and it barely showed up as a blip on GasBuddy, which rather annoyed me, but at least I saw it in time! The rest of the trip went fine, I came in the back way just because the freeway had suddenly gotten really bumpy and I figured the back roads would be better. They were fine, and I arrived at the camp where I got a few more surprises. The parking area was tiny, the gate into the camping area was tiny, there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to get into any of the gravel sites, or even make it around the loop! There were a couple of women there I chatted with, and they were just leaving, so I was able to use part of the space they occupied to turn around in a way that would let me back into an open space on the lawn, that looks like I won't have any trouble getting out again, as long as it doesn't rain too much! There were a couple of trees where I put up a nice long highline, though they have to stupid metal hitchrails here, which I'm no way, no how using. Then I had my next surprise, and not a very nice one. The water supply here comes from a hand pump, and according to the ladies, not a very good one! I was sure I had been told there was a spigot here, but then again, that was from someone in the office, which, as we know from long experience, is typical. They have no idea what's out here. So, since I was under the delusion there was a spigot here, I didn't fill up my water before I left, which I could have easily done had I known. Anyway, I had enough in my tank to half fill a couple of buckets for the horses, so I got them situated on the highline and mostly set up before I headed out to the nearest Walmart about 20 minutes away. I stopped at a couple of places hoping I could find some rope to replace the fraying ones on the anchors, but Ace didn't have any 1/2" cotton, and Tractor Supply wanted $2.29 a foot! That's crazy, over $200 for 100 feet of rope! I asked at the counter if it was by foot or by yard, and he said foot, but I could hardly believe that. I looked it up on Amazon and found 50 feet of the same stuff for less than $20! So I'll wait until I have an address, probably next week, and have it sent. BTW, my package that was sent to Joyce is still stuck at the Indy distribution center, even after it was sidelined to Fort Wayne. I have no idea what the problem is! After Tractor Supply, I finally got to the Walmart, found their outdoor spigot (next to the fire hydrant), and filled up my water tank. I forgot to bring a hose, so I had to unhook the one from the tank, and getting it back on was not easy, but I finally managed it. Picked up a few things at Walmart and got back to camp before 3:30, transferred water to the camper and to the horses' buckets, and still have about 60 gallons left, which should be enough. I seem to recall the ride manager here telling me that the forest guys will be bringing out a tanker, so if I can get them to water the horses (or fill up my tank again), I shouldn't need to make a second trip into town. Anyway, finally settled down to a light dinner (I better lose some weight tomorrow!!), but even though I have two bars of signal here, I couldn't get any streaming services on any of my devices. Not happy about that! Seriously looking into Starlink again, I'm getting tired of having slow or nonexistent service, even if I have to pay more for it. Grrr! I was really looking forward to some new TV after a week of nothing! Nevermind, I'm still living the dream! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!