Monday, July 12, 2010 – Drive Day to Antelope State Park in Salt Lake

Slow drive out of China Meadow, stopped in Evanston to get gas, shop at Wal-Mart, and stop at Murdock’s Farm Store for oats and other horse sundries. Made a few directional errors, stopped again at Wal-mart in Syracuse, Utah to pick up water because I couldn’t remember the specifics about if there was potable water for us near the campsite. Good thing, too, because it turned out there wasn’t. We arrived about 4:30, later than we had anticipated, but we paid and got in easily enough. I asked about water for the horses at the gate, and the attendant said she would check with maintenance. We arrived at the equestrian site, which is an open area next to White Rock Bay. Actually, the entire island is an open area, with hills and trails allowing for spectacular views from every angle. We unloaded the horses and got them into the pipe corrals, fed them, then waited for the water truck to arrive, as there is no running water anywhere. He arrived in short order (thankfully, as it was over 90 degrees, plus direct sunlight), and we filled up all of our tubs plus two huge metal troughs, plenty to get us through Wednesday morning. One of the big tubs had a small leak, so I opted to use that for other purposes, beginning with dunking the dogs, as they couldn’t seem to stop panting. They really appreciated it. Fixed a quick meal, watched a beautiful sunset, and went to be early, planning on taking an early morning ride, before it gets too hot, as they’re calling for another 93 degree day.