After a VERY leisurely morning, plus a couple of conversations with the local park volunteers, we finally got the horses saddled up and headed out just before 1:00. We headed out on the Red Trail, taking the longest possible path since we wanted to make the ride last and the park is so small, but we did make it pretty long in the end. We swerved around on the Red, then crossed the road over to the west side of the park, following the White Trail. Very well-maintained trails, which is a really nice change after our last two parks, and lots of variations despite the size of the park. The white trail took us all the way around to the dam, all the while we could hear a marching band practicing. We learned later there was a high school right across the railroad tracks, they were obviously either having a band camp, a freshman orientation or maybe even getting ready for the fall season. Most people don’t realize that the band often actually spends more time practicing than the football teams, weeks and even months earlier (as a former high school musician, I know of what I speak!). The return trip, along the river in what truly seemed like a tropical jungle (and the heat and humidity enhanced the same experience!), was really special. The trail was only a little bit muddy in places, they’ve really done a nice job with them. They have put some pea gravel down in some areas, which Apollo kept trying to avoid, thereby pushing me into the bushes and thorns along the way, but it’s hard to convince trail-makers that sometimes occasional mud is better than constant gravel on a horse, but then again, after our awful experience with mud in KY and earlier in OH, it’s a bit hard to even convince myself of that at the moment! Anyway, it was a very nice ride lasting several hours, just right for our last Sunday. Later in the day, just before we were getting ready to feed the horses, I noted some very gray clouds coming in and hustled Hubby to go out and put the drying saddle blankets away and close the tack room door. Moments after he finished doing that, we were inundated with HUGE raindrops that almost looked like sleet! Fortunately the horses were tucked away under a tree, so they just cuddled up with their tails to the wind and waited. Frankly, I was glad to get the rain, I hope it cools things off. The hay is well covered, so all is as right with the world as can be! Once the rain passed, we fed the horses and carried on with our usual evening routine, the plan is to get to bed early as we have a long drive to Michigan (State # 40!) tomorrow.
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