Thursday, April 13, 2017 – First Ride Day at Colt Creek State Park

After a pretty good night sleep and a leisurely breakfast, Hubby and I saddled up and headed out on the trail, heading to a lake in the north section of the Hampton Tract of the East side of the Green Swamp Wilderness that the ranger had told us about when we first signed in. We took Lola with us, but decided to leave Billy home, as it was quite hot out, and the trip was going to be at least eight miles, and we thought that might be too much for him. The trail was more like a forest road, and at times, a dirt/sand road suitable for vehicles. It started out nicely in the woods, then opened up into a long stretch in the hot sun, before turning into the woods again for a bit. We started out slow, then started some trots and canters. Unfortunately after the second trot, Hubby felt a tightening in his chest that he said felt like he did when he was taking a chemical stress test at the doctor's last year, so we had to slow down after that. We reached the lake hoping to get the horses down for a drink, but the sides were too steep. We stopped at an overlook for a picture, and just as we were turning away, we heard a big splash, the kind a large alligator might make when getting into the water, so we were kind of glad we hadn't found a way down to the lake! As we headed back south again, we passed a small pond, and I noticed a little baby alligator near the shore about a foot long. After further inspection, I noticed half a dozen little alligators hanging around the pond, a regular little gator nursery! Knowing that mother wasn't probably too far away, we scooted on down the road. We tried the occasion trot and canter, just short ones, and Hubby felt mostly fine for the rest of the trip, with only a couple of minor problems along the way. As it got more into the heat of the day, Lola was rubbing her hot back on every patch of cool grass she could find, and toward the end, she was literally running from one shady patch to another. I stopped once and poured a bottle of water over her, which she really appreciated. We arrived back in camp around 4:00, grateful for another great day on the trail, and to be back on the road again, looking forward to all our new future adventures! Spend an hour with our neighbors again before settling down for the evening.