Hi Darlin’,
Couldn’t get to sleep yesterday, probably too much rest during the day! So I read late, and woke up at the usual time, so not really enough sleep. It was foggy and cloudy and wet, so I decided to do my laundry and use the dryer rather than hang things on the line, since water next week is going to be at least as much of a problem at the next place as it is here. I had to transfer water from the truck tank as it was, which required me dropping the front end down to the bottom of the jacks and raising the truck height by pulling it onto the Jiffy Jack. I used more propane than I would have liked, but I had three full tanks, and only had to switch over about halfway through the second wash, so I’m not worried. I’ve decided not to sweat using propane, after all, it’s a lot cheaper than paying for the electric in a house! Meanwhile, I worked on my computer for quite a bit, putting together some mapping ideas for McClellan like I promised. It finally cleared up around 1:30 and turned into a beautiful afternoon, so I decided I still had time to take Flash for a ride. It’s been awhile since he’s been ridden, and he was full of beans, which was compounded by the fact that the trail I took essentially looped a mile around the field across from the campsite, so Apollo was whinnying the whole time, and Flash was answering, and dancing like he wanted to go back, but eventually we got out of range once we got in the woods and started climbing. I had a map, and I’d made a GPS route and downloaded it, thank goodness, because there isn’t a single trail marker out here! Not at the trailhead, or intersections or anywhere! How crazy is that? I managed to find my way around, but I’m sure I missed a couple of corners, and if I didn’t have my GPS route programmed, I’m sure it would have been much worse. Anyway, we managed to cover about two-thirds of the trails out here, seven plus miles so far, which we did in barely two hours. I’m thinking I’ll take Apollo tomorrow, since there’s only about four miles left. Lola enjoyed herself, and so did Flash and I, it was great to be back on the trail again! Very little stone, thank goodness, but with all the rain, it was a bit muddy in a few spots, and Flash slipped on the wet leaves a few time, but nothing serious. When I had come out to saddle him, I discovered I had a neighbor move in a few sites down, a woman names Marin, and (I guess) her husband. They took a ride after I left, and got back before I did. They had put up a portable fence for their horses. I stopped by to say hello and we chatted a bit. I told her my reasons for not putting up my fence (Apollo, the escape artist, would have no problem pulling out fenceposts in the soft ground here), and she asked me if I ever thought about putting them on the field. Turns out, she’s the one the ranger was talking about that lets her horses out, so we agreed to give it a try together. She said hers don’t go that far, and I figured they wouldn’t get too far apart from each other, what with horses being a herding animal, so after I unsaddled Flash I let them both loose. A few minutes later, she let hers out and they came galloping across the field straight for my two, and they all did a little friendly dance together for a few minutes, then settled down to graze in their original pairs, about fifty feet separating them. They all looked great together! About an hour later, she called hers in for dinner, and all four of them came into my site. I grabbed my two and hooked them to their highline, and her two went off to her camp, just like all good little horses should! Like a bunch of big, well-behaved dogs! So I fed them, then settled down for the evening as the sun set over the river. A lovely day, with another one scheduled for tomorrow. Good to be someplace quiet and away from a busy road! But now it’s bedtime, so I’m off to the shower. Tonight I drank some sleepytime tea, so I’m hoping to sleep through the night for a change. Good night, babe! Love you!
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