Hiya Babe,
I had every intention of going riding today, but when I started moving around today, my back was in serious pain. Even taking three Tylenols didn’t touch it. I must have twisted it somehow in the last couple of days. It’s the kind of pain that isn’t too bad unless you sneeze or twist just the wrong way, then it completely spasms. Since I couldn’t ride, I decided to try to clean out the water tank in the truck, it had a lot of algae in it and considering I’ve been using that for the horses, and once for me, I decided it needed to be done. I don’t have a working pressure washer anymore, so I had to do the best I could with just a regular hose nozzle. I moved down to a spigot that didn’t leak so I could get maximum pressure, and rinsed it out as best I could before filling it up again. Moving as slow as I was, it took me till past noon before I finished that, plus putting a bit more in the trailer to get me through my departure on Thursday morning. Spent the rest of the afternoon in my outdoor gravity chair, which is the most comfortable for that kind of back pain, and read practically an entire book, though I did doze off occasionally. I got a call from a gal named Julie who heard I was looking for someone to ride with, she’s going to pick Flash and me up in the morning and take me to some of the trail over on Starr Mountain. Looking forward to that! Hoping all this rest today has done me some good, but I’ll definitely be taking some Tylenol in the morning, just as a precaution. Started on my next series binge, the old Big Valley series, which I remember I always liked as a kid, and of course, it’s got lots of horses in it, so there’s that! Done with my day! Shower and bed next! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!
Monday, May 8, 2023 – Rainy Day
Hey Darlin’,
Had a lot of rain overnight and into the morning, and a lot in the afternoon, too, until it finally cleared up and I was able to get my solar panel in the sun for a couple of hours. Spend most of the morning just working on applying for my union pension, managed to get most of it done, though it seems one page has to be notarized, so now I’ll have to find someplace local where I can do that. So a relaxing day, didn’t do much. Had a little ache in my hip, maybe from some sleeping position or something, so it felt good to rest it. Watched a good movie, and finished off the final few episodes of Remington Steele, going to be looking for a new series now. So, a relatively lazy day! I put Apollo out on an anchor for a bit, had to go looking for a lost anchor that came off his rope, but it was pretty easy to follow the drag marks in the dirt and grass until I found it. Nice change for him. That’s about all there was today, pretty quiet! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Sunday, May 7, 2023 – Catching Up with An Old Friend
Hiya Sweetie!
I made plans to me our old friend Michele today, she’s driving up from Atlanta back to Monteagle and we decided to meet for brunch, though that turned out to be lunch as she was late getting started. Her aunt Joyce, who you worked with in Cincinnati all those years ago, passed away unexpectedly a few days ago, and they had the memorial today down there. After breakfast and chores, though, I decided to try to solve a water leak issue. Whenever I’ve got the pump on the fresh water tank, it’s been running every few minutes, which, of course, told me there was a leak somewhere, and I search for it a couple of times, looking for puddles under every plumbing joint in the trailer, but couldn’t find anything. Then the other day I finally pinpointed it to the outside spigot, which was good news inasmuch as I didn’t have to worry about floors or walls rotting through, which was my biggest concern. I decided to spend a little time seeing if I could fix it, so that’s exactly what I did. Didn’t take long, just had to cut a rough edge of the end and replace the clamp with a newer, smaller one, and the pump hasn’t run all day, so I guess it worked! I headed over to the restaurant, which was just five minutes away, just after 1:00, wasn’t sure exactly what time Michele would be there, and she arrived awhile later. Then we chatted and ate (Shepherd’s pie) and chatted some more, then came over to camp and chatted some more while Lola entertained us with her usual fetching game. It was 6:30 by the time she left, and right afterward, I looked up and the sky to the east was pitch black. I pulled the truck over to the water spigot to put some water in the tank, as it was almost empty, but it was running very slowly (this pump has a big leak at the bottom), so I just let it run and came back to the trailer just before the rain started really coming down. By the time the rain was over, the tank was nearly full, so it worked out perfectly. Watched a fun little rom/com shot in Vietnam, now I’m ready for shower and bed! A very pleasant day! Good night, babe! Love you!
Saturday, May 6, 2023 – INCREDIBLE Train Ride on the Hiwassee Line
Hey Baby!
What an incredible adventure today! You would have SO LOVED this trip today! Just five minutes from the Lost Corral campground is the starting point of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Hiwassee line, which goes from Delano to a place called Copper Hill, which is right on the Georgia/Tennessee border. The first half is mostly passing through the gorgeous Cherokee National Forest along the Hiwassee River, pass dams and finally through a few small towns before arriving at Copper Hill. It includes a rare loop around the top of a mountain, the only railroad loop east of the Mississippi, and only one of four in the country. Apparently they originally built it with switchbacks, but that was unworkable, and they went bankrupt. Then it was bought out and they brought in an engineer who figured out how to loop around the mountain so the tracks actually cross over each other on a trestle. Amazing! The whole thing was narrated with the fascinating history of the area, the ride back included some bluegrass banjo, Copper Hill had an abundance of restaurants for the two hour layover, and plenty of gift shops for those prone to shopping. I had lunch at a ritzy joint called the Waterside, which had a beautiful patio overlooking the river, which changes names at that aforementioned border. In fact, the town is divided in half between TN and GA, there’s an actual blue line crossing the main street, and it goes right through a couple of restaurants and the IGA. Whose sales tax you pay depends on which side of the line the cash register sits. No kidding! Government at it’s worst, wouldn’t you say? Anyway, it was an incredible trip, definitely one for the memory book! I was in one of the first class dome cars, so I got a good view of everything, plus free snacks and beverages, and the whole experience was fantastic. Plus I met a bunch of interesting people as well. It was 6:00 by the time I got back to camp, the horses were fine, I had left them with plenty of hay, but I gave them a couple more flakes, did some cleanup, and am settling down for the evening. Great day! Love you, darlin’! Good night!
Friday, May 5, 2023 – Third Ride at Lost Corral, Gee Wilderness
Hey Darlin’!
Another great night sleep, another ride on Flash today. Since there seems to only be one lollipop trail here, we had no choice but to do the same route that we did last time. I had originally thought I might do it backwards, but decided there’s one section where I’m better off going up than down, so I had to do it counterclockwise again. Flash was not happy going over the dang rocks again, though, they’re really bad on the 105 trail. The 104 is better footing and is much prettier, but the elevations changes are incredible. It literally switchbacks down almost 2000 feet on two miles of trail that zigzags half a dozen times down the mountain at grades that reach 28% at times, plus some of it is thrillingly (and heart-stoppingly) close to the edge of a very serious drop. Not for the faint of heart or fearful of heights, that’s for sure! Kind of reminded me of my mule ride in the Grand Canyon, albeit green rather than desert brown. Gorgeous views, but really, the 3-4 miles of rocks at the beginning are a real drawback. Flash was much more reserved in his speed today, pretty much walked almost the entire way, pacing himself, I suppose, since he realized how long it was the other day. It made for a fairly slow ride, but I wasn’t going to push him, just doing these hills after all that Florida flatland is enough to put on some much needed muscle. He’ll get the next couple of days off at least, since I have plans that don’t involve riding. About five miles from camp there’s a gorgeous overlook with a hitching rail, we stopped there for a minute to get some great pictures. We also came across some beautiful mountain laurel in bloom, though I was expecting to see a lot more of it out here. We had tons of it back on our old property, but only a few patches here. Nice to see some, though. Got back around 4:00, just as it was starting to spit with rain, and settled down for the evening. Just have my shower and bed left to do, so I’m off! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Thursday, May 4, 2023 – Second Ride at Lost Corral, Gee Wilderness
Hiya Sweetie!
Had an excellent night, slept later than I should have, but it was a frosty cold 37 degrees at 8:00, so it had to have been even colder before the sun came up! Stayed in bed a bit to keep warm, but eventually crawled out and got the day started. Definitely feeling better with all the sleep I’ve been getting out here! After the usual chores and breakfast, I saddled up Apollo today, and went exploring an old hiking trail by the creek, but didn’t get more than about 100 yards, it was too overgrown, lots of trees down over the trail, and just not suitable for horses anyway, so that was the end of that! Still needing the exercise, we headed up what is the one and only trail out of camp and climbed for awhile, till I felt he had had enough for an old, out of shape guy. Not to mention the trails are so full of gravel and sharp-edged rocks, it was really uncomfortable, even though I put boots on him. Funny thing, I had bought him a new pair of boots because one of his old pair was no good anymore, but then I found a boot out at Dupuis a few months back, and it turns out it’s the perfect mate for the one from the old pair! I used those because the new pair chafed him a lot last time, and I thought these would be better, and they seemed to be. Still, walking on all that rock wasn’t much fun, so we didn’t go very far before we turned around and came back down the mountain. A total of 4.2 miles is all we did, but Lola enjoyed herself, and the scenery was lovely. While I was riding, I decided I was going to move my trailer to a different site, one that was easy to back into and actually got some sun in the afternoon for my solar panel, so when I got back, we rode around to make sure the site was still available, and there was an Amish family there. I asked if they were camping or just having lunch, and they said it was just the latter, and they’d be leaving soon, so I headed back to camp and started getting packed up and hooked and ready to go. It wasn’t long before they left, so I moved everything over gradually, got done about 4:00. Was glad I did it, though, I got several good hours of solar energy, plus I’m not on a downward slope, which had me worried because there’s rain in the forecast and in the old site, the horses were at the bottom of the site and I was afraid with rain it would turn into a swamp down there. Now I’m on higher ground, the horses are more level, though I’m sorry to say that I had to clean up manure before I put the horses in, and I’m not talking about one or two last minute piles, I’m talking about half a day’s worth of manure from several horses. I just can’t understand people who don’t clean up after their horses when they leave a campsite, it’s so unfair! Anyway, I got everything set up again, then settled down for the evening. There was a fire going when the Amish left, so I built it up a little and cooked my chicken thighs on it for a change of pace, rather than use my grill. It’s a lovely evening, warmer temps are coming in with the rain, but I’m still going to put light blankets on the horses tonight, since it will be down in the upper 40’s. That’s it for the day! Good night, baby! Love you!
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 – First Ride at Lost Corral, Gee Wilderness
Hey Babe!
What a beautiful ride we had today! This is the kind of ride I’m talking about! Granted the day started out quite chilly (38 degrees out when I woke up at 6:00 this morning!), but I stayed in bed for while longer to let it warm up, then put on plenty of layers. After chores and breakfast and some time on the computer applying for Medicare and my union pension, I saddle up Flash with all the extra accouterment of tack that we haven’t needed in awhile, like boots and his breast collar, so we can tackle the rocks and mountains that are on the trails here. Lola was restless this morning, and raring to go! We left about 11:30 and sure enough, a long climb was the start of the ride. I had been warned it would be rocky, and it certainly was! We start out on the lower side of the loop, Trail #105, which was mostly a forest road, but eventually it did narrow down to single-track, though an OHV would be able to make it, if allowed. Once we reached the farther north end and picked up Chestnut Mountain Trail #104, it was definitely single track, and a lot steeper, so we climbed to the top much more quickly than going the other way, which was a long gradual climb. These are the kinds of trails I love, where there’s a steep cliff of beautiful rock on one side and a steep slope down into the holler on the other. The wilderness west side was much narrower and closer to the edge, so quite invigoration! Despite the hills, rocks and boots, Flash still insisted on doing his level best to go as fast as possible, even slipping once to his knees, though he was right back up and no worse for the wear. He leapt over logs, one time catching me so off-guard I got a bit unbalanced, but made it through okay. One of his boots kept coming off, unfortunately, though not too surprising, they’re certainly stiff after have not been used for awhile, but they softened as the day went on, which is why one kept coming off. I always heard it, so we never got far before I stopped, but the last time it happened, just about a mile before we reached camp, I heard it come off, then I heard the crackling of dried leaves and realized the darn thing had started rolling down the hill! I watched it go, hoping it would stop, and thank goodness, it finally banked against a tree about 50 steep feet away. I had to tie up Flash and go fetch it, and it was quite the challenge to get back up again! I managed it though, but Lola was worried for a minute, she tried to follow me down and almost got stuck herself. Got back to camp shortly after that, and came across a guy backing up a horse trailer into a site a couple of doors down from me, about as slow as I was since the sites are a little tricky for a long trailer. Unfortunately, as soon as he was set up he started blaring his radio. Not that I minded his selection of music, just that I really like peace and quiet in a camp, but I can’t hear a thing with the windows closed anyway, and considering the temps are dropping fast, it won’t bother me. Had some soup for dinner, watched a little TV, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – Busy Non-Riding Day
Hiya Darlin’!
What a great night of sleep! Was in bed before 10:00, didn’t take long to fall asleep, and woke up around 6:00, so I got my full 8 hours! The intense quiet here was certainly a factor! I’ll be happy to get back in the circadian rhythm of the day and night, rising and setting with the sun. Laid in and read for a bit to give it a little chance to warm up (thermometer in the back of the trailer said 41 degree), but I just put on some layers and it was all good! After breakfast, I arranged to return the brake parts, so I got those all packed up, then headed out. First stop was to drop off the packages, second stop was Tractor Supply for propane and horse feed (they actually carry the hard to find Balance!), then Walmart for a few essentials, then off to a haymaker named Tim Adams, where I bought 13 bales of hay. First time I’ve ever paid $10 for TN hay, but that’s what I’ve been paying in Florida, and the horses gotta have it, so that’s all there is to it! Got back and discovered no one had been around to fix the spigot, so that gave me more to do in the afternoon. After putting away the groceries, I then had to pull the slide in so I could back the truck up, off-loaded 8 bales into the front stall, leaving four in the truck and one I mixed with some of the old stuff and gave to the horses. Then I had to gather up some hoses and got to another spigot so I could fill up the tank. The first spigot I went to leaked like a sieve, so I ended up going to another one. Even though that one didn’t leak, it still took a long time to fill up the tank. Didn’t have enough pressure to clean the tank, and it is kind of nasty, so I made sure to put a bleach tab in my fresh water tank when I was filling it up. Good thing I don’t drink that stuff! But at least I have enough left for the horses for a few days. That all took until nearly 5:00. Cut a few stems off my mosquito plant and stuck them in a pot. I’m trying to keep it more like a bush, but it keeps wanting to grow tall like a tomato plant. Not that I’m worried about mosquitoes in these temps! Cold forecast again tonight, and even colder tomorrow night! Horses are back in their winter blankest, of course. Watched a good Helen Mirren movie, just have tea and Spanish lesson left, and it’s shower and bedtime for me! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Monday, May 1, 2023 – Travel Day to Lost Corral, Cherokee National Forest
Hi Sweetie!
Up before dawn this morning, quick breakfast, finished packing up, loaded the horses, and was on my way a bit after 7:00. Through the Ag Checkpoint at 7:15, the rest was clear sailing except for a couple of slowdowns around Atlanta, the usual. Found diesel at a growing chain called QT, they’re giving Flying J and Pilot a run for their money, finally. Ever since those two merged, their prices have gone way up. They’re typically 60 cents more a gallon than everyone else, but the QT was just $3.39, best price I’ve seen in a long time. A little tricky getting into the aisles, and there’s a big truck section in the back, but the line was a mile long! Only stop I had to make, though, and the rest was super easy. Got off the freeway onto US 411 which was a perfectly serviceable road with hardly any hills, and, of course, the road surface was fantastic as soon as I hit the TN line, as always! TN had the best roads! Was delighted that I arrived at 2:30, plenty of time to get set up. Took me nearly an hour, though, to find a good spot and get into it. I wasted about half that trying to swing into a pull-through, but it just wasn’t level enough, so I ended up moving to a back-in, which was just wide enough to get in. I parked near a spigot, which, after I got all set up, discovered wasn’t working, so I called the Forest Service, they said they’d send someone out in the morning. Thank goodness I filled my truck’s water tank half full yesterday! Had to fiddle with the jacks, though, put the generator on to get enough voltage to it. There’s still a problem with the electrical system on this trailer, but it will take a real electrician to figure it out. The battery has never charged when the truck is plugged in like it should, and I don’t think both batteries are getting to various power points, but that’s another project, and I’ve been working around it all this time, no need to worry about it now! Finished setting up, got the horses settled in and put their winter blankets on, because it’s supposed to get down to 42 degrees tonight, and they’ve barely got their summer coats in! Flash jerked his head up unexpectedly and conked my forehead, now I’m getting a pretty good bump there. Ouch! Anyway, I have every intention of taking a quick shower and going to bed right around dark, and to read rather than watch TV, figure it will be warmer in bed. Going to be tough getting up in the morning with the chill! Just getting used to 50’s at night, not quite ready for 40’s! Daytime will be gorgeous, though, so I’m a very happy camper! Remember, May 1 is my personal independence day, third anniversary this year! Hard to believe! Well, I’m just going to finish my tea, take my shower and crawl into my nice warm bed (with a wool cap on), and recover from this long day! Love you, babe! Good night!
Sunday, April 30, 2023 – Short Ride on Apollo, Got Trailer Moved
Hey Babe,
Another good night sleep, then after breakfast I took Apollo on a short ride just for the exercise. When I got back I mostly finished packing. I wanted to move that trailer on to hard ground, and Deb had asked neighbor Fred to be on hand in case I got stuck. Well, we almost made it! We put the landing pads in all the right places, and moved right off the spot, but then we got our communications off a bit, and I got directed too far off to one side and my trailer tires went into a soft spot (it rained hard again early this morning), and that created a bunch of problems. Eventually, I had to disconnect the trailer and come in at it from a right angle with the truck, plus a little assist with Fred’s 4×4, and managed to get straightened out. Not taking any chances, we went all the way out to the road, then backed up onto the hardest driveway surface just far enough to get off the road. It will be a close call on the turn, but I’m sure I can make it in one or maybe two tries. It took about 90 minutes to accomplish all that, so I’m really glad we did it today so I don’t get stuck tomorrow! I filled the truck water tank about half full so I’ll have some for the horses in case there’s a problem when I get to Lost Corral, and everything is fully charged up. I checked all the fluids in the truck, I did the tires last week, so I think I’m done! I made a discovery with the inverter, too, I actually left the charger on so long that it fully charged the battery and then turned off. I don’t think I’d ever heard it do that before! All the way do to 2 amps! I used to shut if off around 15, but these new batteries are terrific. Fred and his sister Roseanne, who was very entertained by the whole thing, invited me to dinner, which was great! I didn’t have to cook or clean or use up any of the water in the trailer (I put about half a tank in there, too, so I’d be able to pack up the hoses and still take a shower), and it was a delicious meal of smoked pulled pork, beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, and peanut butter cookies for desert. Hmm, mmm, good! Got back, settled down to a fun movie with Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, and will finish off as usual! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!