Hi Sweetie!
Had a great night sleep (with earplugs tonight!), got chores and breakfast done, and since I had already decided to try the new Ridge Trail here, and the poker run was along the Ridge trail, I decided to put up my five dollars and play a hand. Then I discovered that, unlike most poker runs where the cards are out along the trail, this was all done in the pavilion before even going out on the ride! I guess they didn’t have enough volunteers or something, but I didn’t have much of a hand anyway, so then it just became about the ride. It was only about six miles round trip, so off Apollo and I went. It was a nice ride, the new trail is still a bit rough in spots, some trees were down, and several times I stopped to pull small but annoying stuff out of the way. I ran into a lot of other groups, and joined one group for awhile, had some nice chats along the way. Got back to camp and relaxed in the afternoon (so glad I did my cooking yesterday!), then headed toward the pavilion, stopping at Paul’s trailer right behind me. He introduced me to a couple of ladies there, and when we got talking, they promptly wanted to buy a couple of books from me, which I was happy to sell them. Finally got up to the pavilion, where we had a nice dinner, though I have a LOT of leftover macaroni salad left over, darn it! No deviled eggs, though, there are never any of those leftover. So I’ll be eating macaroni salad for the rest of the week, I’m afraid. I had decided to buy some of the 50/50 raffle tickets earlier, and was astonished when I actually won! A nice tidy little sum, too! I immediately donated a twenty right back, before I even knew how much was there, but it’s more than half my camping fee, plus with the sale of the books, it just about covers my two weeks here, for which I am grateful! Every little bit helps keep me going! I brought the same two ladies back to the trailer because they wanted to see it, then we headed across the road to a campfire full of folks, so I did my Snowy River for them, and at another campfire as well, before I came back and got Lola to take her for a walk. She’s been so cooped up I’m sure she’s going stir crazy, but it can’t be helped, too may people on the trail to take her. Finally got back home, how I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Despite going to be pretty early, I slept late this morning. I thought the noise of the busy camp would wake me up, but I think most folks had a late night and slept in, too. This would be a good crowd for brother Jeff, there is a lot of drinking and smoking and tokin’ going on. Michigan legalized recreational marijuana, and I’ve caught many a whiff of it since I’ve been here, despite the fact there are a lot of kids around, too. Anyway, got my chores and breakfast done, then saddled up Flash and headed out for a nice 12+ mile ride, picking off a few more trails we hadn’t done yet. Because I knew the trails would be busy, and would likely have youngsters, both horses and humans, on them, I decided to leave Lola home, just in case. Not that she would have bothered anyone, but some people get a bit freaked out when they see ANY dog, and I didn’t want to cause a ruckus. It was a wonderful ride, Flash did fabulous, we barely got lost (only one renegade trail, but that ended up where we needed to go anyway), so it was all good! I’ll give these Michiganders their due, they know how to make you smile on the trail. Every once in awhile you’ll see something along the way, like a carving on a tree, a painted rock that says ‘Be Happy’ or a little plastic hedgehog stuck in a hollow in a dead tree looking out at you, and it just can’t help but bring a smile to your face! Tomorrow is the poker run, though I don’t know if I’ll join or not, we’ll see. After we got back and I put Flash back on his line, I had dinner (including a fabulous ear of sweet corn that my neighbor gave me!), and then I got busy doing my cooking for the dinner tomorrow. I made a nice macaroni salad and some deviled eggs. Once I got that all done, I went and sat with another group of my neighbors and chatted for a bit, with Lola at my side since I had neglected her all day. Finally headed back to the trailer, now I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Woke up to a beautiful morning! Cool and sunny, just gorgeous! Before even getting out of bed I called the RV guy that had promised to call by the end of the day yesterday (and didn’t), and he said he didn’t have anyone that could come out, so I made a couple more calls, and couldn’t find anyone. As the DNR guys drove through I asked them, they suggested I message the local horsemen’s club, which I did, and got a very quick answer from Chad, the president, who said he’d be by later today to help. Meanwhile, I got a call back from one RV guy, Smitty, who didn’t have time to come see me but answered some diagnostic questions I had so I could narrow down my search, and voila! That made all the difference! I should have known it would have been something simple, and once he explained the system, I found the problem, just a simple loose wire in my trunk of wires that lead from the trailer to the truck. I had rewired them before, and actually, that was the next place I was going to check, and as soon as I took off the outer tape from my repair, I found the loose wire that had come out of the shrink wrap crimp connector. It’s a job that really needs three hands, and I think that’s what went wrong before, but Butch came over and lent me a hand, so it was done properly this time. Everything started working as soon as I got it reconnected, yay! Well, I assume everything will work again, the noise from the brake is more like a chirp than a buzz now, but I’m hoping that has to do with not being attached to the truck, but we’ll see. At least I know the controller is working now, so I’m expecting the brakes to work as well. I messaged Chad to let him know I had fixed the problem, and now, with no worries, I saddled up Apollo and took a six plus mile ride. I chose a few trails I hadn’t taken yet, and they were mostly lovely. We left camp without his boots on, but after awhile it seemed like a lot of the trails were rockier, so I put his boots on (I had brought them with me), and he seemed much more comfortable after that. It was a great ride, though we started and finished later in the day than usual, but that was fine. Got back around 4:00, but by the time I got everyone settled in it was closer to 5:00, so I grilled a steak and had a nice dinner. Settled in for the evening, after a lovely ride and a productive day (SO glad my brakes are back on track!), so now I’m ready for my shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a great night sleep, without earplugs, yay! No trains or traffic nearby, just the sound of night insects, there was no one else in camp, and the temps dropped down to perfect sleeping weather, couldn’t have asked for a better first night. After chores this morning, I spent a little time trying to diagnose my brake problem, with no luck, so then I reached out to a mobile RV service that’s only 20 minutes away, and he said he would get back to me today about whether he had someone he could send. Unfortunately he didn’t, but I’ll call again in the morning to see if there’s a chance. Meanwhile, I saddled up Flash, put his boots in the saddle bags rather than on him, since a hiker that was here yesterday told me there aren’t too many stones here, but I took them anyway just in case. Just as we were setting off, a big deer came right into the campground grazing for a bit, but ran off as we started to move out. Flash was in an energetic mood today. Not sure if it was because of the cooler temps, lower humidity, not having to wear boots, or maybe the high percentage of alfalfa in this last batch of hay I bought, but he was definitely in the mood to move today! While they use the same great intersection numbering system I’ve grown to love here in Michigan, they didn’t execute it entirely, there are a number of poorly marked intersections and renegade trails around, so naturally, I got lost a couple of times. Took one trail twice when it circled around, and completely missed another trail that led us onto a gravel road that we had to follow in order to find our way back to the next trail. Other than that, though, it was a fabulous ride! A beautiful forest, a few steeper grades than we’ve been seeing lately, which was fun, and the far west trail was like a trail challenge course, with logs down every few yards! Flash was brilliant today! I gave him a loose rein practically the whole way, let him make his own decisions as to speed and alternate trails, and at one point, he had a choice between a bridge and a water crossing and on his own volition, he headed straight for the bridge! He did a great job today, it was such a pleasure to ride him today. We even saw a big snake on the trail, and we usually both miss those, but this one was slow to cross and even Flash noticed him (though I don’t think Lola did). It was a longer ride than I had planned, and he certainly was ready to get back to camp, as was Lola, who thoroughly enjoyed herself, too. The temps were perfect, the woods were thick and cool, couldn’t have asked for a better day. The rest of the week looks like it will be more of the same, so I can see us getting a lot of riding in this week! Got back to camp, put Flash up, then got out Lola’s pool and used the last of the truck tank water to fill it, then went up to the solar well pump and filled up the truck tank, so that should last for a bit. Later on, a big old truck with a guy named Butch showed up with a load of logs, evidently he’s stocking up for the weekend when a bunch of folks are coming in. Another RV had come in which I hadn’t noticed already, so it looks like I’ll be getting a lot of company in the coming days. I’ll be glad when the season is over and I’ll have places like this to myself, though having a bit of company might be good for book sales :-). Anyway, I settled down for the evening, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe,
A pretty good night sleep, though I was woken up early by a phone call. I had changed by Do Not Disturb time to an hour earlier in case Mike, Jeff’s neighbor called, about picking up the mower deck I bought the other day. Unfortunately it wasn’t him, it was Dan, who told me last night he wanted to ride but couldn’t get here until 3:00. I told him I was riding in the morning and going to the beach in the afternoon, which is what I did. Flash and I did a pretty short ride, though, it was so hot and buggy, and Flash was reluctant, and I discovered it was because his foot bulbs were raw again, despite using the socks Cavallo sent me, sorry to say! He’ll need some time for those to heal, so I’m hoping the next place has less rocks so maybe I can get away without boots. Not a bad ride, just that I had to put on another layer of Off! Spray about every 15 minutes, the mosquitoes were SO BAD!! Got back to camp, and immediately after putting Flash up I changed into my bathing suit and Lola and I headed for the beach, where we ended up staying until about 6:30. Dan never showed up, a comedy of errors starting with the fact he showed up without letting me know when he was coming, then hung around the trailer for way too long before finally coming over to the beach without telling me that was what he was doing, then couldn’t find me (the beach is only about 150 yards long! And I was where all the dogs were, not that hard to figure out!), then my phone died, yada yada yada. He apparently gave up because he was gone by the time I got back to camp and got my phone on charge. Just as well, really, it seemed he had some grand plan he failed to let me in on, and I DON’T like surprises or playing head games, and that seems to be all I’m getting from him. Don’t need that kind of irritation and annoyance in my life! Enjoying myself by myself, thank you very much! Settled down for the evening, then after 8:00 Mike arrived, and we unloaded his truck, got the mower deck in, and reloaded everything. So now Jeff will have his mower deck in a few days, hope he’s happy about that! And remembers to pay me for it when I get down there later this year! Enjoyed the rest of a good movie, had a glass of wine, now it’s late and I’m heading to shower and bed. Good night, darlin’! Love you!