Hiya Darlin',
Not a good night sleep, woke up in the middle and couldn't sleep for a long time, finally went out and didn't wake up until after 9:00. I seriously have to get to bed earlier and get my circadian rhythm back! Today a local mechanic was supposed to come out, so I didn't take a ride on Apollo like I had hoped to, did a couple of repairs like zip-tying the front bumper on the truck (my previous repair with nut and bolt didn't work) and fixing the water filter which was leaking pretty bad. I remember you put on this elaborate plumbing attachment because we didn't think a garden hose would fit in it, but today, I took that all off and DID manage to get a garden hose on it, and it works fine now, no leaks! I finished off a few things prepping for the Biltmore work next week, then tried to find a leak I have in the slide-out that I was hoping I could find when it started to rain a bit, but still haven't found it. It didn't rain very hard or for very long, guess I'll have to keep searching! Waited all day for the mechanic, but he turned out to be a no-show, for today at least. Apparently, he works on the local school buses and two broke down today, so he couldn't come. Spent the rest of the day just killing time, reading, playing computer games, watching a movie, etc. I'm determined to get to bed early tonight, so tea is already made and I'll be doing my Spanish lesson, taking my shower, and going to bed forthwith! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
A great night sleep, slept late, really felt rested today. After morning chores and breakfast I headed into Cleveland to do some shopping. Picked up a bag of feed and a new manure rake at Tractor Supply, dropped off that package to Amazon that had the wrong component in it, had a much needed haircut, was surprised to find a place that sold frozen custard, so I had to stop in and get a cone. Been looking for custard places up north all summer, who'd of thunk I would find one in rural Tennessee? It was delicious! Filled up with fuel for just $3.15/gal., cheapest I've paid in ages, and finally finished off at Walmart for just a few items I needed, though, of course, I bought more than what I went in for, as usual. Got back to the farm and spent the rest of the afternoon working on trail maps at the Biltmore for my trail checking next week. They're using quite a few different trails than in the Spring ride, so it should be a lot of fun! I managed to create a .gpx file for every trail except one, which was overlooked in the packet of maps that were sent to me, but finally got it late in the evening and was able to finish off that prep work. Settled down for the evening after I gave the horses a couple of apples (I'm trying to get them in the habit of coming down to the gate, but they can't seem to hear me across this big pasture!), soon ready for shower and bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Pix to come.

Hi Darlin'!
A good night sleep, a fairly easy final pack up, and other than taking down the paddock fence and cleaning up that area, everything went smoothly. Got out a bit after 9:00. I was a bit worried the park guys might come along and ask what I was still doing there, since the entire area is completely barren except for the porta-potties, but one drove by and didn't stop, so it was all good. Most the google maps directions had me going cross country, and it was definitely shorter mileage-wise, but I wasn't about to go over those hills with this trailer at the moment, so we stuck to the freeways, going west on I-40 and south on I-75, which actually got me there at just about the same time, right at 12:30. I'm spending the week with my friend Linda, who always takes such good care of me when I camp down at Lost Corral, but she invited me to stay at her place, which is probably easier for her than picking me up down there, and definitely nice for me and the whole family. I get electrice and water, my horses get a huge green pasture, and Lola gets to be free and has other dogs to keep her company. Got in position next to the barn very easily, and got hooked up with everything in no time. Linda and I sat and chatted for awhile, then I got busy doing housework and laundry, since I'd let it all go during the ride week. Did some computer work, finally settled down for the evening to dinner, and was finally able to watch an hour of TV! The signal isn't great here, but it's certainly better than what I've had the last couple of weeks, and good enough for live streaming, so I'm a happy camper! I might even be able to load up some of the pictures I haven't been able to get up before! Anyway, I've got an early morning, so I'm heading to shower and bed nice and early, too. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Pix to come

Hiya Darlin',
Another terrible night sleep, don't know what's up with that! Tossed and turned and finally slept for a few hours, waking up to an early alarm, was at the main tent before 7:00 where I helped a little with breakfast. Did a few odds and ends but it was really a mostly slow day, and it dragged on and on. Helped a bit with lunch, ate too much, sat around too much, finally got busy when the pork roasts arrived, got everything set up for dinner, until the pork finally cooled down enough to pull. There was an assembly line set up to package it all up, and it was just completed right at 6:00. Ate too much again, sat around for the riders meeting and part of the awards assembly, then started to do some cleanup until I finally left about 7:45. Fed the horses, took Lola for a walk, brought back a bunch of pork fat from the roasts that we collected, finally got back to the trailer with all evening chores done around 8:30. I haven't run the generator at all since I've been here, except for about five minutes, so I finally had to get that going. I've been pretty impressed with the fact that I've had my electric fence on through the inverter since I've been here, and it doesn't seem to be using hardly any juice. Of course, during the day it's getting solar, but I'm not sure the battery is doing much of the work. I did try unplugging it yesterday, and it seemed to run off the battery for awhile, but by evening it was off again and I had to put the electric back on to make it work. I was hoping my battery problem was solved, but it may take a bit more charging, or more likely, I need a new battery. Hopefully I'll work out which before I leave here. I'm making a double dose of Sleepytime tea, I'm determined to get a good night sleep tonight! I don't usually sleep that well on a full stomach, but I'm hoping my body will recognize it's siesta time and give me a break! Anyway, almost done with my evening, shower and bed next! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a better night sleep, thank goodness, and a relaxed morning. I had to send a letter out and order a few things online, so after chores I drove over to the visitor center where they have wifi, and one of the folks there offered to take my letter to HQ, as they didn't have a mailbox here. I ordered what I needed and did a few other things, and made it back to camp by 11:00. I spent the rest of the day doing odd jobs, helping to set up tents, doing some food prep for dinner, etc., attended the ride meeting, did my evening chores, watched a Farside, now I'm ready for shower and bed! Have another early morning tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Got up just after 7:00 and finished the packing. There wasn't much, but I had a lot of cleanup in the stalls, and then I stopped at the dump to clear my black and gray water tanks, so it was after 9:15 before we finally hit the road. It was less than 270 miles, so I figured about 5+ hours, but I guess I didn't take into account how much of it was on twisty, windy roads that were very low speed limits, so by the time I got to Jamestown, TN, it was 3:30 already. I had to stop at Tractor Supply for horse feed and Walmart for groceries, it was well after 5:00 by the time I got to camp. Weird thing is, although we're technically on Central Time, the ride and the park work on Eastern time, so the hour I thought I would gain isn't really going to happen. Other than being long and twisty and windy, the drive wasn't too bad. Organizer Ken met me at the site to make sure I got in the right place, since everyone coming in after me will line up the same way. I put up a good sized paddock for the boys, but didn't take them out of the trailer until after I went and got water, which is fortunately not, too far away, but I didn't have enough in my trailer tank, and I haven't put any in my truck tank since I pressure washed it. I got their tubs filled with water and the trailer as well, then finally brought them out. A long day in the trailer for them! They didn't seem any worse for the wear, though, just thirsty. Of course they rolled, then settled down to munching. I met the co-managers of the ride, and then the trail gal came along as well, so with all the chatting, I ended up being very late with their dinner. I was a bit worried about the fence charger, it didn't seem to be working, I thought maybe the battery needed charging, then I couldn't find the charger. I looked EVERYWHERE before I finally found it in the dog drawer. Don't know why I put it there, but it was clearly marked "fence charger", so I plugged it in. Funny thing was, the green light stayed on, which I'm assuming means it's fully charged, but when I take it off the electric charger, it doesn't work. I checked everything I could, so the only thing left is either the battery really is dead, or it got damaged when the horses ran over the fence the other morning. I've decided to leave the inverter on all night to see if that charges the battery, although I checked it with my multi-meter and their does seem to be some charge in it, maybe just not enough. I may need a new battery. We'll see in the morning! Good news! Kathy told me Sue's missing dog Pete has been spotted, so she's heading back down to get him. Hope he's okay! Meanwhile, I'm taking a shower and heading to bed asap, April wants to start putting up ribbons at 8:00E/7:00C, so I have to get up before the crack of dawn! Already looking forward to a nap tomorrow afternoon! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!