Archives for 2010

We did, in fact, get to sleep late, or at least Hubby did. I got up around 7:30 and went back to working on my horse camp map, and to look for a place to stay overnight near Amarillo. I had received an email from our client in Colorado, apparently she has a big speech next Thursday, and wanted to know if we could get there in time to help her, so we revamped our schedule again. Now instead of spending a day at Foss State Park to ride, we need to just stay the night Sunday, and move to an overnight stop on Monday, then get to her ranch by Tuesday. After a shower and breakfast, I went back online and found what looks like a perfect place, right enroute, in a place called Dahlert, TX, about 30 miles NW of Amarillo. It looks to be just about halfway between Foss Park and the ranch. Having made that decision, we packed up, took the shuttle to the airport (we had returned the car early yesterday), got our seat assignments (note to self, Row 31A-B on an American MD-80 are just behind the service bulkhead, making for lots of leg-room and a cozy atmpsphere, but right next to the engines so earplugs are a must!), picked up lunch at an airport Applebee’s, returned to the help desk for our passports which were inadvertently left behind, and proceed to our first flight of the day. After a short layover and even shorter flight, we were back in OKC and freeing the dogs from captivity by 6:30, petting the horses, saying thanks to our hosts for taking such good care of all our guys, watched a Paul Newman western, then fell into bed, exhausted from our travels. I swear, traveling by air is even more tiring than driving hundreds of miles!

After the free breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to Richmond. I had contacted two clients, one who said they had already mailed a check but asked us to lunch to discuss future plans, which we did, and the other who had a check waiting for us as we passed through the city on our way to the hotel. We arrived at the Airport Hampton (a very good one) at about 3:00, then I spent the rest of the afternoon updating my Google Earth maps with horse camps, a job I had already done once before my computer crashed last October, but haven’t had time to fully recoup. Finally settled down for the night, having microwaved a couple of frozen dinners we had bought the day before when we thought we would be in DC, and finished off a bottle of wine after cocktails. Our flight doesn’t leave until 1:25, so the plan is to sleep as late as we can, get breakfast just before 10:00 when they finish serving, leave about noon, and be back in OKC by 6:00, God willing and the creeks don’t rise!

Up early, about 6:00, checked on the horses, got the dogs settled in a nice fenced-in yard area with a sleeping room inside one of the barns, and set out about 8:00 for the airport. Stopped at a convenient IHOP along the way for breakfast. OKC is a nice little airport, clean and well organized, easy to find everything. The flight from OKC to DFW was so short the flight attendants didn’t even have time to serve drinks to everyone, despite the fact they hurried as fast as they could! At DFW we bought a lunch to go, and were boarding before we knew it. Landed in Richmond early, picked up the rental from Budget (the girl at the counter said we were getting a brand new KIA with only 56 miles on it, but the girl in the garage couldn’t find the keys so we ended up with a peppy little black Dodge something or other, with 26K miles on it. Oh well…
Stopped to shop in Fredericksburg, arriving at the hotel in DC at just about 8:00. Cracked open my computer and checked my email, which had been busy in my absence. At around 4:00, the was one confirming a meeting room. Around 6:00, the was a problem developing in the schedule, and would it be possible to move it back to Richmond on Saturday. By 7:30, just before we arrived at the hotel, it was determined that the entire weekend had suddenly been disrupted (apparently by a funeral), that the client simply wasn’t going to be able to meet with us at all that weekend. Profuse apologies were offered, and one more email from me to confirm that there weren’t likely to be any further changes had Hubby and I revamping our entire schedule (Good thing we’re so flexible!) We decided to move back to Richmond tomorrow, get a hotel near the airport, and see if we could pick up a couple of checks from clients in the area. We went to bed disappointed at the outcome, but happy to add more miles to our frequent flyer program, at someone else’s expense!

Got up with the alarm at 7:00, on the road shortly thereafter, picked up lunch at a Wendy’s, though, alas, they stopped serving Hubby’s new favorite fish sandwich. Apparently it was just a temporary promotion, so we ended up with burgers. After stopping at Wal-Mart for some shopping, we arrived at Robinson’s around 2:00, where we got the horses settled into two big lovely stalls, each with an oversized run leading out behind them. A very busy place, with lots of people and dogs coming and going. We let our canines wander as well, and they soon made friends with everyone, from old Abigail to little yapper Rusty, and did their best to befriend a rather skittish German Shepherd who had apparently been abused in the past so tried to avoid everyone. By the time we settled in that night, we practically felt like it was a second home. The only drawback was that it was located right on the I-40 freeway, so there was a constant thrum of high decibel traffic, making every conversation at loud restaurant level just to be heard. Of course, that also made it very convenient, which was what we needed most at this juncture. My last check of email for the night revealed that there was to be a last minute change of plans with our client. Instead of meeting in Richmond as planned, it was now to occur in Washington, DC. It was too late (and too expensive) to change flights now, so we just decided to change our hotel to our favorite little boutique hotel a block from the Capitol and just drive up from Richmond, having already reserved a rental car anyway. Went to be early so as to be well-rested for our long day ahead tomorrow.

4 Hubby decided we needed to get out for our ride early, so we set the alarm for 7:00, and were out by about 9:30, all booted up and ready to go. We hit the trailhead, which was the electrical easement that started out rocky and got worst. After a few yards, we turned onto a side trail into the woods, and were met with very narrow and rocky trails. This is the narrowest trail we’ve been on for a long, long time, constantly being brushed with trees. My horse, who loves a challenge, found it quite interesting for a while. Eventually, though, the rocks were really not fun. At one point, one of my gelding’s boots had started to slip off, so I had to stop and reset it. Then, just as we came up on the road, Hubby’s horse, who was uncharacteristically in front, caught a running deer out of the corner of her eye and made a dramatic move sideways. Although Hubby had just tightened her girth, so the saddle didn’t slip, she moved so far that Hubby couldn’t hang on and ended up on his bum. Fortunately, it was fairly soft ground, and he landed on the opposite hip than his last fall, so he was up and around after a few minutes. His mare just went far enough to find a patch of nice grass, so I managed to catch her with no problem. We then had trouble finding where we were supposed to cross the road, and once we did find it, we had trouble finding the trail. Either we were way off, or the trail was such a mess it was impassable. Granted, there was a sign saying some parts of the trail had some obstables due to an “ice storm”, but you would think by May someone would have made an effort to clear the trails a bit. We turned around and headed to the campground road just to get out of the woods. I had to reset my boot again, this time because the cotter pin went missing. Then we headed up along the road, where we were rewarded with a lovely view of the lake (see pic). By now, Hubby just wanted to get back, and I didn’t really want to either negotiate impossible trails or just walk along a busy road. The shortest route back was straight down the hill at the power line easement again, and it was very rocky and very steep, and not much fun. We decided to at least go down to the lake, as we had seen a multitude of horse tracks when we had walked down yesterday evening (to watch the sun set over the lake). We were there about 15 minutes, working on getting the horses to wade along the edge (which Hubby’s mare managed, but my gelding only got in long enough for a drink), then a park ranger came along and told us we had to stay on designated trails, of which the lakeside wasn’t a part. I guess she missed all the other horse tracks that preceded us. Anyway, we came back to the campsite, barely two hours after we left. The horses hadn’t even worked up a sweat, even though it’s over 80 degrees today. Well, we got them settled in, got ice on Hubby’s hip, had lunch, and went back on the computer to get some more (boring, but necessary) work done. Tonight we get ready for our departure tomorrow, having made arrangements to stay at the Robinson’s Barn Bed and Breakfast in Oklahoma City tomorrow, before we fly out on Thursday.

I spent the day finalizing our plans for our trip, this time to Richmond, VA, arranging boarding and getting a bunch of other stuff done. Horses were happy to take the day off. Hubby ran some errands, picked up horse feed, some groceries, and other sundries. We’re planning on riding tomorrow. Heard the trails were a little rocky here, too, so we’re planning on using our EZ boots. And now, I’m done for the day!

Set the alarm for 7:00, was out by just after 8:00, once again deciding to find breakfast along the way, just fixing coffee for the road. We were worried about the van overheating while going up the steep hill, but it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be, and the cool morning kept me at normal temps. Found a diner just inside the Oklahoma border, next to an Indian Casino, had a great old fashioned diner breakfast (the lady next to me was even having fried Spam, would you believe!), with a never ending cup of coffee throughout our “One-of-a-kind” breakfast (eggs, bacon/sausage and pancakes). That was our only stop except for gas, and we were happy to pull into the horse camp by about 12:30. The roads were so rough, I’m not sure how much more we could have taken! The horse camp is right along the park road, sandwiched between the road and another picnic area right on the lake. There were a number of folks here when we arrived, but they were in the process of packing up. By 4:00 everyone was gone and it was nice and quiet. The day started out cloudy and ended up cloudless, a beautiful day. We got the horses highlined, got the satellite dish up (no problem!), and I confirmed a great cell phone signal for tomorrow’s work day. Like Natchez, we’re not that far off the freeway, so you can hear the traffic, but not as loud or near. Convenience is the key for now, till we get back from our trip later this week. Relaxed for the evening.

Have absolutely no chance of getting a satellite signal here, and there’s also no cell phone service either. Spent the day doing laundry and sitting in the pickup. I went to the office to register and discovered a multitude of facilities, including a swimming pool and museum, with various events being planned. It was a very busy office. Once I paid, I headed up the mountain (where I discovered how bad the other half of the road was) to search for a cell phone signal. We’ve been called out of town on business again, and I had to find a place to board the horses and dogs for a few days next week. Had to go all the way to the top of the hill before I had a signal sufficient to get broadband for my computer access. Was there for nearly four hours trying to track down the information that I needed before heading back to camp. We decided not to try to go riding, as another rider had told us the trails were very rocky, and some were nearly washed out. Her husband’s horse almost went over the edge of a cliff! So we felt the time better spent getting ready for the busy week ahead.

Set the alarm for 7:00, packed up, cleaned up and dumped by just after 9:00. Headed out looking for someplace for breakfast, and ended up not finding one until it was past breakfast time. Had to go to a McDonalds (our least favorite fast food), where we ended up having burgers at just after 11:00. It seems Subway has a lock on all the gas stations chains throughout this section of I-40, and I REFUSE to eat what they call breakfast at Subway! Stopped once at Camping World to try to pick up a new electrical cord (our old one has a weak spot in the middle), but they didn’t have it (what else is new, they never seem to have what we need at CW). Found a Wal-mart with gas, so we killed two birds with one stone, got our shopping done, and headed toward ever-darkening skies. We had put the tarp on last night, but it was flapping away, and the net we had put on top of that gave up the ghost and flew off irretrievably far back on the freeway. We did our best to secure it, but we ended up deciding to just take it off and hope for the best. We did run into some rain, but these bales are packed pretty tightly, and it was supposed to be sunny the next day, so we figured it would be safer without the tarp. SO glad I confirmed with the park which way to enter. The first exit was obviously closer, but was SO full of switchbacks, sharp turns and a dramatic drop off on the edge of a crumbling road, we never would have made it with our rig. And actually, the horse camp is on the north side of the park anyway, so it was a bit closer taking the second exit. It was still a steep hill down, but the road wasn’t anywhere near as narrow or curvy. I did smell my brakes burning by the time I got to the bottom, though! The horse camp is down a gravel road just a short ways, there’s a single loop with sites inside and out, all with water and electric, mostly level. We decided later, though, we prefer being on top of a mountain rather than in a hollow below it. It was fairly muddy with the rain, but we managed to fine one spot where we could highline the horses where it wasn’t too bad. Settled in later than we had hoped, by around 6 pm.

What a lovely ride we had today! The footing on the trails was a soft soil they call “loess” in the brochure, though it was gravely on the connector trail from the campground to the trailhead, but there was enough of a shoulder on the road to avoid most of it. The trails were well marked other than at the very first intersection, and it was pretty obvious which way to go from the trail map. Every other intersection was well marked, with a You Are Here plaque and a number on the post. We took a loop that came out to be about about 7 moderate miles in all. Some of it was on trails so ancient the tree roots were above our head! (see pic-this is from horseback!) The horses were excellent, happy to go for a ride, but not at all overly exuberant, just right. There were a few places where we trotted, and one long stretch where we had a lovely cantor/gallop. At the end of that, however, just before we were to make our turn to come home, Hubby noticed my saddlebag was unzipped, and an inspection revealed I had lost a plastic bag of tissues. I felt guilty for littering, but we didn’t really think is was necessary to go back. Once I realized we were ahead of schedule, I changed my mind and decided to go back, as it couldn’t be very far back. A few minutes later, Hubby realized that he, too, had lost something, his water bottle that hangs from his horn, so we were both glad we had that decision. We found my plastic bag almost at once, then had to go a bit further to find the bottle. Once we did, we headed home. There was only one obstacle that we problematic, a creek crossing that was badly bogged, so much so that my horse, while he went over it the first three times, refused on the fourth, and I had to get down and persuade him across. I don’t blame him, he sank way up his fetlocks, and he was fine after that. When we got back, we gave the horses a bath at the wash rack next to the stables, and sprayed them with fly spray, as it was the first time they had been bothered by flies on the trail. Settled down for the evening, well-satisfied at our day’s adventure!