Archives for 2010

Set out by 11:oo this morning, with dreams of following the 16-mile Yellow Trail. We had found the trailhead yesterday, where it begins at the edge of a Forest Road, and we delighted with the canopy of scrub pines and low palms, in an area that had obviously been “prescription-burned” a year or two earlier. Hubby had spoken to one of the rangers, who said they always burn right after the big game hunting season, and they burn about a quarter of the forest, (which is about 266,ooo+ acres), so they cycle through it every four years. Keep that schedule in mind if you decide to come here to ride! Anyway, the Yellow Trail is considered one of the more challenging trails in the forest, and we soon found out why. Forest became swamp, and parts of the trail began to be underwater. Water is not a problem for our horses, but I have to admit, when one section looked like my boots and saddle were going under, my horse and I both hesitated. Rather than risk going swimming or having water over the tops of my boots, we turned around, then struggled to find a way around. There was no cut trail alternative, and it truly was a bog near the trail, so we went just far enough into the woods to make it palatable (with persuasion) for the horses. Once we were past that point, the rest of the trail was much drier (and this IS the dry season here!).

All along the trail, the markings were good, but there was one missing when we crossed a road, and got lost again. A lot of the road numbers seemed to have changed since the maps were printed, so the going got a little dicey. No real water on the trail, except for rather stagnant swamp water, so watch out for that. Eventually, after another wrong turn (Hubby’s fault), we ended up on a road that led us straight back to camp, which, since we’d been out for five hours, was precisely the direction we wanted to head. We found it interesting that there were no signs of other horses in the forest, AT ALL. A great secret, if you ask me! Supposed to rain tomorrow, horses will probably appreciate a day off, and think Hubby (yes, and me) needs the recovery time. Cocktail hour beckons!

At last, a day when the morning is warmer (although the horses are still breathing “fire”), but the smoke is minimal! As the temps warmed up, the smoke dissipated almost completely (Yeah!), but Hubby had to run into town to stock up on gasoline for the generator and to fill another propane tank that had run dry with all the heating we were having to do. On his return, a quick lunch, and FINALLY!!! A RIDE! Because it had been so long since we had ridden, we opted for the shortest trail, the green trail, advertised as “mostly on roads” and only five miles long, perfect for just stretching our legs. We set out down the straight flat hard sand packed road (no boots necessary!), heading north, doing our best to follow the map. We soon missed a turn, because I thought it was all on forest roads, and we never saw the trail marker. We assumed it was obscured or destoyed by the recent fires (as the area we were traveling was all along the firebreak line, one side green, the other black and ash), and we didn’t really want to follow a trail through the burnt part of the forest anyway (it was still smoldering in some hot spots!), so we ended up briefly lost. The two vehicles we stopped were no help, so we ended up just retracing our steps back to the West Tower. A little over two hours, probably more like 6 or 7 miles, but because it was so long and straight we got a lot of trotting and cantering in.

SO happy we finally got to ride, and the horses were equally happy to do ANYTHING but be tied to a highline! A much longer ride is scheduled for tomorrow!

Smoke even worse this morning, the overnight cold air pushed it all into a low ceiling just above us. While Hubby was getting breakfast ready, I started searching for alternatives nearby, just to get out of it. By the time we finished breakfast, though, the air had warmed up enough to release most of the smoke, so we decided to stay after all. Didn’t get a ride in though, still to cold a wind. Someone said they heard on the radio this was the coldest winter in N. Florida in 30 years! Sounds about right. When I moved from upstate NY to W. Palm Beach in 1976, they had snowfall all the way down to N. Miami that winter (76/77). I remember all the environmentalists then going on about nuclear freezing and planet cooling. This from folks who can’t get the weather forecast right more than two days in advance (and even then get it wrong more often than not!) I like what Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said, “We have climate change in Tennessee… four times a year.”

Anyway, spent the day working on the computer, finding more horse camping sites and placemarking them on Google Earth. Then around 4:30, I suddenly got an error on Google Earth, and it had to close itself. When I reopened it, all of my work for the entire day was gone! Never happened like that before, I was not a happy camper! So I started to recoup them from my browsing history, and that will be one of the chores of the day tomorrow. But I’m still determined to get a ride in, the temps are supposed to reach 65! My knee is better, my cold is annoying but not debilitating, no more excuses!

More smoke, which we had hoped would dissipate, but instead the rangers came by and started a whole new fire right across the road from us, with flames reaching 20 feet high and more at some points. Jumped the road to our side just a few dozen yards away, they managed to put it out before it spread. Still cold enough for an inversion layer to keep the smoke from dissipating, but a cold, light wind made it too cold to ride anyway. My sore throat came back with a vengeance, and dropped into my chest a bit as well. My knee was throbbing. Hubby discovered a leak in the kitchen faucet, so that became the priority.

By the time he got back from town with the parts it was mid-afternoon, the smoke was terrible, it was still too cold to ride, so we gave up on it again, darn it. The smoke was so bad we started considering moving on somewhere if it doesn’t clear up by morning, really felt bad that the horses were out in it. Only good news is the family came back in the evening, so I suppose their dog got fed (again, as we had fed him earlier in the day…) Not sure if they’re staying, I don’t know how they could stand the smoke out there, it’s bad enough in here with all the windows closed. Keeping our fingers crossed we’ll get a chance to ride here at least ONCE before we move on. Going to have to head back north soon, more work lined up in DC at the end of next week.

Woke up to the smell of wood smoke. At first we thought the wind had changed and someone’s campfire was blowing smoke in our direction, but soon realized that the rangers were initiating a prescribed burn. Smoke was everywhere, and with the cold temps, it was getting stuck on an inversion layer and getting trapped. I went into town for some supplies, and when I looked toward the forest, it looked liked someone had covered it up with a gray box, it was that perfectly flat on top. Still too cold for a comfortable ride, and I wanted to make sure my cold wasn’t gaining on me, so we rested for the day, watched a few DVR movies, took it easy. I did spend some time trimming my horse’s hooves, as they grow like mad on him for some reason, and he got a little restless at one point and kicked out with his leg, just clipping my knee. Enough to make it swell like a grapefruit, so I spent some time during the day icing and heating it. Still hurt when we went to bed, hoping for a quick recovery so we can ride tomorrow!

Getting a little concerned about the family that left over the weekend, they left a black dog tied up on a clothesline. We’ve checked on his water, but he doesn’t seem to have any food, so Hubby gave him some biscuits (he didn’t have any idea what they were!), but ate them voraciously once he got the idea. Hate to leave him there, have no idea when the owners are coming back. Just have to wait and see!

Woke up during the night with a sore throat (thanks Paul!), but took some aspirin and slept well afterwards. Uneventful today, except the family in the red bus was gone all day (no kids around, so it was quiet, yeah!), and the guy in the van left. The hunters were out before dawn, don’t know if they’re coming back tonight or not. Stayed bundled up, watched a few old movies and I think I’ve waylaid the onset of the cold or flu that’s attacking. Pea soup is good for that! Hoping it will warm up enough to ride tomorrow. Need to go into town tomorrow for more propane (we ran out of one of the tanks overnight, switched out in the morning), and find a post office to send some mail. Good relaxing day, one that we needed after the schedule we’ve been keeping!

Got an early start, and decided to skip our planned Georgia stop and head straight for Florida. Weather has been so ridiculously cold we decided to get as far south as possible as fast as possible. We headed to Osceola National Forest near Lake City, made good time and arrive at the ranger station by about 3:00 pm. Before leaving, we went to great pains to get our horses the new 6-month passports because we had heard how tough it was to get into Florida without all of the up-to-day paperwork, Coggins and health certificates and so on. So when we pulled into the Agricultural Inspections station, Hubby was ready to go with our shiny new passports. The inspectors said they were the first ones they had ever seen! They had heard about them, but our were their first! Passed through, no problem!

Once we got into Osceola, we ran into a lot of hunting traffic. Missed a turn and had to take a side road, which was pretty rough in places, made harder by the number of trucks that were parked along the edge of the one-lane road. Last weekend for general gun season, apparently, and the ranger said it would be much quieter by Monday. Since our plan is to take Sunday off, that works fine with us!

Arrived in the campground next to the West Tower, which is free, around 4:30. It has a central spigot and a flush toilet. Several larger trailers were here for the hunters, a bus with a family living in it, surrounded by tents and using two of the four covered stall as their laundry-drying space. Another van with an older man apparently living in it was there as well. Not exactly uptown, but sometimes you only get what you pay for. Though we had originally planned on putting the horses in the stalls overnight (forecast temps were STILL in the teens, despite being in Florida), we decided against it, and circled the wagons in a way that would protect them from the north wind, and highlined them just outside the patio door. Cocktail hour started a little late, but we were settled in, quite possibly for the week!

Got out a little later than we hoped, primarily because our client was making several TV appearances this morning we wanted to see, then got on the road heading south, in search of warmer weather. Our original plan was to stop at Lee State Natural Area in South Carolina again, but I had a very unsatisfactory conversation with them en route. Because it was supposed to be in the teens overnight, we wanted to put the horses in one of the stalls they have there near the arena. Obviously, we wanted to park nearby to keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, the park manager wouldn’t allow us to do that for reasons beyond comprehension. It’s a group area, and we would have to pay the group rate ($300), but then again, we’d have to fill out an application and get it approved through the central office beforehand…. It became so ridiculous and absurd, I looked for an alternative, and found an excellent one at the Poinsett State Park about another hour farther south.

The ranger there was delightful, receptive and welcoming. Their campground area was very rustic, with a locked gate and one central water spigot, and open stalls made out of full-size pine logs. We were th only tenants, and the fee was about $10. The area was very sheltered, so even though the stalls weren’t covered, we let the horses stay out instead of putting them in the trailer, as there was no wind at all. There’s a multi-use trail nearby, and though we didn’t stay to ride, we’ll definitely be back to this one!

Spend all day yesterday with a client, a very successful session by all accounts.
Today, we were on the road before 8:00 am, back down to Dee and Paul’s by mid-afternoon, spent the day doing laundry, planning our immediate future. Shared a bottle of Dee’s wine and some home-made pea soup I brought and spent the evening chatting away! Alas, Paul had come down with a terrible cold or flu, and was banished to the living room, while we set up shop in her very comfy kitchen. Went to be early, ready for an early start tomorrow

Slept late (yeah! There’s nothing like the luxury of sleeping late, is there?), finally made it into the house around 10:30, where the conversations began immediately. Swapping stories is always interesting with Dee and Paul, and in fact, Dee is even in the process of writing a book on some of her experiences with her horses over the years. Finally packed up and left in the RV with the dogs around 4:00, leaving our horses in their expert care while we followed our primary objective, work, for a day with a client in Richmond. Found out they had had a foot of snow a few days before Christmas, the parking lots still had tall piles of the white stuff. Needless to say, it continues to be cold, much colder than average for this time of year, and we’re looking forward to heading south again, which may be all the way to Florida, though I hear they have frost warnings all the way to Miami! More of that global warming, eh?

Had a lovely Indian meal (our favorite ethnic cuisine, though Thai comes close!), then settled down in the parking lot of the hotel where we will be working tomorrow. Gotta love being able to sleep in your own bed every night, no matter where you are! As Buckaroo Bonzai would say, “Everywhere you go, there you are!”