Archives for June 2013

What a day! Although we have had only a small downpour since we’ve been here, evidently they had much more rain before we arrived, as they trails were so muddy it was more like trying to ride in a swamp than on a trail! We headed out of the campground at the only marked trailhead we say, and were instantly bogged down in inches of mud, and that was in a clearing before we got to the woods! Once we hit the trees, things got even worse. The first section was very confusing, with trails going every which way, and no markings whatsoever. The only map I had was the park map, which was wholly inadequate. We vaguely knew we wanted to head down toward the lake, so we took whatever turns seemed to take us south, but in reality, we didn’t have a clue. The first half mile was incredibly treacherous, with steep ascents and descents, which we didn’t expect at all. Once we got through that on to the ridge line, it got only slightly better, with more mud that made it very unpleasant going. There were a lot of limbs down as well, so we had to tread very carefully. We finally came to a trail crossing that seemed to head south, so we took it. At first it wasn’t too bad, but gradually it became worse and worse, narrower and muddier, until we came across a limb blocking the trail and no way around. I got out my camp saw and hacked it down in a few minutes clearing the way, only to go around another bend and seeing several more trees across the trail. That was it, I was in no mood to become a lumberjack for a trail that was practically impassible anyway. We uncharacteristically turned around and headed back to the “main” trail. Not wanting to go back the way we came, and because we finally saw a few blazes indicating we actually were on a bridle trail, we turned left to carry on with what we hoped would turn out to be some sort of loop. Eventually the trail made it’s way to the main road, which it then paralleled until it came to the horseman’s day parking area, where we hoped to find an actual map at the kiosk. No such luck! The box was empty, but there was a large map on the board that I took a picture of so we would have at least some guidance. We determined the shortest loop back to camp (besides taking the park road) and headed out again, crossing the road onto what appeared to be a slightly better trail. Slightly better is key, here, anything less than an outright swamp would have been an improvement. Neither the horses or we were having much fun, though we still tried to stay on the bright side. We saw several deer, a big turtle sunning himself, and a very large bird that we thought at first was a deer because it took several steps before it got off the ground, and we were both surprised when it lifted off. We didn’t get a good look at it, so we weren’t sure what kind of bird it was, but it had to have a wingspan of at least 5 or 6 feet. We got lost once, missing one of the rare marked intersections because we took a detour around a long stretch of muddy trail, but finally got back on track, at least until we got back to the road crossing, at which point we decided we’d had enough slogging in the muck, and just took the main road back to the campground. What a day! Three hours of playing in the mud, we were all covered with it. Rinsed the horses down, they had mud up to their tummies and halfway up their tails! Glad to take the rest of the day off, with only having to start packing up for our departure tomorrow on the agenda. Not a very fun ride, though any hour on the back of my horse is time well-spent.

Spent the day working at my desk, while Hubby took a quick trip into town for some errands, and the horses grazed around on their anchors all day. We missed all the rain last night, surprisingly, since the radar looked like it would hit us dead on, but we did get one brief shower late in the day from an afternoon pop-up. Quit work about 5:00 and had a pleasant evening.

Set the alarm for 6:30 as a compromise between Central and Eastern time (leaving one for the other) and managed to get out in less than an hour, even with a stop at the dump. We were concerned about the weather, which predicted a 60% chance of rain, but later in the afternoon, so we wanted to get an early start to try to dodge the raindrops. A pretty straight forward drive, except for one crazy bit in Georgetown, KY, just after we skirted the only rainstorm of the day by a few miles. We started at the Southern States to stock up on Legends Senior Feed (the only one that has a minimum of sweet molasses in it, which is why we like it), then headed to the Walmart, which had the craziest entrance to it. It was a classic case of “You can’t get there from here.” We could see it, but the service road we turned on wouldn’t take us there. We finally figured it out, and did some brief shopping and also to get some fuel there, in a very small gas station that proved to be very challenging to get around with my big rig. Met another couple there with an RV that was also having difficulties (which were compounded as there was only one diesel pump working), but who also told me they knew a couple in Naples, FL that was also trying to ride in every state! They themselves and done that riding bicycles. RVing can open such tremendous doors! Anyway, we finally made it, figuring this will probably be the last relatively cheap gas we’ll get this side of North Dakota, then headed north uneventfully until we reached the campground at East Fork, about 30 miles east of Cincinnati. We ran down to the “horsemans’ area” before realizing that that was the day parking section, then headed back to the campground, where we were told we had to select a site before we could register. First we had to go to the dump, though, as we had poured a bottle of Drano into the black water tank (as per the manufacturers instructions to get the level meter cleaned up and working again) and it had been sloshing it around for the last six hours. We also rinsed out the fresh water tank, as we had picked up some sediment somewhere along the line and wanted to flush that out as well, so it took some time to do. Eventually, we finished that job and headed for the horse camping loop, which was carefully manicured, but at least looked like it had some horse activity recently. We selected site 12 next to the only water spigot in the camp, also next to the bathhouse, although we never use that anyway. There were highline posts all along the back of the campground, a bit closer together than usual, but behind our site they had one that either had a post missing or it was intentional, but they were far enough apart to suit us, so we got the horses out of the trailer and put them on their anchors so they could munch on the lawn (which had a lot of clover), while I started setting up the highline and Hubby drove back down to the office to register. He was back pretty quickly, apparently we had taken too long at the dump and everyone had gone home! That’s fine, we’ll take care of it tomorrow. Didn’t take long to get everything set up, we’re starting to develop a good routine for this new RV. Hubby even got the best satellite signal we’ve had in ages! Good cellphone signal here as well, and lots of trails according to the map, so we should have a good stay, though part of it will have to be “office work,” not to mention figuring out the next leg of the journey. We’ve only really gotten as far as “Michigan” as our next state which will be our 40th state that we’ve ridden in! There are a lot of horse camps in Michigan, but not enough information about them to make decisions, so some phone calls are in order, not to mention plowing through a stack of mail and filing everything away. Starting to feel more rested, though, and getting a few more hours of sleep per night. We did managed to finally settle in and resume our usual routine for the evening (though we splurged with a salmon dinner instead of our usual soup, just for a change.) Thunderclouds building, looks like we might be in for some storms later on.

Can’t seem to help but get up before 7:00 or so, as it gets so light so early here in Central Time. Not to mention there’s a lot of traffic here, like at most State Parks. Anyway, got the horses fed by the time Hubby woke up, then walked the dogs as he started making coffee and getting ready for breakfast. Relaxed a bit in the morning, then got the horses saddles for our last ride here today. Yesterday was the first time I had tried out my new saddle-shaped bareback pad, and with the severe terrain here (pretty steep ascents and descents), it was a good test to try it out. I had to rework the stirrups, as they really don’t have a great buckle system, and were slipping like crazy yesterday, but we managed to find a way to lock them in. I added my lambskin cover, which was a tremendous help, I never noticed the rings at all today, and I started getting used to going for the mane instead of the horn (on my old saddle:-), though my balance seems to be improving dramatically, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing a lot less grabbing as I get more confident. Took a much longer ride today, but again there was a discrepancy between my GPS and Google Earth, with one saying the trip was 5.5 miles and the other saying over 8. We added a section by accident, but were glad we did when we found ourselves on the top of a cliff overlooking the lake for which the park was name (and which we hadn’t even seen yet!), with a spectacular view! There were several islands that, according to the map, were half in Kentucky and half in Tennessee, and since we were looking south, most of the view was the latter. Not as many boats on the lake as I would have thought for a Sunday, and no sailboats at all that I could see, just motor boats of varying sizes and shapes. Glad we went the extra .8 miles and back to see it, was a nice place to take a rest anyhow. In any event, it was a decent three hour ride, but I have to say, these are some of the worst maintained trails I ever seen, especially for a state park, and even more so for a state “resort” park! So many limbs have fallen across the trail that it’s almost impossible to ever get in a decent trot or canter, despite the fact there’s plenty of opportunities otherwise. All it would take would be a crew for a few days to get everything is ship-shape. I’ve seen national forests with better-maintained trails! At least today I wore long sleeves so I wouldn’t get scratched by all the brambles that have stretched themselves into the trail. Apollo and I did have several good canters today, and a couple of trots as well. He seems to be moving so much more easily with this new configuration, so I’m hoping that once I gain a bit more confidence, we’ll be able to manage anything! Got back right around 3, got everyone settled, gave the horses a quick rinse off, packed up all the items we could for our departure tomorrow, and settled in for a quiet and relaxing evening.

Woke up to the sound of mule bellowing from the campground loop next door, only about 6:00, but I lay in bed for a while longer, until I finally just had to get up, about 7:30 or so. Took care of the animals, feeding and walking, finding Hubby getting up by the time I finished. We had our bacon and egg breakfast, then spent some time trimming the horses’ feet (Clio’s wouldn’t fit in her boots properly, and Apollo’s hooves grow so fast I can’t let them go any longer). I also tried out my new saddle-shaped bareback pad that was waiting for us when we got home, so I had to switch out the girth and adjust the stirrups, which had a rather strange plastic setup that didn’t do a very good job of keeping them in place. Every time I put weight on them they slipped, so I had to mess with that a bit until they eventually stayed pretty well. Finally, we headed off down the nearest trail, called Rangers’ Loop. Oddly, on the map it says the trail is 3.5 miles long, but on the trailhead sign it says 7.1 miles long, so not knowing added a bit of mystery. Shortly after the start, however, Apollo gave me a fright. Something caught his eye and he wheeled around suddenly, and not having a horn (although there’s a little loop to grab, reports on the internet said it would rip easily), so I didn’t feel real confident in that, I eventually managed to grab a handful of mane, just in time to keep me from losing my balance, as the girth had already loosened up dramatically (which it always does, just not usually this early in the ride) so my saddle pad slid a bit, plus by stirrups moved a bit, and my feet couldn’t stay in the stirrups. I dismounted, raised the stirrups and tried to lock them in better before heading back down the trail, past the scary stump that had so tortured Apollo… Anyway, we followed the arrows, up and down some nice hills through mostly forest. I was quite surprised at how unused the trail seemed to be, with lots of broken limbs blocking the trail, and areas where the undergrowth was brushing us as we passed. I was only wearing a tank top, I would have worn sleeves if I had known the trail would be so narrow in places! Anyway, about a half hour into the trip, we went down a pretty steep and narrow part of the trail, then through a little muck at the bottom, which Apollo took as a personal affront, and to show his displeasure (and because he was tired of just walking), he decided to gallop away from it, uphill, winding around trees, sometimes on the trail, sometimes not, all the while I’ve grabbed his mane and am hanging on for dear life, hoping he doesn’t rub me off on one the trees he was skimming by! With one hand in the mane, the other hand just didn’t seem to know what to do with the reins except let him go, so that’s what we did. Eventually he galloped off the trail and had to stop as the woods became too thick for him to go any further. Hubby was just behind me at a somewhat more controlled canter, but we had to backtrack about 5 yards to get back on the trail. Rather exciting, and a good test of my near stirrup-less bareback skills, which turned out to be better than I thought. I really like the feel of this “saddle” though, Apollo is a really wide and flat horse, so his back is actually more comfortable than my old saddle, and I can get a real feel for his gait this way. I also think he seems more comfortable without any kind of tree or hard structure against him. Once I gain a little more experience and confidence in the equipment, in particular, solve the stirrup problem, this should be a really good way to ride. I had also read on the internet (and also turned out to be true) about the fact that because there are no fenders, the stirrup rings rub badly again your calves and that you needed chaps to solve the problem, but Hubby suggested I move my lambskin saddle pad from the old saddle, which covers all the way down to the top of the actual stirrups, and should cover up the problem, which I thought was a great idea, since I think will be my saddle of choice for awhile. We finished making our way around the loop, and arrived back at the campground with no further incidents, though we did get a little jog in (the trot was just too bouncy without stirrups steady enough to post in). I’ll be ready to canter next time we ride, assuming there’s a section of the trail that allows for it. According to my GPS, the whole ride was only 2.49 miles, so I don’t know where these other measurements came from! Looking forward to transferring it over to Google Earth and seeing how it matches the actual map, to see if we went wrong, or if the map is just poorly made. Gave the horses a rinse off, tied them on their anchors and tied them to the hitching post so they can enjoy some of this manicured grass, while I refit my new saddle with the lambskin cover and tried to secure the stirrups a bit better. Then a lovely afternoon sitting on my lounger under the awning getting caught up on my blog, while Hubby switched between golf and soccer on the telly. Just about time for our evening routine, cocktail hour is fast approaching!

Summary of the last few weeks. Rather than bore anyone with the mundane of our ordinary lives at home, here it is in a nutshell: Non-stop Doctor’s appointments, shopping, yardwork, chores, sewing, and loading up the RV. We finally got started back on the road today. We had planned on getting up just before 7:00, but I accidentally set the alarm for just before 6:00, which we didn’t actually mind, because we had gone to bed so early, and we wanted to get out so much, we jumped out of bed and started getting ready to go. We were headed up the driveway just after 8:00. We had one stop in McMinnville at the Farmer’s Coop to pick up some heavy duty wormer (Hubby’s worried his horse is getting too thin, and thinks it might be worms), and considering how many horses they were around in Charlotte last month, better safe than sorry. We usually worm them twice a year (per our vet), but Hubby’s been reading up on worming and wants to increase the schedule, which is fine by me. Next we grabbed gas at the new Kroger station and breakfast at Burger King, before heading out to Dale Hollow State Park, just over the TN/KY border. This is one of those manmade lakes that TVA built to provide electricity to everyone living in the sticks (including us!), and there’s a lot of very nice parks around the edges of the lake. We arrived right around noon, checked in, and headed out to the horse camp. There are three loops that are all campgrounds that allow horses, but the only accommodation they provide are several hitching rails in each loop. There really aren’t even enough trees within the campground to use for a highline. Fortunately the loop is surrounded by woods, so we found a couple of trees in there to set them up. The only problem is it’s on a hill, so the bobos will just have to stand at a slant while we’re here! The site we reserved had a really short driveway, so we really couldn’t fit in without seriously blocking the driveway, but the site next door (#7) had a longer driveway, plus we could angle the truck a bit so that it would just about be clear of the road. We called the office (cellphone service is fair, but seems to be on an extended and even roaming service) and confirmed we could move to #7, so gradually we got everything set up. It’s a typical state park, though, with highly manicured lawns and groomed camping areas, with a bathhouse that doubled as a tornado shelter. Pretty quiet though, there were a couple of campers (sans horses) in the loop, but they left before the end of the day, and just one other camper came in, a long livestock trailer that was also sans horses. We did see a couple of riders go by, though, so we know there are other campers with horses here in the next loop over. Had to park the horse trailer in the middle of the loop, next to our neighbor’s boat, because the sites themselves are too small, and not very level. Hubby missed the mark a little setting up the RV, we were balanced left to right, but we have a pretty serious list to the front. We were too tired to worry about it, though, we just wanted to relax as much as we could. We had replaced most of our hoses with those new little Pocket Hoses “As seen on TV” while we were home, and I wanted to put the automatic waterer on the horses water tub so we would have to drag it up the hill all the time, and to keep it full and heavy enough to prevent the horses from kicking it down the hill, but of course the old hose that was left on there had become all corroded, so it took some effort and a little heat to finally break that loose. Eventually, though, we got the system worked out and set up. We even brought out the lounges and sat under the awning for a while. The weather is simply perfect, not a cloud in the sky and only in the low eighties, with lows in the low 60’s, couldn’t ask for better. Plus these sites all have 50 amp service, so we should have everything we need here, including air conditioning when the temps heat up over the next few days. Of course, being a state park, it’s a bit more expensive than we usually like to pay (including an extra one time, $2 charge per horse), but it does have all the mod cons, and we’ve had such a busy winter and spring, we’re not going to worry about a few extra bucks here and there. I’m sure we’ll make up for it by spending time in a national forest somewhere, where we can get the Golden Passport rate of about $2.50 a night : -) Anyway, we finally got everything settled in, then crashed for the rest of the day, determined to be rested enough to ride tomorrow. A cocktail, a shower, dinner, a movie, a brandy, and off to bed, our usual evening routine, SO glad to have a new back yard to look at!