Archives for June 2023

Hey Babe!
My body clock is definitely on ride time again! In bed by 9:00, though it took me a bit to get to sleep, woke up at 5:15 (it’s already daylight, which is why it’s not bothering me too much!) and was on the road to McKinley before 6:00, and that wasn’t even trying very hard to be quick! Arrived at McKinley with just a few rigs ahead of me, lots of room to park so I ended up about where I was last time, right across from the outhouse. Got the water bucket and hay bag filled, had breakfast for me and Lola, caught the bus at 8:00 and was back before 8:40, and on the trail by about 9:10. Though this leg is billed as 28, I looked it up and saw that last time we came through here, my app registered less than 25 miles, though when extracted to Google Earth it was just a bit over 25, which agreed with two other ladies who mapped it. This truly is a beautiful trail! All along the AuSable River, no road riding, all woods except for the very end where the area around the camp had been clear cut awhile back. Lots of bridges and water stops along the river. Flash was full of energy this morning, so I just let him do his thing. He was passing groups of horses all along the way. He finally started to slow down a bit at mile 14, and really got sluggy around mile 18, but then at about mile 21, Linda and her little Paso came up and passed us, and Flash decided to follow them the rest of the way. I turned out to be the perfect thing, because he was so tired he hung back off her tail and I was able to give him a loose rein, which is exactly what I’ve been trying to get him to do forever! I don’t know if he’ll remember it after he’s rested, but I’ll take it in the meantime! Got back to camp just after 3:00, got him squared away, played ball fetch with Lola for awhile to wear her out, made dinner, along with a Big Valley (there’s just enough signal here, whoo-hoo!), now I’m ready for shower and bed. One more ride tomorrow, less than 24 miles, then a day off in Luzerne. Looking forward to that! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Up early this morning, to start the first day of the second ride. I was ready by 6:30, but Jimmy decided to wait to follow the bus, then we never saw it leave and ended up being way behind. He got on the bus as soon as we got there, and I unloaded Flash with no problem. I had loaded him all saddled up, so it only took a few minutes to get his boots on and be ready to ride. The lake was quite a bit calmer today, with the wind from the west laying it pretty flat, so I had very little problems getting Flash into the water. Once we accomplished that, we headed west on the trail. There was one other group that started the same way ahead of me, and it wasn’t long before we caught up and passed them. We were just past the halfway mark when we started running into the riders coming from the opposite direction. Other than the few roads in town, the rest of the ride went smoothly, Flash seemed good and strong, and since tomorrow is another rest day, I pushed him a bit to keep up a good pace most of the time. We arrived in camp before 11:00, having left the beach about quarter to eight, so we must have averaged over 4 mph, which was just fine with me. Spent the afternoon doing laundry, finish my deviled eggs for the pot luck supper and did some packing, took a quick ride out to the Dam Store to pick up some ice for my neighbor and check my email and do my Spanish lesson at the same time. Riders meeting was at 6:00 pretty quick considering there’s no ride tomorrow, but Jeff was nice enough to mention me and my book, and to ask if I’ll do my poem again on another night, to which, of course, I agreed. Then came the supper, and then I decided to get back on “ride” schedule, was showered and in bed just after 9:00. A lovely, easy ride to start, but things will get a little tougher after this, but I’m ready! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’!
We did it! Flash and I completed the first of our two Michigan Shore to Shore rides! Since I had arranged for a return trailer trip to River Run Camp, I didn’t have to get up so early to move my trailer to the shoreline, and managed to sleep in a little later (though my body clock woke me at 5:00, I managed to go back to sleep until 6:30), had breakfast and thought I had a little time to get on the trail early, but the bus was back by 7:15, so I ended out being the last out of camp, again! No matter, I knew I would pass people, and we did. Most of the way was more beautiful forest, fairly level with good footing, a beautiful ride. We had a little bit of road riding in the town of Oscoda, and then I missed a marker and went over a bridge to a flashing light (which I remember was part of the instructions), went straight and ended up on a beach of Lake Huron that had obviously not been touched by any other horses ahead of me. Not to be deterred, I spent about 10 minutes getting Flash into the water, so we could accomplish yet another major project (those of you who have been following me for awhile know the objective started with feet wet in the Atlantic on Assateague Island, then the Pacific in Oregon, then the Gulf of Mexico on San Padre Island, then Lake Ontario to complete all four cardinal points), so now I’ve done the second of the five Great Lakes, and will have the third, Lake Michigan, by the end of the month if all goes according to plan, leaving me Superior and Erie to complete that goal. After he finally got fairly comfortable in the lapping waves, we headed back to find where we missed a marker, and found the right way, with a different flashing light, and Flash was much calmer getting into the water there, for which I was grateful. Sarah was there on Apache, and she went out further, so Flash was braver and followed out a bit, too. Too cold for swimming, though! Flash was full of energy today, and kept a good four plus mph averaged. Amazing after all the miles he’s gone! He’s going to love having a few days off! Got him loaded up into Julie’s trailer with no problem, and was back in camp in no time, back by noon! Sad that I won’t see many of these people again, it’s been a great group, everyone got along so well! But I’m sure I’ll be seeing some of them again at some point. Got Flash squared away, filled my water tanks, had lunch, then the crash came. Started reading, went up into the bedroom to be more comfortable and promptly fell asleep for an hour, woke up for a minute, fell asleep for another hour. It’s like the crashes we experienced after working a convention, nonstop for a week, full of energy, then when it’s over, a total crash! Finally got up and did a little cleanup and reorganizing, and got out my solar panel, all that I had the energy for. There are a few campers left, so I had a conversation with Barb from Missouri, then took a walk around camp and had another conversation with her and another man, then got involved with a political discussion with the two Sams I met on the first day I arrived at Stoney Creek. Funny, they’re good friends, and one’s a Republican and one’s a Democrat, so we had a lively discussion, but everyone still gets along, just the way a democracy should be! Finally got back to the trailer just before nine, having a drink, waiting for the water to heat up, then it’s shower and bed! Amazing experience! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hey Babe!
By comparison, today was SO MUCH EASIER than some of the longer days! Though I was in a spot that wasn’t exactly easy for me, I managed to go “cross country” and get out with no problem, then it was almost all pavement to the next camp less than 30 minutes away, which is a relief! I’ve been in this camp before, too, a couple of years ago, so I had no problem finding it, and I timed it perfectly after the first group and before the second group, so I had time to stop and reconnoiter for the right spot, and managed to get in right across from the well, perfectly located since I’ll be here almost a week. After the bus ride back, I got Flash saddled up, and was the last one out of camp, which suited me just fine. We were at mile seven before we finally caught up to anyone, and still managed to stay separate for most of the ride, which is a lot more relaxing for me. Today I just let Flash do whatever speed he wanted. We only had 17 miles to do, so we’d get into camp in plenty of time even at three mph. He did pick up his pace a few times, and he seemed to be in good spirits again today, though I’m sure he’s ready for a rest! Me, too! Today’s ride went through some really nice forest, but also through a lot of clear cut and burned out areas with wide open spaces. Rain came in last night, but was just a little bit of drizzle this morning, and it didn’t really rain most of the day, it was cold and windy, which was worse on the open areas. Still, it was a very nice ride once again, and I had to gear to keep warm (though I could have used just one more layer to be toasty!) and getting into camp by 1:45 was a treat! Settled in to read for the afternoon once I got Flash squared away, then we had the riders meeting early at 6:00, and an awards ceremony hosted by Sarah and Carrie from Canada. I contributed an award to Sam Bump for her eagle eye, she was amazing at spotting wildlife no one else noticed. Had to put on the fireplace while I was running the generator just to get it a bit warmer in here, never got above low 50’s today, brrr! Anyway, just one last ride to the beach, and the first challenge of the month is done! I might just even sleep a little late in the morning! I’ve arranged it so that I’ll be riding to the beach, then hitching a ride for myself and Flash back to camp so I don’t have to move the trailer again, yoo-hoo! Hopefully I’ll be able to do the same on the first day of the next ride, which goes in the opposite direction, starting at the beach. At least the next one has layovers, lasts a lot longer but will be a lot more relaxed, hopefully. Well, that’s enough chatter, time to take my shower and get to bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Happy 34th Anniversary! Celebrated in the best way possible, on horseback for miles in the woods! Ended up at South Branch, where you and I came way back in July 2013. Remember we rode to the Bear Store for ice cream? Where they had a little zoo? Also ran across some ORVers because I guess we got on the wrong trail. Anyway, it was a beautiful ride today, I can understand why this is everyone’s favorite section of trail. No road riding, paralleled the Au Sable River most of the way, lots of little bridges to cross, water access, great footing, everything you could want on a ride! It was billed as 28 miles, but according to my GPS, it came in at just under 25, so I actually arrived in camp an hour before I was expecting! That was a good thing, though, because I had to unhook and go into town for fuel, I wasn’t able to get any in Luzerne the other day (they weren’t open when I went by), and I’m getting too low for comfort, so I ran into Hale (past the Bear Store!) to get gas and power steering fluid, plus some ice for Sam G. Got back, took the trash to the dumpster (first campground to have one!), then hooked back up again to be ready to go in the morning. Flash was great today, though he had so much energy starting off, he wanted to race after every horse in front of him. Eventually, I just had to let him run himself out, which took a couple of miles, then we mostly stayed away from other folks just to stay settled. Made good time, though! Made soup for dinner, went to the riders meeting, now I’m wrapping up for the evening. Good night, my darlin’! Still love you after all these years!

Hiya Darlin’!
Had the best night sleep for more than a week last night, it paid to take three ibuprofen! I also felt less guilty because I made sure to put liniment and a blanket on Flash last night, and he was in MUCH better spirits this morning, actually walking up to me instead of avoiding me like yesterday, so he’s apparently forgiven me. The first group left very early today, about 5:35, and I was nearly ready by then as well, so I left about five minutes later. No one came right after me, so I had a nice relaxing drive over to McKinley Camp. Despite the clear-cutting around the immediate area, the camp was good for me, everyone just parked along the edge of the road and highlined on trees, no posts here. Arrived early enough to get a load of laundry washed and hung out before catching the bus! I needed it, I’d just about run out of riding clothes. Got back to Luzerne, broke everything down and was once again the last one to leave, but quickly caught up with a lot of riders. Flash was actually in high spirits this morning, not only wanting to catch up but to pass a lot of folks as well! Only 23+ miles today (map says less than that), but we had to detour around the boardwalk at Luzerne, apparently not safe for horses, waiting on repairs. That meant a few miles of road riding, but once that was done, it all became forested single track, my favorite! Gentle hills added to the pleasure, it was a wonderful ride. There was one waterhole just about halfway (one of the horses in the group that was there laid down in the pond!), and it was really a lovely ride. Flash did a great job of alternating between fast and slow, and we were back in camp by about 3:00, ahead of several groups we usually follow. Let him graze, got set up, unhooked and went up to fill up with water (too far for hoses this time), did my Spanish lession while I was waiting, then dinner, then riders meeting. I did the Snowy River poem for them tonight, figuring this was the best night (tomorrow is a long day and we’ve got rain coming in on Sunday and Monday), as a thank you to all of the amazing folks of the MTRA. Truly, I’ve never seen such a dedicated group of folks, and they have been doing it over generations. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Back at camp, put liniment of Flash, blanketed him, made my tea, and as soon as that’s done, I am SO READY for shower and bed! Long day tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!