Hey Darlin',
Had another fitful night last night, spent some time working on my shoulder (always do when I have electricity!), and I felt something slip again. I think it's gradually getting to where it needs to be, slow but sure! Spent part of the morning getting as packed as I could, then took a trip into Boiling Springs to go to the Tractor Supply to stock up on horse feed (they actually had a bag of Topline!) and propane (filled three tanks at $3.19/gal., best price I've seen in a long time), then on to Walmart to pick up the rest of what I needed. Made it back to the farm by 2:30, packed everything else I could, then made a list of what's left, the stuff I can only do after I'm done getting ready in the morning. I'm filling this one huge duffel bag, which I got for the Great Florida Cattle Drive, and I bought some vacuum bags so I've been able to shrink it all down pretty well, but it's still pretty heavy! I'm trying to pack light, but it's hard for a 10-day trip. Think I've done pretty well, though. Anyway, settled down for the usual evening, though I had a double book order to fulfill, toes to polish, hair to do, etc., so it wasn't as relaxed as usual., but I still managed to get dinner and a short movie in. And for the first time in a long time, I'm having a cup of sleepytime tea, in the hopes that I will have a good night sleep, rather than the fitful ones I seem to be having lately. Long day tomorrow, so good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Archives for May 2024
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 – Travel Day to Nathalie’s
Hey Babe,
Wasn't in much of a hurry to get up today, since I only had to travel about an hour and a half, and I wasn't expected until 2:00, so I had a leisurely morning packing up. I opted to back up out of my site so I wouldn't risk going in the ditch again, and it worked out perfectly. Had an uneventful journey, thank goodness, except that I missed the driveway and had to go around "the block" to get back in. Once here, we got me backed into a nice little space under a couple of huge shade trees, so it was much cooler. Got everything set up before long, with the horses in a nearby paddock, though we moved them later to a really big pasture, so I don't think they'll need any supplements of feed while they're here. I'm going to throw out a bale of hay just in case they feel like they're getting too much fresh grass, but it's not spring-lush, so I think they'll be okay. Lola had a great time exploring this huge place, they have 200 acres here, with every imaginable horse equipment, not to mention two tennis courts. They even have wifi at the barn, close enough for me to use! Started on some laundry, but I'm only on 20 amp, so I've had to cut down on my power usage, can only work one or two things at a time! Not enough for AC, but I have enough fans going that I think it will be fine, especially being in the shade. Now all I have to do is finish the laundry, do the packing and the final shopping for whatever I still need, and head on out! Can't wait! I'm getting really excited about the trip! My only question now is, what'll I do next year? Going to have to think up something really good! Meanwhile, I'm just going to stay on top of things here. Off to bed shortly! Love you, darlin'! Good night!
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 – Nearly Five Mile Ride on Apollo
Hiya Darlin',
Had a fitful night sleep, a typical morning, then saddled up Apollo for a nice ride, almost five miles, just to give him some exercise. When we first start out, he seems pretty stiff, which isn't too surprising considering he's been standing in a small corral all week. I really prefer highlines to corrals, it just provides so much more freedom and opportunity to move around more. He eventually loosened up a bit, but I think I may have to look into some joint supplements for him, just to keep him flexible. Anyway, it was a lovely ride. I had wanted to do the blue river again, it's quite lovely, and interestingly, Apollo did the same thing as Flash, keep trying to walk the tiny edge between the trail and the dropoff, rather than along the high side where there was more room. Weird! Anyway, it was a good ride. The rest of the day was fairly quiet, I moved the remaining four bales of hay from the truck to the trailer, and was glad I didn't buy any more, they really aren't liking it very much, it's pretty stalky. I'll have to pick up some new hay once I get moved to Nathalie's tomorrow, and if I can find some good stuff, restock it before heading further north, where they're likely to just be beginning to hay. Drained Lola's pool, put some tack and a few other things away, not really in a big hurry since I'm not planning on leaving here before noon, so I'll have plenty of time in the morning. Getting a bit tired of the heat, actually nodded off for a bit this afternoon, before I finally cranked up the generator and the AC for awhile. Looking forward to getting farther north! But, West comes first! I feel like I'm in a holding pattern for that trip right now, just killling time until I get busy getting ready, which all starts tomorrow. So on that note, heading to shower and bed shortly! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Monday, May 27, 2024 – Lazy Memorial Day
Hey Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, then proceeded to have an extremely lazy day. It was cloudy in the morning, culminating into a few showers that passed through, then it cleared up nicely and was a little cooler, but I was in an exceedingly lazy mood today and did nothing except read and watch movies. A very quiet day! Very enjoyable, though. Now for another good night sleep, then tomorrow I'll get a little busier, maybe! Good night, baby! Love you!
Sunday, May 26, 2024 – Finished Off The Trails, Nice 13 Mile Ride on Flash
Hi Babe,
Started off a little cooler this morning, but ended up getting hotter, so a nice long ride in the woods was the best place to be today! I had plotted a route to finish off all the little connector trails that I've missed, and it turned into a lovely 13 mile ride around the area. The trails here are really nice, just the kind I like: single track, no gravel, only a little mud, lots of creek crossings, which Lola took full advantage of, and beautiful, dense forest. My only con is that I had to watch out for knee-knockers, there are quite a few out here! I managed to get Flash moving a bit faster today, so we made better time, but it was still 4:00 when we got back to camp, which to my mind, is perfect. Only ran into one other couple the whole day! Rinsed off Flash, splashed a little pool water on me to cool me off a bit, ran the generator just long enough to cool it down a bit inside and recharge the batteries, and was happy when clouds starting forming and I heard thunder, but as of yet, it hasn't rain, just a few drops I've heard is all. We could really use a nice refreshing downpour about now! There's still a little rain out there, so I've got my fingers crossed we get some more. Settled down for my usual evening, looking forward to a cool shower and a good night sleep! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Saturday, May 25, 2024 – Nice Ride on Apollo, Got Some Extra Chores Done
Hey Darlin',
Slept well until I woke last night to the sound of thunder, how far off I sat and wondered. Started humming a tune from 1962, okay, enough of that! The unexpected shower did help cool it down today, it wasn't as hot as I figured it would be, so it was a nice day to take a ride. It's been awhile since I took out Apollo, so I saddled him up and planned a fairly short, 3.5 mile loop that would take us out to the Woods cemetery, which I'm sorry to say, is sorely in need of some TLC! He was a bit stiff at first, understandably, since he's been hanging around in a small corral for the week, but limbered up a bit as we got along. Kind of like me these days! Lola came along as well, and it was a nice ride. The last stretch was long the road, not really an established trail from there, so we had to pick out way down the hill to the road. Once we got back and he got rinsed off and put away, I decided to do some odd chores that have been piling up. First, I put the little plug in the brake adjustment hole in the trailer, which only took a minute. Then I decided to change out the control panel on the inverter. It's been getting more and more flaky, and since I had a new one (that the manufacturer actually sent me for free, would you believe!), I went through the process of writing down all the settings, which took about ten minutes, then changing out the panel, which took about a minute, then checking the settings to make sure they were correct (they were, apparently all the default settings), which took just a couple of minutes. Viola! All done, brand new panel, works beautifully! I did change one of the settings, there was one that would put the inverter in sleep mode until there was a draw on it, which I tried, but as the evening wore on and the batteries drew down, it started hunting, so I ended up changing it back to disabled, so it will not hunt. Then, since I've been having a few problems with the flames on my gas stove getting so hot they're leaving terrible black gunk on my pans, and my research suggested that the gas holes might just need cleaning, so I took a paperclip as instructed and cleaned them out. Not sure how much it helped, it didn't seem like much, so I may have to keep looking for the answer, but it might have helped a little. Anyway, I finally settled down to dinner and a movie, ready to take my cool shower and head to bed. Love you, sweetie! Good night!
Friday, May 24, 2024 – Computer and Rest Day
Hiya Sweetie,
I had intentions of taking Apollo for a short ride today, but got started on the computer with a bunch of little odd jobs that needed doing, and by the time that was done, it was too late and frankly, too hot. It was so hot, I actually put on my bathing suit and climbed into Lola's little pool just to cool off, and it did the trick! Late May in South Carolina is too dang hot! I should be further north, and will be next year, but this is how it worked out with my Red Rock trip. BTW, it's perfect temps right now where that's going to be, mid 40's at night, upper 60's and low 70's during the day. Can't wait! So a quiet day in camp, a few more campers came in, had a chat with Ranger Rebecca about a downed tree and some other items, but I'm still shocked that this place isn't full, what with it being a holiday weekend! Anyway, settled down for the evening, running the AC for a bit to blow out the hot air, got every fan going to keep the air moving, so hopefully I'll sleep tonight. So glad I bought that little rechargeable fan for the bedroom, I've learned I can even connect that to the little power pack I bought for the cattle drive and run that baby even longer! Hasn't quit on my yet! Anyway, cool shower and bedtime soon! Good night, baby! Love you!
Thursday, May 23, 2024 – Another Great Ride at Woods Ferry
Hey Babe,
Had another slow start to the day, I've being pretty lazy here, but it feels good! Did a few things on my computer after chores, but finally saddled up Flash and headed out to pick up some more trails. I looked back on the earlier times when we were here, and recalled a day when we galloped up a hill with some berms every 10 or 20 yards, and instead of stopping at the berms like we though they would, Apollo and his mama Clio used them like a launching pad and raced again each other up the hill. It was fantastic! I found that trail today, part of the yellow trail, and relived that memory, though Flash and I didn't gallop up it like we did back in 2010, but it was nice to remember those early days, when you were healthy and able to do a lot of miles. Got back to camp around 4:00, it's actually cooler on the trail in the afternoons than back at camp, so I haven't minded getting a late start to the day around here. Rinsed off Flash, refilled everyone's water buckets, Lola's pool, and the trailer, so we're good to go. Settled down for another quiet evening, heading over to take a cold shower and get some sleep! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – Shopping and Attempted Repair Day
Hiya Darlin',
Had a good night sleep, didn't wake up early for a change, very happy about that! Got my chores done, then started looking at some of the repairs that need to be done on the trailer, only to realize I didn't really have the right adapters for my new impact wrench to get the job done. Since I was needing to go into town to do some shopping anyway, I headed over to Chester, went to the Tractor Supply and got the adapters I needed, as well as some shavings for the horse pens, then took a side trip to a haymaker north of there to pick up six bales, which would be enough to get me through to my next stop. Back to get fuel at Circle K, glad to see diesel prices getting back down a bit, just $3.49/gal. Last stop at Walmart to get a few things there, then back to camp around 4:00. Tried to do the repairs, but I'm afraid it's beyond my skillset at this point, so I'm going to have to let it go until I can hire a professional. Also had a conversation with Jo about helping with another endurance ride, scheduled for the same weekend as when the Goethe ride was supposed to be, said I would be glad to help with that. Chatted for a while with another camper who was walking by with his Goldendoodle, who, coincidentally was named Lola! I let my Lola out, and after an initial warning that this was my Lola's bailiwick, they got along just fine. After they left, I put down the shavings, and Apollo promptly rolled in it, so I'm a happy camper for his appreciation! Finally got my evening chores done, covered the hay with my tarp, and settled down for the evening, usual Northern Exposure and a movie. I was pretty hot today, so I had the AC running when I put the generator on, that blew out most of the hot air, and kept some fans running, which also helped. Getting too hot for me down south, looking forward to getting farther north when I return from my Red Rock Ride trip! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Tuesday, May 21, 2024 – Absolutely Gorgeous Ride at Woods Ferry!
Pix to come
Hey Sweetie,
What a fantastic ride today! Weird that I don't have a great memory about this place from our last time we rode here, though that was back in 2010, our first year on the road, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I had forgotten how lovely the trails are here! I planned a full perimeter ride, which turned out to be about 14 miles, and it was truly stunning! I guess having mostly done Tennessee trails at the time, it wasn't that much of a change, but after having ridden in all 50 states, I can tell you how fabulous it was! The footing was wonderful, mostly dirt, almost no gravel, and only a few spots where it got muddy, but not very much. The first half of the trail followed the Broad River, and was cut about halfway down the slope rather than along the top, so there were no serious grades, but a few switchbacks and lots of going up and around ravines along the way, all below the ridge line, the way the Indians/pioneers liked it to avoid being seen. The trails were well-marked for the most part, although there were a few intersections that weren't, and one trail that someone had actually put the wrong markings on, but thankfully, I had downloaded a map with Geomapping information, so I had it on Avenza, which was a tremendous help. My phone almost gave out before I got back to camp, but made it back just in time. The trails were in good shape, very few downed trees and nothing you couldn't get around, with lots of creek crossings back and forth. I ran into two guys, twice, and there were some folks parked at a northern trailhead that were getting ready to go out, but otherwise, it was extremely quiet. Lola thoroughly enjoyed herself and will no doubt sleep well tonight. The only thing that was of any concern was that Flash keep wanting to walk on the side of the trail rather than in the middle, and it was always the side where there was a serious drop-off! I was nervous he might slip and careen down the hill, but fortunately that didn't happen. I didn't like having to keep steering him away from the edge, but obviously we survived it just fine. I couldn't find the entrance to the trail on the east side, it wasn't marked and wasn't clear on the map, so we finally entered down by the boat ramp on the east side and did the trail in reverse from what I'd planned, but at least then I discovered where the east entrance is now. Got back to camp just after 4:00, did my post-ride chores and settled down for the evening, as usual. Fantastic ride, and it was a lot cooler in the woods, as the temps were in the mid-80's today, but felt fine. Can't wait to go out again! Good night, babe! Love you!