Archives for September 2024

Pix to come.

Hi Darlin'!
A good night sleep, a fairly easy final pack up, and other than taking down the paddock fence and cleaning up that area, everything went smoothly. Got out a bit after 9:00. I was a bit worried the park guys might come along and ask what I was still doing there, since the entire area is completely barren except for the porta-potties, but one drove by and didn't stop, so it was all good. Most the google maps directions had me going cross country, and it was definitely shorter mileage-wise, but I wasn't about to go over those hills with this trailer at the moment, so we stuck to the freeways, going west on I-40 and south on I-75, which actually got me there at just about the same time, right at 12:30. I'm spending the week with my friend Linda, who always takes such good care of me when I camp down at Lost Corral, but she invited me to stay at her place, which is probably easier for her than picking me up down there, and definitely nice for me and the whole family. I get electrice and water, my horses get a huge green pasture, and Lola gets to be free and has other dogs to keep her company. Got in position next to the barn very easily, and got hooked up with everything in no time. Linda and I sat and chatted for awhile, then I got busy doing housework and laundry, since I'd let it all go during the ride week. Did some computer work, finally settled down for the evening to dinner, and was finally able to watch an hour of TV! The signal isn't great here, but it's certainly better than what I've had the last couple of weeks, and good enough for live streaming, so I'm a happy camper! I might even be able to load up some of the pictures I haven't been able to get up before! Anyway, I've got an early morning, so I'm heading to shower and bed nice and early, too. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Pix to come

Hiya Darlin',
Another terrible night sleep, don't know what's up with that! Tossed and turned and finally slept for a few hours, waking up to an early alarm, was at the main tent before 7:00 where I helped a little with breakfast. Did a few odds and ends but it was really a mostly slow day, and it dragged on and on. Helped a bit with lunch, ate too much, sat around too much, finally got busy when the pork roasts arrived, got everything set up for dinner, until the pork finally cooled down enough to pull. There was an assembly line set up to package it all up, and it was just completed right at 6:00. Ate too much again, sat around for the riders meeting and part of the awards assembly, then started to do some cleanup until I finally left about 7:45. Fed the horses, took Lola for a walk, brought back a bunch of pork fat from the roasts that we collected, finally got back to the trailer with all evening chores done around 8:30. I haven't run the generator at all since I've been here, except for about five minutes, so I finally had to get that going. I've been pretty impressed with the fact that I've had my electric fence on through the inverter since I've been here, and it doesn't seem to be using hardly any juice. Of course, during the day it's getting solar, but I'm not sure the battery is doing much of the work. I did try unplugging it yesterday, and it seemed to run off the battery for awhile, but by evening it was off again and I had to put the electric back on to make it work. I was hoping my battery problem was solved, but it may take a bit more charging, or more likely, I need a new battery. Hopefully I'll work out which before I leave here. I'm making a double dose of Sleepytime tea, I'm determined to get a good night sleep tonight! I don't usually sleep that well on a full stomach, but I'm hoping my body will recognize it's siesta time and give me a break! Anyway, almost done with my evening, shower and bed next! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a better night sleep, thank goodness, and a relaxed morning. I had to send a letter out and order a few things online, so after chores I drove over to the visitor center where they have wifi, and one of the folks there offered to take my letter to HQ, as they didn't have a mailbox here. I ordered what I needed and did a few other things, and made it back to camp by 11:00. I spent the rest of the day doing odd jobs, helping to set up tents, doing some food prep for dinner, etc., attended the ride meeting, did my evening chores, watched a Farside, now I'm ready for shower and bed! Have another early morning tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Got up just after 7:00 and finished the packing. There wasn't much, but I had a lot of cleanup in the stalls, and then I stopped at the dump to clear my black and gray water tanks, so it was after 9:15 before we finally hit the road. It was less than 270 miles, so I figured about 5+ hours, but I guess I didn't take into account how much of it was on twisty, windy roads that were very low speed limits, so by the time I got to Jamestown, TN, it was 3:30 already. I had to stop at Tractor Supply for horse feed and Walmart for groceries, it was well after 5:00 by the time I got to camp. Weird thing is, although we're technically on Central Time, the ride and the park work on Eastern time, so the hour I thought I would gain isn't really going to happen. Other than being long and twisty and windy, the drive wasn't too bad. Organizer Ken met me at the site to make sure I got in the right place, since everyone coming in after me will line up the same way. I put up a good sized paddock for the boys, but didn't take them out of the trailer until after I went and got water, which is fortunately not, too far away, but I didn't have enough in my trailer tank, and I haven't put any in my truck tank since I pressure washed it. I got their tubs filled with water and the trailer as well, then finally brought them out. A long day in the trailer for them! They didn't seem any worse for the wear, though, just thirsty. Of course they rolled, then settled down to munching. I met the co-managers of the ride, and then the trail gal came along as well, so with all the chatting, I ended up being very late with their dinner. I was a bit worried about the fence charger, it didn't seem to be working, I thought maybe the battery needed charging, then I couldn't find the charger. I looked EVERYWHERE before I finally found it in the dog drawer. Don't know why I put it there, but it was clearly marked "fence charger", so I plugged it in. Funny thing was, the green light stayed on, which I'm assuming means it's fully charged, but when I take it off the electric charger, it doesn't work. I checked everything I could, so the only thing left is either the battery really is dead, or it got damaged when the horses ran over the fence the other morning. I've decided to leave the inverter on all night to see if that charges the battery, although I checked it with my multi-meter and their does seem to be some charge in it, maybe just not enough. I may need a new battery. We'll see in the morning! Good news! Kathy told me Sue's missing dog Pete has been spotted, so she's heading back down to get him. Hope he's okay! Meanwhile, I'm taking a shower and heading to bed asap, April wants to start putting up ribbons at 8:00E/7:00C, so I have to get up before the crack of dawn! Already looking forward to a nap tomorrow afternoon! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie ,
Well, despite dreams that Pete would come back to Sue, there was no sign of him this morning, sorry to say. I was awakened early with a knock on my door informing me that my horses had escaped, so I got up and dressed quickly and went looking. Someone had spotted them down at the end of the road beyond the camp by the barn that had a bit Trump banner across it, and I walked down there and saw them. They decided to go on walkabout, and headed away from me, so I had to come back and get their feed bags, and once I did, I was able to catch them and bring them back. I put them both in stalls and proceed to take down the corral, which had been practically dismantled by their escape. I know the fence electric was on last night, but I'm guessing Apollo pulled up the posts, then someone's foot got caught in a wire and dragged it for a bit, because there were several posts down and one of the power connectors on the solar charger was completely pulled apart. Then I walked down to say good-bye to Kathy, but they left early, so I didn't get a chance. Had breakfast and then proceeded to start packing and doing laundry, my usual "day before I leave" routine, minus the housework, since I did that a couple of days ago. Spent most of the day reading or playing computer games, not much else to do when I'm not riding. Did work out the best route to get where I'm going tomorrow, had a long talk with owner Jill, paid my bill, finished the packing I could do and settled down for the evening. Ready to move on to the next adventure! Love you, babe! Good night!