Hey Sweetie!
Had a good night sleep after all that flurry of activity the last two days, managed a leisurely breakfast and met with the crew at 9:00 this morning. We headed out toward where the horses stayed overnight, though at one point we had a little mishap. A dog literally came out of nowhere right in front of the truck and there was nothing Francesca could do, and we heard a couple of thumps, but then we saw the dog running away, not even limping! We all hoped it would be okay, but there are so many stray dogs around, I imagine this happens all the time. She stopped and retrieved the front license plate which had popped off, but otherwise there was no damage to the truck. Anyway, we carried on, and were soon mounting up on horses. Today's journey took us to the highest altitude I have ever ridden. Our previous record was about 10,500 feet in southern Colorado, but today, we reached the remarkable height of 13,931 feet! It's a wonder we didn't all need oxygen! Thank goodness I've been taking these altitude pills, I'm sure they made a difference today. We stopped for lunch next to a lovely manmade lake, and enjoyed a full chicken dinner before looping back around. Today the trail was mostly gravel road, which is the predominant trail here, lots of open space, and above the tree line, so pretty sparse on vegetation except for some pines obviously planted for erosion prevention, until we descended far enough to resume the usual vegetation. Pretty reminiscent of riding in the western USA. Jane was fascinated with the geology, there was sections of obviously ancient upheavals that had some pretty interesting fault lines. It was about ten miles total, so very enjoyable, not too hard, another good day! One discovery I made was the my horse isn't a gelding, she's a mare! I never looked! They cut roach manes on the geldings and let the mares grow long (sounds rather sexist, doesn't it?), and mine has a long mane, but at the beginning, Jane stated that she had the only mare, and I took her word for it. Trust but verify! I didn't do it! Regardless, she was perfect today, very steadfast, no problems with any trail surprises, though a couple of the other horses shied from some concrete pipe by the road. It was a nice ride. We got back to the hotel by about 4:00, and I got busy trying to finish my video from yesterday. I've gotten a bit behind, but I managed to finish it off last night, primarily because I opted out of dinner. I just was still so full from lunch, and was so far behind on stuff, and I just needed a little alone time to finish these jobs. Had a long talk with Jo back in Florida, she's going through a lot of stuff right now, then finished my video, had a long hot shower and am off to sleep! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Took a few hours to get too sleep last night, too much food, maybe too much caffeine in the chocolate dessert, or too much sleep the night before, but it didn't matter, the hours I slept led me to a full recovery! Had a leisurely breakfast since we weren't getting picked up until 9:30, then we were taken over to where the horses were, on a slip of a dirt road where they had been trucked. It didn't take long before we were off on the trail! Today we did a lot of "town" riding, saw a lot of interesting backyards and ways of life, but within a couple of miles, we had climbed up to the famous salt mines of Maras, an ancient collection of pools that collect salt water through a crazy irrigation system, where it's hauled out to dry, then packed in feed bag size bags and taken away, all done by hand. Apparently the salt mines in Himalaya use dynamite, so this is considered much safer and more natural. We stopped and walked around a bit, and I bought a bag of black, smoked salt and some of those roasted corn kernels that I liked in Lima. Wasn't long before we were off again, still climbing, through a couple more towns, until we stopped for lunch on the top of a plateau with a fantastic view. We were served a nice, filling lunch, then headed off again, through another town, through some fields with free range animals, took a quick stop at Cheqoq where the Incas stored their crops, then eventually ended up at the place where the horses will be staying overnight. We had a beer, then headed back to the hotel via vehicle, where we rested for a couple of hours before going to a local restaurant for another amazing dinner. We could only get reservations for the patio, but it was covered over and felt more like a cave than a patio, so it actually stayed quite warm with all of us in it. It was a long dinner, with lots of laughter and fellowship as we recalled the day and learned more about each other, and Peru. We learned that our hosts were finally able to get our tickets for Machu Picchu, but it required a major change in the schedule. Rather than next Sunday, we will be doing it on Wednesday at 7:30 in the morning (to catch the bus), but that requires us to take the night train tomorrow night at 9:00, stay in a different hotel (though they've arranged for us to keep our rooms here as well, so we only have to pack for the night, and only what we'll want to carry around with us all day, as we won't have a car to store it in), then see the site in the morning for three hours. We weren't able to get the best tickets, but it was all that could be done. They have a strange system here, where there are three different circuits around the site, and you can't choose which one you want, you have to take what you can get, unless, I suppose, you book it months in advance. Anyway, that's tomorrow's problem! We finally returned to the hotel around 8:30, picked up our tickets where Francesca had printed them off, and went to our respective rooms. Took my shower, and amy ready for bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Got a full night sleep and then some, had a nice breakfast at their buffet, and was packed up and ready to go by 9:00, though I then discovered the pickup had been change to 9:30 due to bad traffic because of a huge parade of some kind, but no matter. I managed to track down the rest of the Perolchico participants for this week's ride, and we all chatted for a bit. There's Monique from NJ (very close to Meg's place!), a professional Boxer dog breeder, trainer and handler, Alicia from Seattle, a flight attendant for United, Jane, a retired Fish & Wildlife gal from Northern California, and Sanne, a communications and media specialist from the Netherlands. Quite an eclectic group! We hit the road and wound our way through the narrow streets out of Cusco to the Sacred Valley, with a fascinating stop at a small textile place, where we were treated to an informative demonstration (and tea!) of how all the materials are made by hand. If I hadn't just bought a poncho yesterday, I would have been very tempted to buy one here! I actually liked the design better, but, oh well! We eventually made our way to the next hotel, the Sonesta Posadas del Inca, another beautiful building, where we dropped off our luggage, then headed up to the historic Hacienda Huayuccari, a family owned building that houses an amazing privately-owned museum, an incredible restaurant, beautiful gardens, and just up the hill from where we will be starting off with our horses. We toured the incredible museum, had a fabulous lunch, then went down to meet our caballos (horses) for the first time. I was placed on a sorrel gelding called Nevaba (which means "it was snowing"), and he turned out to very much like Flash, always wanting to move ahead, and getting a little impatient when I tried to hold him back. I'm assuming that after this intro ride, we'll be able to move out a bit more so I won't have to hold him back (fingers crossed). The weather was gorgeous, and though we were mostly on country gravel roads, it was a wonderful ride. Everyone else seemed to do well, and I loved the very secure tack that comes with these guys, so I'm looking forward to a great week! We got back to the hacienda, then drove back down to the hotel, finally got our room assignments, so we were able to take a couple of hours to rest before we were picked up and whisked off for dinner. Frankly, after that huge lunch, I didn't need anything else, but it was pre-arranged, so I couldn't very well say no! And in the end, glad I didn't, because that was yet another experience! Though it was only a few blocks away, we drove there, and the "road" that we drove on was barely wider than single lane and had an irrigation ditch about four feet deep right in the middle of it. There were a couple of moments when I thought for sure we were too much to one side and the tires would go into the ditch, but we made it! But that wasn't the worst part. Once we arrived at the house we had to do a K turn, where yet another, much wider irrigation ditch, with no curb, was on the edge of this barely single lane "road." A few more harrow moments! But the house was beautiful, the dinner was marvelous, served up by a woman who is apparently going to be our chef for most of the meals this week, bringing us lunch on the trail as we go. It was delicious! First course was a Peruvian classic, causa, which is layers of yellow potato, hard-boiled eggs and meat, in this case, tuna, with some other stuff in the layers, and that was followed by kebabs of fresh vegetables and melt-in-your-mouth chicken, with a choice of bite size brownies for dessert. We were all stuffed! After being stuffed at lunch and now stuffed at dinner, I expect a good jump on my scales when I get home, if this keeps up! Anyway, back to the hotel, shower, and now ready for a good night sleep! Our pickup time is 9:30 tomorrow, so no rush to get up early, thank goodness. What a great day! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a good night sleep, woke up a few minutes before my alarm, started the day by cranking on the generator to see how long it would last. Got chores and breakfast done, and at 30 minutes, I had to shut the generator off, it didn't quit! Yay, progress! It did feel pretty hot, but at least I got the batteries charged up a bit. A sunny day helped some more with the solar panel, too. After breakfast, I got Flash saddled up and we went over and registered for the Poker Run, leaving right at 9:30. We took the loop counterclockwise, and it seemed like a really long time before we finally reached one of the bags with chips in it, and I was beginning to think I had missed one before that, so when we finally ran into a couple of women coming the other way, I asked them how many chips they'd found, and were by ourselves until we ran into a couple of women. I asked how many chips they had found, and they said only one, and since there were supposed to be three, I figured I must have missed it. They offered to pick up my chips for me, which I appreciated, but then as I continued, I discovered from the next group that, in fact, I hadn't missed it, they had! When I got to the last bag, a grabbed a couple of extra chips for them, but then I never could find them again, unfortunately. Not surprisingly, Flash and I got back to camp first (he galloped most of the way back to camp as soon as we hit the straightaway on Trail 10!), and kept moving fast the rest of the way. Both my hands were duds (one had me drawing to an inside straight on the last card!), but I did manage to sell a couple of books, which I hadn't figured on, so that was nice. Had lunch, chatted with Maureen and some other ladies, and generally enjoyed the event. Got back to my camper at 2:00, took Lola for a walk, then settled down for the afternoon, working on some more plans for travel in the next few weeks before getting into my evening routine. At 6:30, I started the generator again, running it for nearly 45 minutes! More progress! Granted, the ambient temps are a tiny bit cooler, but as long as I can run it half an hour twice a day, I'm good! A couple of episodes of House, and I'm soon off to shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
The first chance I had I called down to Cummins, only to learn the guy, Ron, I was supposed to talk to, was out and wouldn't be back until next Wednesday. Spoke to Mark, who had no experience with generators, and the only advice he could offer was to be more thorough getting out the possible mouse's nest, and to call back on Monday when a generator guy would be there. I started the generator and was pleased it ran about 20 minutes before cutting off, enough the charge the batteries a bit. Next, I took a ride into town and bought a cute little wet/dry dustbuster size vacuum at Harbor Freight (3-year warranty if I ever need to check back), though the battery and charger were three times more expensive, but I needed it, so there you go. Went to Lowe's and found another compatible bolt for the spark arrestor, got back to camp, was happy to see some sunshine on the solar panel, which will help build up the batteries, installed the bolt and vacuumed as much as I could of the offending mouse next area. Started the generator again, and it ran another 22 minutes, again, charging the batteries. I figure even if it only works for 20 minutes, if I do that 2 or 3 times a day, it's about the same as my previous 30-60 minutes anyway, so at least I have that! With that in mind, I was relaxed enough to saddle up Flash and take him on a nice ride by the lake, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. On the way back, he became his usual speed demon self, and we had a great ride! Got back to camp, stopped by Ron and Lori's, who hadn't left yet, to update them on the latest, and to talk saddles and gaited horses. Got back to my site, put Flash away, then had a long conversation on the phone with Terri from Tennessee, who was so intrigued by my presentation about my Africa trip last fall that she and her daughter have booked a trip for February, and had a lot of questions about it, which I was happy to answer. Then I did a bit more vacuuming on the generator with my new vacuum, and started it again, and got another 12 minutes out of it, all of which is contributing to my battery, for which I am very grateful! Settled down for the evening, started the generator once more near dark, this time leaving the compartment hatch open, and it nearly 25 minutes. I don't know if that was because of the ambient temperature being cooler or what, but I was grateful for the battery charge! Had dinner and some TV, now I'm ready for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
A good night sleep, chores, the usual, then I saddled up Apollo to take him and Lola for a fairly short ride. I had hoped to find a trailhead that's indicated on the map, but I couldn't find it, where I thought I would find it was completely overgrown, so instead, we headed down the Shore to Shore trail to the river and back, about 2.8 miles in all. He stumbled a lot, especially in the beginning, but he improved as we went on. I'll need to do some more exploring tomorrow to try to find a river route that will get us there. In the afternoon, I went down to my friend Sandy's, and with her and her husband Bill trailered their boat down to the local park and launched it, and took a lovely toodle around Tawas Bay for a couple of hours. Got back to camp about 7:00, fed the horses and settled down for the evening. Felt like a vacation day! Good to be back on the water again, hope we can do some kayaking on the river before I leave the area as well. Meanwhile, had a pleasant evening, ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up before my alarm, finished my morning routine and was saddling up Flash early for our 9:00 start on removing the pink ribbons from the 15 mile trail. Rode down to camp and chatted for a minute, then headed out on the trail. As always, Flash was brilliant, knowing just when to stop or slow down, and for how long. The trails here are really beautiful, it was no hardship running them again. Got back about 12:30, just in time for lunch, after which I returned Flash to Apollo, then walked Lola down to camp to see what else I could do to help. Not much else, chatted for a bit, finally said my good-byes and walked back to my site in the family camp, suddenly feeling totally exhausted. Looked it up and saw that I hadn't taken any kind of day off in two and a half weeks! I feel as tired as when we would finish working a national convention! It doesn't help that it's gotten quite hot today. While I was out on trail, I finally managed to get a signal, did my Spanish lesson (had a scare last night that I had lost my 1504 day streak!), and was able to look up the FedEx delivery for my Starlink, which they are saying will be Thursday. Wish it were sooner, but it's better than the 2-3 week delivery time they quoted on their site. Sat down in my recliner and tried to read, but kept nodding off. I'm planning on taking it easy the next couple of days, though I do have to go get my tire done and do some shopping tomorrow, so maybe after that. Meanwhile, I'll keep struggling with what little signal and internet I have! I sure hope this Starlink is everything it's been billed for! Finally had to break down and put on the AC for a bit to blow out the hot air, poor Lola has been panting most of the day. Planning on an early bedtime again to night! Good night, Darlin'! Love you!

Hey Babe!
What gorgeous weather we are having, so much more comfortable than down in Indiana! Was below 50 when I got up, warmed up nicely! Forgot to set my alarm, and slept until 8:00, so I had to rush chores and breakfast to make it down the group camp by 9:00. Drove down, but discovered that the meeting I thought was at 9:00 wasn't really, but after speaking with several folks, it was determined that a section of the ten-mile loop had been marked the wrong way, so I offered to ride out there and straighten it out. Drove back to my camp, saddled up Flash, and headed out on trail. He started out slow for about the first 100 yards, but then he picked up to his normal speed, and when we turned off the first loop in the opposite direction from yesterday, he re-engaged his brain and came alive. The first section was along the AuSable river, and it was gorgeous! Eventually we crossed Rollaways Road and ended up on some fabulous hard packed sand roads which made Flash immediately want to canter, which we did, for miles, only stopping to change the markers. We did the whole ten miles, including the markers, and still got back to camp in less than two hours! True speed demon today! What a pleasure this horse is to ride! Once we got back to camp, there wasn't anything else I could help with, so I went back to my site, then drove out to find a cell phone signal good enough to get an internet connection. I drove most of the way Hale, about 8 miles or so, before I got a connection good enough for internet, and then for some reason, I still wasn't able to make a phone call! Four bars and I couldn't make a call??!! What's up with that, Verizon! I was delighted to see an email from Starlink saying my unit had been shipped (yay!), but FedEx tracking said they hadn't received the package yet. Coming from Washington State, but hopefully it will arrive early next week. What a godsend that will be! Went back to the group camp at 4:00 when the vetting was supposed to start, but neither vet arrived until after 5:30, so vetting didn't start until after we ate, around 6:15. We did manage to get everyone vetted in before the ride meeting at 7:00, which lasted nearly an hour, but several people introduced themselves to me after Barb called me out for my trail-marking, including Jan G. who had offered to put me up at her place when I broke down earlier this week, and several others I had met previously during the 2023 Shore to Shore ride. Seems most of them have been following me on Facebook! Just as I was leaving, I noticed my phone had a bit of a signal in the spot where I parked my truck, so I did a quick Spanish lesson (I had forgotten to do it while I was out today) and checked a few other things quickly before it petered out on me. So intermittent, so crazy! Anyway, got back to my site, fed the horses and took Lola for a walk. Ready to settle down for a short tea and ice cream break, shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Went to bed at a reasonable hour and was rewarded with a good night sleep. Woke about 7:00, but read until I got up at 8:00. Flash and Apollo had a nice run around the paddock this morning, so taking Flash for a ride was a must today! Brian had slipped by at some point and left me markers, though I still wasn't sure what the plan was. Did chores and breakfast, then Brian came by on his ATV and we chatted a bit. Turns out Harry and Cheryl for the MTRA are here to help with the ride, I met them back in 2023 when I did the two Shore to Shore rides, so we walked over there and chatted with them for a bit. Eventually the ranger came by and opened the group camp gate just before noon, so I came back and saddled up Flash and headed over, finally meeting Ride Manager Barf in person. She determined that she would ride and mark the 10 mile and I would ride and mark the 15 mile ride, so I went back for the markers and hit the trail. We're only doing ribbons, the MTRA folks will finish it up, with some supervision, since they're not as experienced in endurance-style trail marking. I remembered that this was my favorite section of trail on the S2S rides and it once again put me in my happy place! It runs right along the AuSable River for most of the way, then it turned on a sand road for a a mile or so, then south again, doing a lollipop configuration back to the S2S. Flash loved it! Only a little bit of it was rocky, so he really got moving when we hit the rest of it! We left just before 2:00 and were coming into camp at 5:00, so 15 miles in three hours, while marking trails and occasionally clearing a few branches, well, we made good time! I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Nice trails, great horse, perfect cloud-free sky in the mid-70's, just what I crave! Happy day! Once I got back and put Flash away, I tried to check my email, stock portfolio and do my Spanish lesson, but the cell phone signal here just wasn't having it, so I ended up driving all the way to the end of Rollaway Rd., and even then I was only barely able to do my lesson. Can't wait to get my new Starlink, I'm sick and tired of all the time I am TRYING to get internet service through my phone when the signal is so bad. I don't know what's up with Verizon, they usually have the best coverage, but Northern Michigan seems all but barren of signal, darn it. Finally got back to camp and settled down, made some dinner (after starving all day!, but my weight was down this morning, so I'm not complaining!), and am now just trying to finish off a few things before shower and bed. I hate it still being so light at 9:30 at night! KILL DAYLIGHT SAVINGS!! Anyway, overall a great day, off to shower and bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!