Pix to come!

Hey Babe!
Well, today was more like it! A good night sleep, easy chores, then out on the trail before 11:00, with a much more interesting trail that was much more to my liking! Rarely on the road, lots of hilly terrain, seventeen miles, Flash really got a workout today! He's been a flatlander for so many months, and even though he's very fit, he had to work harder than usual today. Nevertheless, he came shining through with his usual aplomb! The trailmaster here, a man named Stagg, had generously given me some tour tips for this trail, which included a stop at an outdoor venue with a big pavilion tent, a statue of Diana, and an incredible view of the front of the Biltmore house, with a whole layer of mountains beyond it. Truly spectacular! I had to put Flash on a hitching rail and walk over, and then managed to get a woman there to take a couple of pix for me. Got back to camp, worked up the trail details, and discovered it was a bit longer than it was supposed to be, something I"ll have to talk to Stagg about when I get the chance. Had a quick dinner, then attended the last half of the ride meeting (I didn't know it was going on, never got a schedule, first one I've ever missed), then back to the trailer. Bonni came by to take me out to where my spotting and crosswalk duties were to be done, getting back around 8:00. Having a little trouble with my TV streaming today, no doubt because there are so many folks in camp using up the bandwidth. Heading to bed soon anyway, got an early start in the morning! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Went to bed early, took awhile to get to sleep because I realized the increased altitude had made the bed much firmer than I like. I forgot to deflate it before I left the last place, not realizing what a big mountain I had to climb just before getting here. I thought about it as I was climbing, and hoped I wouldn't do any damage to the new air mattress, and evidently I didn't, it was just too firm. I finally fell asleep but woke up just after 4:00 and had a hard time getting to sleep, again, because it was too hard! Before going to bed tonight, though, I've let some air out, so hopefully it will be a more comfortable night's sleep. Had a wonderful ride today, my first here at Biltmore. I was instructed to check the lime green trail and the purple trail, most of which was shared with just a few places that were different. It wasn't as pretty as I had hoped, lots of roads, going around perimeters of fields, and some areas that had been logged so it was a case of trail by bulldozer, not my favorite. There was one section on the purple trail I really enjoyed, with tower pines and a fern floor. It was short-lived, unfortunately, I would have like to see a lot more like that. I understand the red trail, which I'm doing tomorrow, is supposed to be nicer, and the white trail, where I'll be picking up glow sticks on Sunday, is the nicest of all, so I'm looking forward to that. I put boots on Flash because I didn't know that the terrain was like, and I was glad I did, as there were quite a few sections with gravel, though I could tell Flash wasn't that happy about it, but he went along with it. We passed some bearded goats and lots of geese, heard some cows bawling but never saw them, and had to deal with a lot of cars and runners. It's a busy place! The end of the purple trail finished where the riders are camping, and I saw Patsy's truck, so I went over and chatted with her for a few minutes before heading back to my trailer. Once Flash was back in the paddock, he spent a lot of time laying down. It's the most comfortable place he's had to lay down in in a very long time, and he is taking full advantage! The grass is about a foot high (though they've been munching on it and rolling on it, so it's getting flatter all the time), so it's a very lush bed, so I can't blame him. Apollo's been doing some rolling as well, so they're both happy campers at the moment! Went down to Patsy's for dinner, then to a volunteer meeting where I finally met Bonni, who is the volunteer coordinator, and we got along great! She had several volunteers that had to cancel at the last minute, so she's very grateful I called, and I'm very grateful to be here! After our meeting I came back to camp and found that my new neighbors are the same volunteers I met at the meeting, and they have a very energetic, 14 month old Doberman that Lola (who came with me to the meeting) wasn't sure about, but once they met off-leash back at camp, they started running around and playing together, so I can see Lola getting plenty of exercise, which she'll need since she can't come with me on the trail here. She was mad at me when I got back from my ride, but there's nothing I can do about it here, so this is good that she has a playmate next door. Finally settled down to a Northern Exposure, a bit of bourbon and a small cup of ice cream for the evening. Just about ready for bed, now that it's going to be more comfortable. I do love that bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a hard time getting to sleep last night, read until the wee hours, but was up and ready to ride by 10:00, but Patsy was running last and didn't get here until after 10:40, but we were out on the trail with her friend Cynthia by just after 11:00. There was a lot of dog activity today, evidentally a field trial competition (the shooting started even earlier than usual, at 7:45 a.m.), so she led us out to a detour around the working areas, mostly on the Red arrow trail, which was quite nice. As usual, Flash was in the lead, and Lola came along, and soon we were way out front with his four mph walk. I had to canter him out a few times just to settle him down, but overall he did very well. We ended up going about ten miles on some very nice trails, just a little bit of the road. After they left, I got ready to go into town to pick up the part for the truck, but that ended up being delayed. I went into Walmart to get Lola's prescription, but there turned out to be a problem with it, they didn't have the right dosage, but that turned out to be a mistake on the written Rx, as I learned after I got home. Going to have to figure that out tomorrow as well. Got a few things there, topped of the fuel tank so hopefully I have enough to get all the way to the Biltmore on Tuesday, went to the AutoZone and had to wait for the delivery. I had been told 4:30, turned out to be 5:30, but at least I have the part in hand now. I sure hope they can put it in for me in the morning, or at least let me have a corner to do it myself, in case I need their help. Finally settled down for the evening to a fun Sly Stallone movie, Avenging Angelo, and heading to bed forthwith! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a good night sleep, puttered around in the morning, did a little research of possible places to go after this. I emailed some folks at the upcoming Biltmore ride, and they were happy to take me on as a volunteer! I've always wanted to go there, but as you know, it's pretty pricey, but as a volunteer, I was delighted to learn I can get free camping! Very happy I checked that out! So I extended my stay here until next Tuesday for now, depending on whether I can get into Biltmore Tuesday or Wednesday, and thankful they didn't make a fuss about the maximum camping time, which may or may not be 14 days, I don't know, I didn't check. Anyway, once I got that and a few other things sorted out, I finally groomed and saddled up Apollo, though I also had to trim his back feet, they were if dire need of trimming. I thought I had a sign to pick up out on the green trail, but when I got there, there wasn't one, and after seeing where it was, way, way off the road, I can understand why. Note to self, take a better inventory of what we put out so I can keep track of what we need to get back! I did find two more signs by the road that belong to the other group, so I after getting back to camp, I drove out and picked those up. It was a great ride! Apollo finally got some exercise (we went about 7 3/4 miles!), and Lola came along, her first ride in a very long time! I trimmed her sore nail as much as I could, and it didn't seem to bother her one bit, thank goodness. She's been sleeping all evening, so it was obviously a good run for her, which she badly needed. Had dinner (I've been eating nothing but hot dogs, beans, and mac and cheese leftover from the ride all week, and probably have enough for another week!), watched a Northern Exposure and a quirky Robin Williams movie called the Big White (when aren't his movies quirky?), now I'm heading to bed, hopefully early. Starting to feel like my summer is shaping up, particularly if I can keep following the endurance ride circuit, though I'll be in NYS less than I had originally thought, which is fine. Been there, done that, anyway! And believe it or not, most of my fairy lights are STILL LIT tonight! Amazing! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin'!
Well, despite all the sleep and rest I had during the day, I had no trouble having a good night sleep last night, and woke up pretty refreshed this morning, still laying in very late while I waited for the temps in the 30's to warm up a bit. This is the coldest night, and will improve this week, so I wasn't too worried. Did my chores and had breakfast in a leisurely manner, finally saddling up and getting on the trail around noon. Flash was in a pretty lazy mood so it took us a bit long to take the lights down than I thought. I was amazed at how many of them were still lit! I thought they were only supposed to last 24 hours, but many were still going strong three days later! Even as I'm getting ready for bed, a lot of them are still lit! It was a beautiful day, so it was a nice ride, though I am getting a bit bored with the blue trail, as this is our third time riding it, not to mention putting signs out. My intention was to pick up one FEI sign, but then I ran across more than half a dozen other signs, so I picked those up as well. Turns out they belong to Angie, but Patsy didn't know where they were, so didn't know to pick them up. Anyway, I got all the ones on the blue trail, as well as the sections of yellow that is shared, hopefully I can get them back to Patsy before I leave here, or at least leave them somewhere where she can get to them. Arrived back in camp around 4:00, fixed the highline as it was sagging and I wanted to shorten one end to fix that, finally settled down for dinner and a movie. Ready for another nice night, not so cold as yesterday so I'm hoping to leave the window open a crack for some fresh air. No nearby generators to shut out now! Looking forward to another good night sleep! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya, Darlin'!
The day has finally arrived, and, for the most part, the preparation has paid off. No one got lost, nobody, horse or rider, got injured. One guy got stuck at a crew point, and some poor communication had him sitting out there a lot longer than he needed to be. We had hot, humid weather most of the day, until some severe thunderstorms came in and got everything drenched and a lot of equipment wrecked with the wind and the rain. Several bouts of that didn't help much. My main job today was to ride the blue trail and turn on the little LED lights that Becky had installed a few days ago, every tenth of a mile for 16 miles, by pulling a tiny tab on the battery. Flash and I had that done in about 3 1/2 hours, helped along by every rider that zoomed past us, which made Flash want to zoom out with them, so we made good time, even with all the stops. If it weren't for the rain, I think just about everything would have gone smoothly. As we approach 11:00, there are still four riders out, three on the final loop and one on the second to last loop, but it's questionable whether she'll pass the next vet check and make the final loop, meaning she may take another 3-4 hours to finish the last loop at the rate she's going. Nevertheless, the vet check is still open with enough help that Chelle and I decided we could go to bed, since so many of the team will be dragging in the morning as they wait for the last riders to come in. Once I got back from my ride, I spent most of the day just hanging around, taxiing people around and filling in where needed, so not really a taxing day, which was a relief. As the night dragged on, I did my Spanish lesson, and I'm heading for the shower as soon as I finish my bourbon! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Another early morning, out on the trail with the final chore of finishing refreshing the last part of the yellow trail with new paint. Doing nine miles was about the shortest ride we've done yet! Was shooting to get it done by 11:00 when Patsy was due to arrive, but she ended up running late, so we took a bit more of a relaxed pace, finishing the job at 11:30. Then, miracle of miracles, I actually had almost two hours with nothing particular to do! Amazing! Though when I sat in my recliner for a few minutes, I could feel my body going into crash mode, not surprisingly. I did a little work on the driving map, but then reached an impasse, so I kept myself busy with a few computer games, just not wanting to nod off. Patsy finally arrived, and we headed out to pick up signs and other essentials, met up with Brandon, their water guy, and proceeded to navigate through the forest putting out tubs, adding signs, and fixing some of the issues I had from when I was out on the trail. Seems like it's in mostly good shape now, with a few matters to still complete. A few other people arrived include Chelle from Florida who is also helping with the FEI portion of the ride. Patsy invited me over for dinner, and now I'm ready for a shower and a good night sleep! I plan on sleeping in tomorrow, no alarms for me! Of course, if it's like any other morning, there will be dog training starting at 8:00, and gunfire is sure to quickly follow, so it may not be as late as I would like! Anyway, things are coming together, it's sure to be a busy, chaotic and exciting weekend! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
I can't believe how much I got done today, though my tired bones know! I woke up five minutes before the alarm, got up right away, and went non-stop all day! I managed to get two loads of laundry washed and hung up, loaded two propane tanks into the pickup, plus all my usual chores, breakfast, even burying a poor dead bird that's ended up near the trailer, and still managed to be on the trail by 8:45. Flash and I made good time checking our final trail, the blue trail, which was mostly in good shape except for a few missing markers (though we need a sign at the beginning, I completely missed a turn!), and we made good time, getting back to camp just after noon, having done nearly 17 miles. Took down my laundry, but decided to put it away later since I was so short on time. Then Lola and I ran into nearby Society Hill, where we had a tire waiting for us to replace the one that blew on the trailer back in Jacksonville on the way up, and the guy jumped right on it. I went down to a place about a mile or two south that had coastal hay listed on Facebook Marketplace, and picked up six bales there. Believe it or not, it was on the honor system, I just had to leave a check in his box on the side of a building! Gotta love the South! By the time I finished that, my tire was done, so I picked that up, then headed up to Rockingham, NC where the Tractor Supply had managed to find a bag of Balance for me, and had even had one of their employees pick up a bag of All Life Stages (which is the new one replacing the Perform that we've always used for Flash) at another store and bring it over for me. Filled the two propane tanks, got the feed, stopped at the ABC store (in SC that's the only place to buy bourbon, for which I had a need!), got diesel at Murphy for $3.77/gal., went shopping at Walmart, and finally got back to camp around 5:30. By the time I unloaded everything it was 6:00, and I was exhausted! No rest for the weary, though, I then had to finish the map for the ride after mediating between participants, and it was nearly 8:00 before I was able to make myself a chicken sandwich and settled down for a very short evening. Managed to get in one Northern Exposure, but I'm dragging! My right knee is really swollen so I've been icing that, hope it's better tomorrow. Time for shower and bed!! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Got up bright and early this morning in order to tackle our longest ride yet, 22+ miles. With temps heading to near 90, I wanted to get as far as I could while it was cool in the morning. We were on the trail by 8:30, headed down the usual sand roads, but were soon in some more shaded areas as we headed into the Sand Hills Forest. Lots of pine trees, and the trails were in good shape. Just had to cut a couple of small trees down that were blocking the way, torn down some vines and limbs that were blocking markers, but otherwise didn't have any problem following the trail. Flash made good time, and we were back in camp right around 2:00. I spent the afternoon and into the evening working on the map, adding layers and nailing down crew spots. Working later than I thought, gotta head to bed soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Another busy day on the trails! Today, Flash and I did the 14 miles green trail, which was in very good shape except a couple of markers that had fallen down and a couple of spots that will need a little TLC with markers. There are plenty of markers out there, so mostly what I've been doing is just trimming branches and short trees that are blocking (or will soon block) markers, especially with the leaves coming out now. Occasionally, I'll move some larger limbs that are across the trail, but for the most part, I've never seen such well- marked (almost overly-marked) trails in my life! Just a couple of spots to fix and it will be just about perfect. The green trail is much more like what I expected here, only occasional road riding, the rest is through the woods, a lovely forest, mostly pine, of course, but with it's share of hardwoods as well. Almost entirely sand and grass, the footing is excellent for a barefoot horse. We made good time, out by 10:45, back by 2:00. Stopped by the office to buy a pass for Sand Hills State Forest (I need a day pass to go on the red trail), but they didn't sell them there anymore, so I went online to do it. Amazingly enough, they actually have a wifi signal here, so I've been streaming all my TV from their wifi, though my computer can't find it unless I'm sitting outside. With such a beautiful day today, I was happy to sit outside to do my computer work! Tomorrow, unfortunately, is due to be much hotter, and we have the longest ride yet to do, the red trail. The only trail left after that is the 12-mile blue trail, and I figure if I do that Tuesday morning, I'll have time to do laundry, ride, then go into town to do my shopping and getting my spare tire replaced, hopefully. Anyway, it's a beautiful evening here, but it's going to be a long hot day tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed early! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!