Hey Darlin’!
What a fun day today! I started out by plotting a trail route based on Google Earth, which showed trails that I included, though most of those turned out to be hiking and ski trails, but cyclists were using them too, so I figured as a multi-use trail, horses were okay. Well, probably not, but as I’m fond of saying, they gotta catch me first! It was a lovely ride, with only one dubious point when we had to cross a boardwalk over a bog, and it probably wasn’t built for horses, but we made it over fine. Probably wouldn’t want to try it on a heavier horse though! We went just under 11 miles, most of it through lovely forest and single track trails, and it was a nice ride with Lola along. When we got back into camp, there were a lot more horses and horse trailers in camp, as folks were starting to arrive for the event that starts tomorrow. It wasn’t long before I was chatting with some friends from the earlier rides (two Janes and Pat), and when I suggested going kayaking, they all jumped at the chance. Half an hour later we were heading to the launch point, two hard kayaks and my inflatable, which Pat joined me in. Turned out the creek was a lot lower than normal and was quite shallow in spots, so we had a lot of maneuvering to do, but it was a great time! We all enjoyed it immensely. It was a beautiful day, and we passed a lot of tubers as we went down the creek. Arrived in camp around 5:30, and Jane ran me back to my truck. After I had dinner I went back to visit with them and discovered they were playing Euchre! At last, a Euchre game to play! I sat in for Pat after their game ended, and the next game lasted about an hour, simply because conversation was our primary activity, the game quite secondary, and it went all the way to a 9-9 tie before Jane and I won the last hand and took the match. What a great day! Looks like it’s going to be a fun week! For now, though, I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a better night sleep, woke up with a 7:30 alarm, and after chores and breakfast, got Flash saddled up to go ride with Rod and Nancy, my new neighbors from last night. I was down there a little after 9:00, as we had decided to go early because of a forecast calling for temps in the high 80’s. We managed to get on the trail by about 9:30, started out on the Shore to Shore trail heading north, then eventually left that and meandered around a bit. Nice woods, but nothing too exciting. At one point we headed cross country for awhile, but that petered out and we headed back to the road, and the Shore to Shore, and camp. Less than six miles, but it took nearly two hours. Needless to say, they have quarter horses, but Flash was really good about staying with them, even when we were out front. Not a bad ride, just really short by out standards. When I was downloading the route onto Google Earth, I noticed that they have some trails marked out, so I’ve planned a route following them, a bit over ten miles, which I’ll try on my own tomorrow. Once I got back, I tried to nail down UPS on my package, and finally did get a new password so I could log onto their website, something I haven’t been able to do in nearly a year, but I decided to wait to see if the driver was able to delay his delivery until after the post office opened, and lo and behold, he did! I got a text that it was delivered just after 1:00. I called the post office and they confirmed my box was there, so I headed over there. I decided to take a different route, with a lot more gravel road, and it was okay to get to the post office. I got my package and headed back, following an alternative route, and the one that Google maps had suggested, and what a mistake THAT was! There was a quarter mile that Google announced was called “Country Road”, but it turned out to be nothing more than an OHV trail! I almost didn’t make it through! Lots of sand, very deep, pretty narrow, and my wheels were spinning, but I kept moving, and managed to JUST make it! Whew! Adrenaline got going on that one! Made it back to camp, opened my box and got busy. First job was to replace the doggie screen door, Lola managed to break the plastic a while back, and of course, it was aging, too, so it was necessary. I also ordered a new fence charger, the old one quit awhile back, but the one I ordered didn’t have a battery, because the battery was still good on the old one and I was going to use that one. Wouldn’t you know, I couldn’t find the old charger to save my life! I cleared out every compartment, every drawer, everywhere I could think of looking for the darn thing and couldn’t find it. I even climbed up to the attic thinking I might have put it up there for some reason, though I couldn’t think why I would. Of course, while I had the ladder down I had to beat on it a few times to try to straighten it out, not sure it helped, but I got out some frustration with my rubber hammer! I finally decided that I must have just gone on a cleaning frenzy and threw out the old charger with the battery still in it, but that just doesn’t seem like me. Finally, I took one last look in the basket on the breakfast counter, which I had already done twice already, and there I found the battery. I can’t understand why I didn’t see it the first two times I looked, but it made more sense than me throwing it away! Anyway, that wasted some time, but at least I was able to get the battery installed. Now I have to charge it up by either leaving it in the sun for three days, or with an electrical outlet for 8-10 hours, so I’m going to try to do both. Have it plugged in and in the sun until it’s charged. Or I just might put it on the cell phone charge, that might work for eight hours too. The old one didn’t have the AC option, so I really like that feature. Anyway, it was a nice day, albeit fairly hot, but comfortable in the shade, we had a nice ride, and I got a lot done. Couldn’t ask for more than that out of life! Settled down for the evening to the sound of rolling thunder (once again, the forecast was WAY off!), followed by a good hard shower, then cooler temps and a few more hours of sunshine before dusk. Ready for shower and bed! A good day! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’,
Other than the usual chores and a couple of repairs, not much going on today except a nice ride on Flash. Once he was warmed up, he was speedy Gonzales today, gaiting for miles, and at one point when we turned in the direction of camp, he broke into a gallop and popped up a time or two before I managed to settle him down. Good thing he’s so small, I can just wrap my legs around him, makes it hard for me to come off, thank goodness! Did over ten miles in just over two hours, so we were making good time. Tried to do as many wooded areas as I could, but a lot was on roads, too, but a nice ride. Put a little map together an posted it on the Hopkins Creek Facebook group, hope it helps some folks in the future. Not much else going on today, pretty quiet here, unlike last weekend. Just a couple of other campers here. Won’t be long out of bed tonight, tomorrow is all about packing up, which shouldn’t take long. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
For some unknown reason, I was getting a much better cell phone signal and internet connection this morning, so I spent some time solidifying my travel plans from now until mid-September, checked on some things I wanted to order, and did some general computer work, before finally saddling up Flash and heading out for a ride around 1:00. I wanted to follow the Shore-to-Shore to the north to see how far I could get, and less than two miles out we hit a paved road. I wasn’t sure how far we had to go on it (turns out, a long way!), so I turned back. We looped around the river trail, which seems to be the local favorite, went down to a little campsite by the river where Lola and Flash were both able to get a good long drink, then headed along the river back to camp (Flash knew the way!), crossing the creek twice to get back here. It was a hot day, and a short ride, just over six miles in less than two hours, but that’s okay. Not every ride has to be a long one! Settled down to solve a few more computer problems (I’m running out of space for pix in my Google account, unless I want to pay a lot more, which I don’t!), and a few other little issues that will be resolved now that I have a better signal. Don’t know what’s up with that, but fingers crossed, it stays for awhile! Anyway, not much else going on today, so I’m heading to shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Babe,
I did a little work on the computer this morning, then went for an exploratory ride this afternoon. Started out going south toward Cadillac on the Shore to Shore trail, got about three miles before it turned into regular sand/gravel road, and looked like it would go that way for a while, so I turned back and wandered around a bit on the way back to camp. Hit several dead ends, not surprisingly, and when it came time to head toward camp, Flash was more accurate than my GPS. Except for one last turn, he pretty much brought me all the way back to camp! Lola enjoyed herself, too, though she still needs to get back into shape, she’s tiring fairly easily these days. She just needs to ride with us more! I let Flash graze on his own for a bit, and he ran around camp for awhile, then I finally looked out the window and saw him standing at the highline, as if he were hooked up! Crazy horse! Sleeping, I guess. It was a nice ride, though, most of it in the woods on two tracks and the occasional single track, and we ended up doing nearly 11.5 miles. Not a long ride, but it was pretty warm today, and we started pretty late, so it was enough. Anyway, I’m settled down for the evening, be heading to shower and bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’,
The ladies next door invited me to breakfast after chores this morning, so another meal with no clean up, yay! Afterward, I saddled up Flash and went up the road at 10:50 to see if anyone in last night’s gaited group was ready to go, and found Janet and Greg, the folks from Kentucky who have apparently made a lot of the trails just about to leave, and they agreed to let me tag along. Both their horses were a bit anxious at having another horse behind them, but eventually they got used to us. Apparently they’re being fed alfalfa cubes the last couple of days, and they were both antsy, at least that was the conclusion they drew. They took me along the river to the high banks, which I’ve already done before, with a couple of added short sections where we took very steep hills down and up to get closer to the river. It seems almost everyone goes out to the river as their ride of choice, but I was looking forward to going on some new trails, which I haven’t really done yet. In the end, the ride wasn’t even eight miles, way too short for my thinking, but that’s the compromise you have to make when riding with others. I’ve decided to stay here another week, which should give me an opportunity to explore more on my own, in the hopes of finding some addition loop riding and some other points of interest. We got caught is a little bit of rain during the last few miles, but it was clearing up again by the time we got back to camp. Then they decided to take a fast gait on the road, which Flash was dying to do as well, so we went along. As we were gaiting down the road, suddenly Greg stopped right in front of me, and we went crashing into him, smashing my left knee on his horse’s flank, and wrenching my knee. I thought I felt something shift in my knee, but I sure hope not! I don’t need to have problems with THAT knee, after having my right knee take so long to heal after my surgery years ago. Anyway, as soon as I got back to the trailer I iced it down, tried to elevate it a bit, and eventually put my knee brace on it, trying to follow the RICE protocol for such injuries. Just as I was sitting down to dinner, Charlie and Karen came by, they ride a lot at Big Oaks and wanted to get more information on the map I made, so I made my way over to their camp after dinner and we ended up chatting until nearly 9:30. We had another storm late in the afternoon with some real rain, but it seems that’s the last of it for awhile, though the forecast is calling for much higher temps mid-week, relatively speaking. Anyway, I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Another good night sleep, then the morning was all about laundry. Did three loads today, as my towels were overdue. Once they were on the line, I saddled up Flash and headed out to finish up the rest of the endurance ride map I had, just eleven miles. Again, a lot of road riding, so not my favorite, but at least now I have a good sense of direction for the place, so future rides should be a bit more adventurous. Lola didn’t come with us today, she just didn’t exhibit a lot of enthusiasm, though I’m not too surprised considering how little exercise she’s had in the past six weeks, and how fast the ride was the other day. It will take a little time for her to get back into shape. Lots more campers came into today, the place is absolutely packed, which kind of surprises me, I didn’t think this place was that attractive, but maybe I haven’t found the good trails yet! Looking forward to doing that soon. I’ve just about decided to stay here another week. It doesn’t make sense to drive 70 miles south only to drive 100 miles back north to a place I’m only 30 miles from right now. It will be nice to be in one place that long, in any event, and I have everything I need here, and I’m sure it will be quiet here again next week. I thought about visiting with some of the neighbors, but I’m starting to fall asleep in my chair, so I think it just shower and bed for me tonight! Supposed to get down below 50 degrees, so it should be really nice sleeping weather, especially on fresh sheets! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe!
A good night sleep, but first thing this morning, after breakfast, I ran down to Cadillac and did a bunch of shopping. Tractor Supply first for horse feed, fly spray and propane, then Walmart for fuel in the truck and a bunch of other essentials, and finally Meijers, for the things I couldn’t get at Walmart. A drive back to camp, put everything away, got my fridge going again with propane, then finally saddled up Flash for a ride. Apparently there was an endurance ride here last weekend, and after requesting a map on their Facebook group, one of the organizers posted their 25 mile route, so I used that to plan my trip today. Couldn’t find my GPS for a bit, then finally found it, and downloaded about the first 15 miles of the ride to follow. The route started out very nice, single track and forest, for about the first 100 yards, then it all became mostly sand roads, a lot of it through some clear cut areas, so it wasn’t very pretty. Eventually, on the last couple of miles, it got better, but it certainly wasn’t my typical type of riding. Flash was definitely on the go, go, go today, and Lola, who hasn’t been getting much exercise the last month, had a hard time keeping up, though that didn’t stop her from trying to goad me into throwing her a frisbee once we got into camp. It was a nice ride, about 15 miles, because any day on the back of my horse is a good day! It was fairly hot today, so I sponged him down, and since there was no one left in camp but us, I let him graze for a couple of hours before putting him back on the highline. Watch a Big Valley during dinner, then a movie which actually featured Pam Daly, who, you remember, we worked with back in Florida, and who came up to join us when we moved to Ohio. She’s doing a lot of training young actors now, and, evidently, getting some movie roles, too. She did a pretty nice job of playing a witchy Amish mother, glad to see her getting some higher profile acting work! Anyway, settled down for the evening, ready for early bed tonight. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hiya Sweetie!
Last night after I got in bed at 9:00, one of the board members of the MTRA, Jimmy C., showed up on my doorstep! Apparently he is part of a group of about six trailers that showed up yesterday, and he parked right next to me! We chatted for a few minutes, and he invited me over to their campfire, but since I was already in bed, I declined, and promised to come the next night if they had one. After he left, I got to sleep pretty early, got up a little later since my arrangement with Heide was to meet at 10:00, which we did. We did another great 16+ mile ride, even going on another trail that’s been marked but we hadn’t GPSed it yet, though she says it’s the last one like that, hopefully. Flash did great, though he did seem a bit more sluggish today, not surprising since this is his fourth ride this week. It was funny, though, every time we came to an intersection, his nose was pointed toward the direction of camp, just like clockwork! And every time we actually turned in the direction toward camp, he’s speed up! We were laughing about it. Got back a little after 2:00, got him settled in and relaxed with computer games until dinnertime. She had given me a container of homemade broccoli cheese soup which I had for dinner, lovely! Watched a movie, and then took a quick walk to see if they were having a campfire, but only moments later a thunderstorm came in, followed some other, shorter spits of rain, until finally it was over. I wasn’t sure if they would bother, but sure enough, when I walked over after 9:00, they were all around a blazing fire. I sat with them until well past 10:30, still have my shower and bed to do! A late night for sure! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hey Darlin’!
Woke up with the 7:00 alarm, since we decided to leave early, and met Sue at her campsite, then met Heide at the day parking area, and off we went! Not surprisingly, the forecast was wrong, and it was raining by 10:00, but only for a little bit. Heide took us to some interesting spots today, a memorial for a CCC camp, Camp Lunden, and also out to a little trout lake that was really nice, had to pass through some wetlands to get there. Very nice! Then, around 1:00, there was some storms threatening, and since no one really wanted to be out in the thunder and lightning, we decided to make a run for camp. Sue’s horse is a foxtrotter, but she generally rides with stock horses, so the whole day was quite an experience for her and her horse Sky, and the last five miles or so, at high speed, was a bit different from what she’s used to! We had to take a breather once or twice for the benefit of her horse, who, of course, is nowhere near in the condition of Flash or Heart (Heide’s horse), but they held up pretty well. Sue said that when she took the same route with her other friends it took 1 1/2 hours, but we did it in about 20 minutes, so she really had a chance to appreciate her gaited horse! Actually, they were doing a lot of cantering just to keep up! Anyway, it started to rain harder just as we got to camp, so we quickly exchanged contact information and went our separate ways. I put Flash under the awning (well, almost) to take off his tack, and got him put away. It wasn’t long afterward that the rain stopped, but I was glad to get back, since we’d done about 17.5 miles anyway. Relaxed during the afternoon, decided not to run out to check my email (it can wait until Monday!), had a nice dinner and a movie, heading to shower and bed! Good night, baby! Love you!