Hi Darlin’,
Had a good night sleep, did quite a bit of work on the OTL today, then saddled up Flash so we could finish off the few official trails I missed. I also took a lesser “official” trail, a single track that leads right out of the campground, and which I thought was a hiking trail, but there was no sign prohibiting horses, and there was certainly a lot of indications that horses were regulars on it! So I tried that out today, and that was very nice. A bit tight in a few places between the Areca palms, but MUCH better because it paralleled the limestone road, so we cut a big section of that out, which was great! Someone hung a little horse ornament on it, too, so that confirmed for me that was the way to go! Another nice section, and it suprised me, was a long straightaway that on the map I interpreted to be another stone road, but turned out to be a trail right through a cypress swamp, but with all the dry weather, most of the trail was pretty dry as well, so it was lovely! Flash and I did a nice run through there, although it was beside a barb-wire fence. Anyway, it was a good ride, exactly fourteen miles, and that finished off the official trails, like I wanted to do. There are actually a lot of other non-motorized vehicle tracks that would make trails if they wanted to develop more here, and there’s a sign on the paddocks that the forest service is looking for input for an equestrian plan, so I may get in touch with them to see what they have in mind. Meanwhile, I settled down for the evening, the usual, and will soon be heading for my shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
A good night sleep, got more chores done, had a few words with the non-horse camper next to me this morning. First time he hasn’t left before the sun came up, and he was surrounded by a plethora of horse trailers. One livestock trailer was even parked diagonally in front of him, since is was very crowded and not a lot of parking space left. So I said to him, maybe now he understood why he shouldn’t be camping in a horse trailer area, and he looked at me and said, What do you mean? Not the brightest bulb in the closet, I guess! Anyway, I pointed out that horse people have only a few places they can go, where he and his tent and little boat could go anywhere. He finally got the point, and packed up and left. I figured he would just move over to some other spot in the campground, but he left entirely. Maybe that was his plan all along. Whatever, afterward I saddled up Flash and headed out with a pland that was supposed to cover pretty much every trail that I missed this week, but managed to miss a turn and screwed that up. That’s okay, I’m staying a couple extra days and get the rest done on Monday. We ended up doing just over 19 miles, in just over four hours. Not a bad pace! We ran into a whole parade of jeeps, evidently they’ve recently opened up some of the trails to multi-use, including motorized vehicles, but they were nice enough to stop and let me pass. I ran into some more (or maybe part of the same group) at the primitive campsite where they have a water trough. Last time I came through here, there was a coffee container in the trough which I though might be for dogs to use (and we did!), but I figured out that it’s real purpose was to prime the pump. I tried to pump some more water into the trough and quickly learned that wasn’t happening without priming it, so I did that and finally made it work. We got back before 2:30, and then I spent the better part of an hour tweezing out burrs on Flash’s fleece saddle cover. It’s not that there were that many burrs out here, but that I had accumulated a LOT of burrs over time. I can’t even remember the last time I did that, it could have been years ago. I think I have burrs from every state I’ve ridden in during the last couple of years, all kinds of different ones! I put Flash out on a line that was anchored, hoping to train him to be able to graze like that without hurting himself, but there was one time he managed to get the rope around his back foot and got a little excited, but I was right there and I got him out of it before any damage was done. Apollo understands this system very well, but Flash seems to be having some problems grasping it. I’ll keep trying, hopefully he’ll get it after awhile, and without damage. Finally finished all my afternoon jobs, put Flash away, fed them, fed me, watched a little TV, won’t be long out of bed, since I have to get up early and meet Jane and Bob, our friends from Ohio, who we haven’t seen in quite some time. Signing off, saying good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe!
I couldn’t get to sleep last night for anything, have no idea why! Thought I’d be exhausted after our long ride yesterday, but it was nearly 3:00 before I finally got to sleep. Oh, well! Was up at 8:00, and we were out on the trail by just after 10:00, doing just ten miles, with me on Apollo, trying to hit the bits we missed yesterday. Pistol was really sore from all her bouncing around, her horse Tommy had to do a lot of jogging to keep up with Flash’s walk, and she’s evidently not used to that much speed, so her ribs and chest were sore today. She’s not even sure she can ride again tomorrow. Guess this old gal outrode the young whippersnapper this week! I had to keep jogging on Apollo to keep up with Tommy today, though, but of course, that doesn’t bother me, since I do so much riding. It was warm again today, but with a decent breeze, apparently it’s unseasonably warm this week but cooling down for next week. Found a few more painted seashells on the new trails today, too, very fun to find those! Gave Apollo a nice rinse off, spent a few minutes digging prickly weeds out of the two paddocks, then another hour mending Lola’s big bed, she’s been going on a real bender and digging out all the stuffing, so I had four different places I had to sew up after I restuffed it. Tweezed off a bunch of burrs out of Apollo’s saddle, that took me almost another hour. Had a couple of hikers come by and chat for a bit, from California, got into a chat as discussed the entertainment business, as he claimed to be an actor and she a line producer for a reality show. After they left I fed the horses, a bit earlier because I didn’t want to get caught outside with the mosquitoes like we did last night, then shared dinner, finishing up just in time. Watched a movie on Netflix, since I’m having trouble with Prime, it seems to require more bandwidth or something because Prime keeps getting stuck every minute or two whereas I had no problems with Netflix. Now I’m having my Sleepytime and mint tea blend, ready to take my shower, and looking forward to getting a much needed better night sleep tonight! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
I slept great, though I had to put in earplugs. Alligator Alley is only about a mile away, and though it wasn’t too bad, I always like super quiet nights, and that’s what I get with my earplugs! Got up around 8:00, and once I fed the horses, I immediately got busy fulfilling a book order that I forgot yesterday, and Pistol was nice enough to take it into town and mail it, since she wanted to fill up with fuel anyway. She got back and we got out on the trail by about 10:30. I remembered some of these long straight stretches, as well as the more jungle-like areas near the center. There must be some Michiganders nearby, because we spotted some painted, bedazzled seashells stuck in the trees, just like I saw painted rocks and gems up in Michigan this past summer! How cool is that? Nicely done. We reached a small campground with a water trough a few miles out of camp, and Lola had worked up such a sweat she jumped into the trough to cool off. The horses had a drink, too, as it was a pretty warm day, over 80, but not humid, fortunately. I was hoping that the further west we got the more jungle-like it would get, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It really got more barren, with a lot less trees, and a lot of them seemed dead or almost dead. It was supposed to be Cypress swamp, but I guess it’s been so dry a lot of them are stressed. We did see a lot of animal tracks, I need to start learning a bit more so I can identify them better, but I know we saw deer, and something that could have been a small bear, a large canine or feline, not sure which, but this is panther country, as well as bear, so who knows? It was very dry on the trail until we finally hit a few big puddles, and by then the horses and Lola were really thirsty. We went all the way to the far west part of the park, to a day parking area across from a boarding stable. We didn’t run into the puddles until we were on our way back. We stopped at the camping area again and ate a snack, someone was kind enough to leave a container in the water trough to water dogs, and Lola certainly took advantage of that! We finally got back to camp after nineteen plus miles! Got our workout today! Rinsed down the horses, then answered a few emails and got the generator started so I could charge everything up, then it wasn’t long before we were moving hay that Pistol had brought for me, then finally making dinner, and shortly after, calling it a night! Watched an episode of The Expanse, now I’m ready to hit the showers and be in bed very soon! A long, tiring day, but a great ride! And we’ve already got 15 people signed up for the OTL, after only three days since I got the registration link online! Very happy with that! Anyway, calling it a night! Good night, my love!

Hi Sweetie,
Despite being only a half mile from a busy road, it hasn’t done anything to bother my sleep, I got another great night in last night. Read a bit before finally getting up. My horses are mostly used to my late schedule, but Pistol’s Tommy was nickering from daybreak, though not enough to keep me awake! Finally got up and fed my guys, then got involved with sending an email for OTL, then made the shocking discovery that somehow my database, which I’ve worked hard to update and put together, somehow mismatched all the names from their email addresses! Not sure how that happened, and will take some doing to straighten out, but decided that today wasn’t the day to figure it all out. Once I gave up, I saddled up Flash, while Doc, who arrived this morning, saddled up Apollo and Pistol readied Tommy, and we soon were out on our Christmas Day ride, a nice five mile trip around both ends of the park, at least as far as we could reach. Once we got back, it wasn’t long before we fed the critters, then I made a nice dinner for us all with ham and yams and salad, finishing off the beautiful starry evening with a bonfire and a few shots of honey bourbon (I’m moderating!) before calling it a night. An episode or two of The Expanse, now I’m ready for my shower and bed. Another great day on the road! Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hi Darlin’,
Had another great night sleep, woke up and read a bit until Pistol turned her generator on and I figured it was time to get up. Did chores and had breakfast, then got involved with trying to straighten out a way for payments for the OTL to get directly into their account, and finally got that resolved later in the day. Meanwhile, after messing with that for a couple of hours, Pistol and I saddled up and took about a five mile slow ride on Apollo and Tommy. Some beautiful trails in here, I just wish there were more of them, or that there was a way to get to the south end of the park! Tried to send out an email blast but had some problems and only managed to get a few out, will have to work on that tomorrow. Finished the day with a nice dinner and sitting around the campfire for a bit before heading back to the trailer for an episode of Expanse, and an early night, which I’m getting used to. Not supposed to be as cold tonight, looking forward to more normal temps over the weekend. Hard to believe it’s Christmas Eve, not that that ever meant that much to us since we never really paid much attention to holidays, but I do miss having you here with me, no matter what day it is! Anyway, heading for a shower and bed shortly, need to find a new book to read. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Another good night sleep, another morning of chores and a little computer work, then Pistol arrived just after 11:00 this morning. Once she got settled in, we saddled up and took a little about a 5.6 mile ride around. I was looking for a way to get down to the south end of the park, since half the 16 miles of trails they claim are down there, but discovered you can’t get there unless you cross a deep creek with a steep hill on the other side. Not sure I’m up for that kind of risky stuff any more! No bridge and barely any markings to let you know you’re actually on the trail. Their map is very misleading because it shows the trails as dotted lines, and doesn’t mark where you hit a river or a creek, so it looks like it goes right through, but it doesn’t. So I guess we’ll be staying on the eight miles of trail on this side, unless we trailer to another trailhead, and frankly, I don’t think it’s work it. Disappointing, too, because some of the trails here are absolutely gorgeous! Old Florida at it’s best! Some of the trees in here are the largest I’ve ever seen this side of the redwoods in California, I’d guess they’re at least 400-500 years old, seriously big! We even saw a beautiful owl today, too. Another problem with the map is that while trails have intersection numbers, they’re not on the map. Who makes these maps these days? Ridiculous! Anyway, we got back and took a quick run to the Publix for ice for her cooler and salad makings for our next few dinners, which I started to fix as soon as we got back. Steaks on the grill, baked potato and a fresh salad hit the spot, and a little pumpkin pie with eggnog ice cream, with a little sip of Jim Beam Honey Bourbon (just one!!), before saying good night and heading our separate ways. Watch a couple of episodes of The Expanse again, ready for my shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Well, I certainly got my rest last night! Was in bed around 9:30 last night, and didn’t get out of bed until 9:30 this morning! Read some, but mostly it was sleeping, so I woke up refreshed and raring to go this morning! Got all my chores done, did some computer work, like re-writing the OTL Mail-in registration form, while I waited it for it warm up, because frankly, it was too cold to ride this morning, but the sun finally broke through the gray clouds and that did the trick! Saddled up Flash and headed out on a GPS-planned route, that started out absolutely lovely. Then we ran into a Cypress swamp and couldn’t figure out where to go, so we backtracked a bit and took another route. Some trails were gorgeous, and then I’d run into difficulties, like too much water, a barb-wire fence, downed trees and not matching up with my GPS. We didn’t get anywhere near as far south as I wanted because I couldn’t find an opening in a barb-wire fence, so I went back up north and did some more exploring up there. A lot of wide open spaces that really got Flash’s juices going, he was galloping for all he was worth across some fields. Managed to find the other side of the cypress swamp, though, and saw which way we should have gone, just missed it, but it was over a lot of dark water, and couldn’t see the trail on the other side. Got over it though, that’s the important thing. We ended up doing about 8.75 miles, less than we wanted, but it’s a start. We’ll try again tomorrow when it’s warmer, to see what we can find. Once I sponged Flash down and put him away, I did a few chores, like repaired the hose that runs out of the water tank, it had such a bad kink it wouldn’t flow, so I cut that section out and put a connector on it. Put the propane tanks away, filled the horses’ water tanks, just puttered for a bit. Finally reached dinner time, so I fed the horses and myself, put their light blankets on since it’s going down into the low 40’s tonight, and settled down for the evening to a couple of episodes of The Expanse. Got a message from your niece that your sister has been transferred to a home, she’s been having trouble getting out of bed, so they’re working on helping her do that. She had knee surgery awhile back and is having trouble with her recovery. I’ve called her a few times these last few weeks, I’ll do so again over the holidays. Anyway, I’m ready to hit the showers and to get to bed early again, I do like these long, leisurely nights in my warm comfy bed! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Got a good night sleep, almost got caught up, actually woke up before the alarm! I immediately started a load of laundry, long overdue, the finished my chores and breakfast, doing a second load as well. My little voice in my head told me to put the sheets and whites in the dryer while I was running the generator, which I never do, but I don’t have a lot of clothesline space, so I decided to do that, figuring I could finish it off later this evening when I usually run my generator anyway. Good thing I listened, too, as you’ll soon see! After breakfast I saddled up Apollo to finish off one last bit of trail marking that couldn’t be reached by motorized vehicle. One of the things I love about horses, they’re the original four wheel drive! It was just a short section, just about two miles up and back, but Apollo was happy to get off the highline. He’s been bobbing his head for a couple of days now, obviously bored with standing around, so he was ready to go. We were only out for about 45 minutes though, it’s all I had time for, but he seemed happy for the attention. Since Jo wasn’t coming until almost an hour after we got back, I indulged him with a nice bath, then did a few more chores that I’ve been ignoring the last few days, like putting away feed and putting washer fluid in my truck. Then Jo arrived and we headed out to do a bunch of running around, to pick up signs, put signs out, pick up water barrels, put those out, it was a long day! And to really complicate things, this day that had no rain in the forecast has multiple downpours! Some were really heavy, so you can image what happened to the wash I left on the line! Fortunately, not my sheets, they were still in the dryer, so once I put the generator back on, I finished those off, so I have clean sheets tonight, a few days later than normal, but the best I could do under the circumstances. Anyway, I finally settled down for the evening, heated up some roasted chicken, watch a couple of episodes of Expanse, now I’m headed to an much needed shower and another good night sleep! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Up at the crack of dawn today, had an appointment to take the truck in this morning and I wanted to be there when they opened at 8:00. Jo was kind enough to pick me up, then she took me to breakfast at a little hole in the wall in town that had great food. Picked up a few things a Publix, including a six-pack of Yeungling’s Hershey Chocolate Porter, couldn’t resist that combination! Filled up two propane bottles, making sure I was stocked up on everything since I thought my truck was going to be out of commission for at least several days, she even said it might be Friday before I get it back. Got back to camp and was soon out riding on Flash to recon the Orange Short loop today. Trails are in good shape, fortunately, drier than I can remember seeing them, but there were still a number of really bad spots that were mud churned up by big tires, so really deep trenches in a few spots. It was clear the ranger was out doing some work today, too, there was a large hole that was filled in and flattened by the time I got there, looking good! Found one more tree down, sent the coordinates to Scottie, so hopefully he can take care of those, too. Got back to camp after 3:30, and just a few minutes later, got a call from the truck shop that my truck was done! Apparently once they dropped out the drive train, they found the U-joints had seized, so they replaced those, plus a support, and that was it! Five hours of labor, but it was well worth it, since the drive home was judder-free! Yay! It was dusk when I got back, fed the horses, and myself, watched less than an hour of TV before tackling the job of finalizing the trails on Google Earth. Turns out it appeared to be a little long (though I have a little conflicting information), so I cut one corner and now it’s as right as I can get it with the tools I have. Hopefully the trail I moved to will be in good condition, we’ll find out in the next day or two! Did some work on the OTL mailing list as well. I’m BUSHED! Had my shower, off to bed forthwith, with another “crack of dawn” morning pending! Good night, sweetie! Love you!