Hey Darlin',
Had a little lazier start to the day, didn't get out on the trail until around noon. Flash was giving me a hard time, really fussing about his boots, and when I tried to ride him, he seriously limped for a few steps. I seemed to remember the Red trail, which is our assignment today, didn't have that much rock and gravel, so I ended up taking the boots off and putting them in my saddle bags. Since there was supposedly only a very slight chance of rain today, I took out my slicker to make room for them. That was a mistake. I also decided not to wear my rain suit again today. That was another mistake. Of course, halfway through the ride it started raining, and fortunately I did have an old holey poncho in my saddle back, which helped somewhat, both in keeping me dry and also warmer. I thought it would warm up in the afternoon, but it really didn't. With Flash limping off and on like he was, I began to think that leaving Apollo in TN was another mistake. He didn't seem as bad once the boots were off, but he was a terrible slug again today, barely topping 2.5 mph on average. It was 3:45 when we got back, which, for a ten mile ride was ridiculous! Sometime he seemed to be limping, but most of the time not, so I'm not sure if he was just playing silly buggers with me or if he was truly having a problem. Anyway, the markers were in good shape, but there was one small blockage with a bunch of vines across the trail, dragged there by a small dead tree, but I didn't have my leather gloves with me, and it looked like brambles, so I just reported it. There was another much larger tree down later, probably close to three feet in diameter across the trail, I reported that, too. Once we dragged ourselves back to camp, I gave Flash an apple spiked with bute, so hopefully he'll feel better after that. Spent a little time cleaning my tack, there was so much accumulated mud on it, it was long overdue. Around supper time, at last, a couple of other trailers started coming in. I was surprised it took so long, I seem to remember it was a lot more crowded here by this time in the spring ride, but I may be wrong. Steve and Cam arrived, they were here last time, and another couple who are just camping, though their kids will be riding this weekend. We all sat around chatting until nearly 9:00, so I'm just getting my tea and cookies now. Just about back on schedule! I'll give Flash another dose of bute in the morning, hopefully that will make it easier for him on the ride. I'm doing Lime and Purple tomorrow, together they're only about nine miles, so that should be easier, and he'll get a longer rest afterward. I hope he recovers okay, Friday's ride is about 14.5 miles, and I might even be able to get over to the west side on Saturday, that will be the longest ride yet, but I really want to do it because it's highly restricted over there and it's my only chance. Of course, I won't if he's not fit, but I'll do everything I can to get him right! Anyway, time for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Busy day today! Woke up and finished packing, got Flash loaded up and was on our way to the Biltmore just after 9:00. Had a wonderfully uneventful drive, and for the first time EVER, I got all the way through Knoxville with NO CONSTRUCTION! That's a first! I did run into a short section of road works right at the border to NC, but other than that, it was a breeze. Arrived pretty much on schedule, got all the way back to the volunteer parking, and discovered that unlike the last time I came here (when it was empty), today it was packed with day riders and some campers. I managed to move around and get a perfect spot, right next to the washrack so I can easily get water, and not too far back on the grass, because they're calling for a lot of rain this week (tropical storm on the coast), and I wanted to stay near the gravel. I decided I had better get the trail checking done before I got everything set up, so I got Flash out and got him saddled and we were on the trail just after 2:00, which was exactly my plan. Our first trail check for the new Green trail being used for a Ride and Tie on Friday, and the markings were all perfect except for the very end, which, after bringing it to the trail master's attention, will be fixed. Only had a few branches to trim back and one limb to be moved off the trail, other than that, the trail was fine. A lot more gravel than we like, but that's just the way it is here at the Biltmore. Flash was crying for Apollo the whole time I was tacking him up, and he's still doing it now, well into the evening. I knew he would be upset, but it just didn't make sense to make all the extra work when it wasn't necessary. We got back before 4:00, and I went about getting his fence up so I could put him away. He was pretty tired with all the travel, riding and crying for Apollo, so once he got into his paddock, he crashed for a little while. Got completely finished with setting up right at 5:00, including solar panel, though I doubt I'll get much sun with all the rain in the forecast. Looks like a lot of days riding in my rain suit! No worries, that's what I signed up for! Had dinner, managed to get a good enough cell phone signal for a couple of Farscapes, ready for an early bedtime tonight! Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hi Babe,
A great night sleep, thank goodness, but it was another long day of waiting with no results. I did manage to get a ride in on Apollo, just around some trails that Linda has cut through a small WMA next door to her farm. Only went just over three miles, but at least it gave him a chance to stretch his legs, and to give Lola a good walk. I spent most of the afternoon trying to sort out where I want to go after Biltmore, but without brakes on the trailer, I'm loathe to go anywhere up in the mountains, and in this part of the country, that's where most of the horse camps are, so I've been doing a bunch more research to try to figure it out. Found some new information, but still have no clue where to go yet. Hopefully I'll figure it out over the weekend! Not much else to report, except I trimmed Apollo's feet and received the new fly masks I ordered from Chick's Saddlery. Trying to get to bed early again tonight, it worked last night, hope it will again tonight. Even if this mechanic doesn't show up tomorrow, I think Linda and I are going to do a few experiments to see if we can narrow it down. We'll see. Anyway, good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Heya Babe!
Had a good night sleep, and was up before the alarm, and just managed to have breakfast and catch Flash by 7:30. Got him saddled up and loaded onto the trailer right at the required hour of 8:00. I hadn't realized just how big the pasture was, they were all the way over on the other side and I had to walk over to where they could see me over a ridge before they would come over for breakfast. We had a long drive out into the Cherokee National Forest, and even further until we reached the Ocoee Wildlife Management area, which was true wilderness. As is always the case with Linda, riding with her did not disappoint! The main purpose of the ride was to finish clearing a loop that has been hit so bad by winds that countless trees have fallen down, and they've been cleaning it up in stages. The original plan was to do the final couple of miles, which had previously been approached from both directions, with the middle being the only part remaining to be cleared. Well, that was the intent, anyway. Turns out that bunches of NEW trees had fallen and blocked the trail, even in areas where they had cleared only a few weeks ago! The result was a very long and tiring day, and it still didn't end up being completely done. Though we were on the trail by 9:45, we didn't get back to the trailer until 5:35. It was pretty much non-stop clearing along the way, so I'm exhausted! By the time we got back home, I barely had enough energy to give Flash a quick rinse, feed them, feed myself, watch a little TV, fall asleep in my chair, but now I'm heading to my shower and bed. A productive though tiring day! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Pix to come.

Hey Babe,
Finally had a good night sleep, maybe that double dose of Sleepytime tea, or maybe just my sheer exhaustion, finally did the job! I was glad of it, too, since we had a very busy day. I helped a bit with breakfast, then there was a long break when the bulk of folks went to an away vet check, then I actually got to go out and pick up some ribbons on a short stretch of trail that was just perfect for a little ride on Apollo, just two miles out and two back. There were a couple of nice grades he had to climb, so he got some exercise, though I got the impression he wanted to keep going when I asked him to turn around! Then we got busy prepping for dinner, spaghetti, salad and garlic toast, and we were pretty much nonstop until after 7:00 when the awards ceremony started. I did some cleaning, then came back and fed the horses and walked Lola, went back and really couldn't do much, since I didn't know where anything got stored, so I came back to do a little more cleaning in the trailer. They needed two bags of chopped onions, so I got out my old kitchen machine, which I haven't used in ages, and chopped them all in no time, but it did get the trailer a bit smelly. No worries, I'll spray some air freshener before I get in the shower, which won't be long! I'm making some more Sleepytime and looking forward to getting up a little later to take down ribbons, and a nice ride on Flash in the process! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Pix to come.

Hi Babe,
Had a terrible night sleep last night, no idea why, I was so tired I thought I'd be out like a light, but I tossed and turned for hours. Eventually woke up with my very early alarm, still dark outside, and got busy with chores and breakfast. Managed to get Flash saddled and ready to go by 8:00 ET, just as April came to get me. We headed out on the trail up to the north, and spent the first 5+ miles marking together before splitting up. I did a total of 16+ miles, only had to use my mini-chainsaw once, but there were a couple of big trees down that I texted April about. She says the park guys will get right on it. The terrain is variable, with some very steep hills (and I forgot to put on Flash's breast collar, darn it!), but there is an awful lot of gravel and stones, the majority of trails, really, and in fact, a lot of the "trails" are really gravel roads, so not my favorite. The wilderness itself is quite beautiful though, and I saw a bear! Second one I've seen, actually, though I was in the truck the first time. I think Flash saw it go by in front of us, but he didn't even react to it! Got back to camp around 2:30, got him put away, then one of the ride managers came over, she and the other ride manager were going to bring me hay, but she said she'd paid $10.50 a bale! I told her I wanted to see if I could find it cheaper, so I drove up to the water spigot where I got a better cell phone signal, and found several haymakers in Jamestown selling hay at $6-7. I reached out to a couple of them, and got answers almost right away, so I arranged to pick some up this afternoon. Before long I was heading down to town, where I wanted to fill up with fuel in the truck anyway, and met up with the guy, who led me back to his barn and loaded me up with 12 bales, enough to last the week and still have me fully stocked when I leave here. Got back to camp, put all the hay I could away, covered the rest in the truck with a tarp, then started to get dinner ready. I even managed to get a good enough signal to watch a couple of hours of TV! Did my evening chores, am going to have some Sleepytime tea and my shower and get to bed. No plans to get up early tomorrow, I need to catch up on some lost zzzzz's! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a good night sleep, no alarm this morning, it was cloudy and misty, but not exactly raining, with a forecast for skies to clear as the day went on, so after chores and breakfast, it was decided that we'd ride at 11:00. Kathy and I were both ready, but Sue took a bit longer, and it was 11:30 before we finally hit the trail. Our aim was to reach a place known as the watering hole, and fortunately, it took us on a few more trails I hadn't been on, so I feel like I've had a good, thorough workout on most of the trails here. Hard to say, since I haven't really seen a good map of the trails, so I don't know how many more are out there, but it seems that the way back to camp is always the same, so I'm thinking we've likely hit all the ones within reach. It was a lovely trail, and the rain had really tamped down the dust, which had been a problem yesterday before the storm. Not very much gravel, thankfully, at least until we got near camp, and we went down a creekbed, but it was all rounded river stone, so no problem. We stopped for a while down there for lunch and rock hunting, Kathy and Sue were on the hunt for some rock with a hole in it that apparently lets you see into the fairy world. We headed back after awhile, and the final mile, I moved out front and left them so that Flash could stretch his legs. Oddly, I thought riding with a Tennessee Walker and a off-track Thoroughbred would be compatible with speed demon Flash, but the gals only wanted to walk, and eventually, Flash got impatient, so I had to let him get it out of his system. When I got into camp, Kathy's husband told me that one of Sue's dogs and bit Kathy's neighbor Nicki, then ran off up the road. They had to take her to the hospital because the bite hit an artery. After putting Flash away, I waited for them to come down off the trail, which took another forty minutes, much longer than I had expected (well, Flash did gait all the way back). Sue went looking for her missing dog Pete while I put her horse away, but by the end of the day, he was still missing. He's a rescue and very leery of people, so we don't know how he'll behave in a strange neighborhood. Anyway, not much we can do at this point, except the usual getting the word out. I fixed some dinner, fed the horses, and settled down for the evening. Crazy, every time I sit in my chair I start to nod off. Must be the heat or something. Anyway, other than the unfortunate ending, it was a lovely day with a great ride, fingers crossed that Pete finds his way back. Heading to shower and bed shortly. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had a good night sleep, was up with the alarm so that I could be ready for our 9:00 start time this morning. I timed it perfectly, and was hopping into the saddle right on time. At the last minute, Sue decided that here horse wouldn't behave well with mine and Eddy Ray's, so we went ahead for a while, then met up with them about 20 minutes later. We let her go first, which seemed to be her concern, and I stayed in back, so it all worked out. We made our way backward on the Kimble trail that I took the other day, took the Hill Loop Trail, and made our way down to the Paddle Creek Campground. I was hoping to get down there to see it, and frankly, it was much more to my liking than Elkins Creek. Of course, it's primitive, but there were highlines and a vault toilet, but no water except for the creek, which was all but bone dry right now. There is also apparently a very sharp turn coming in that I would have to negotiate, but I met a guy there named James who said that the long rigs just go to the end of the road and turn around, which makes it possible to make the sharp turn. Plus the campground is apparently free! Good to know! Even though it was barely 11:00, the gals decided to have lunch there, and while we were eating, we heard thunder and saw dark clouds coming in. Of course, last night when I checked the forecast, it said the rain wasn't coming in until 3:00, but no one checked this morning, and boy, did it change! We decided to skip our trip to the water hole and head back to camp, and Eddie Ray was very concerned about his awning in the wind (apparently this is his third awning!), so the two of us ended up speeding ahead to try to get back in time. We didn't quite make it. We were still about a mile out of camp when the skies opened up, thunder and lightning and wind, the whole deal. We stopped long enough to put slickers on, which at least kept our torsos dry, but my legs and boots were drenched. We managed to get back at about 12:30, and fortunately, all awnings were okay, but it just kept pouring for another half hour or so. I put Flash under the awning just long enough to get his tack off, then put him in the little paddock I put up for them. I made myself a little salad for lunch, then sat in my chair to relax for a few minutes, and fell asleep for two hours! Not sure what that was all about, but there you go! Went over to visit with Kathy and friends again for a bit, then saw more gray clouds coming, so I put all my tack away in the back, it had mostly dried in the sun that appeared after the earlier rain. Sure enough, another stormy round came through, so I watched an old Clint Walker movie until the rain was gone, fed the horses, visited with Kathy again for a bit, ready for my shower and bed! Love you, sweetheart! Good night!

Hey Babe,
Had a decent night sleep, though it was too hot to open windows so the air was a bit stale by morning. Got my usual chores done, had breakfast, then started to get ready for my ride. I wanted to get out reasonably early, before it really got scorching hot. Before saddling Flash, though, I added another strip of wire to my portable fence, and put the solar charger on it. Someone had pushed on one of the fence posts, and it was a little crooked. The ground is so hard here in places, I had a dickens of a time trying to get the posts in deep enough, so I'm not surprised I had a post leaning this morning. I figure the second string and the electrification will prevent any further breaches. When I got Flash out, Apollo accidentally touched the wire and leapt back, so I knew it was working! Since he's the Houdini, it was a good lesson, he won't go near the fence again. Flash already respects the fence, so I'm not worried. Anyway, got Flash saddled and booted, and we were out about 10:30, going counterclockwise on the kml trail. Unfortunately, it started as a long, steep climb up a gravel two track, which is certainly not my favorite kind of trail. We did nearly two miles of that before some of the gravel finally disappeared and a nicer dirt trail became the norm, though there were still long patches of gravel. The terrain was typical for the area, lots of grades both steep and not so steep, winding around the various hills, with some indentations in the stone walls that folks call caves, but they're really just overhangs. The ride turned out to be about 7.2 miles, which was fine for a first venture, I wanted to get a feel for the landscape, and I did. Flash was his usual brilliant self. When I got back, there were three older guys parked under the tree having a discussion, and I mentioned it was a good ride except for the gravel, one guy wholeheartedly agreed, and the other guy (the owner, I think), made it very clear that he was the one that put down the gravel, and that it was the only alternative to muddy trails. I tried to point out that there were a lot of ways to stop mud on a trail that didn't involve gravel, but he wasn't the least bit interested, so I just let it go. I've reached the age where I can let people be wrong and not get too excited about it anymore. I gave Flash a nice bath, filled up their water tubs (which is kind of a pain, because the hose that's on the spigot at the other end of the row isn't long enough to even reach halfway up the row, so I have to carry my hose down every time, disconnect, reconnect, turn on the water, disconnect, reconnect, turn off the water, blah, blah, blah), and left them to their afternoon. I went into the office for a bit so I could use the wifi to do a few things online, then just wasted the rest of the afternoon playing computer games and reading. Too hot to sit outside! Guess it will be an early night, nothing else to do but take a shower, go to bed and read! Good night, darlin'! Love you!