Hi Babe!
Woke up to a beautiful, albeit cloudy morning, but the rain was gone and it cleared up throughout the day. After chores and breakfast and a search for hay (I want to get enough so I don’t have to use the rental truck to haul it next week,) I saddled up Apollo to take him on a little ride since he’s been standing around for so long. We had a nice 5.65 mile loop through Trail 5, which is probably the wettest trail here, and the one that has the little mud bridge boardwalks, and it was a little mucky in places, but not really bad. Before we left, I set off a couple of bug bombs, I’ve been seeing the occasional roach so I wanted to get ahead of it before it got any worse. Got back to camp mid-afternoon, let Apollo wander on his anchor for awhile, and later switched out Flash, who promptly wandered off to the campsite next door, so I had to go fetch him back and anchor him down. He was better after that. I topped off the water in the trailer and the horse troughs, I didn’t want to waste any, and don’t want to have any left by Monday when I take the truck in. I confirmed that was all arranged to exchange vehicles, so that’s taken care of. I mostly read the rest of the afternoon, watched a little TV, had a nice steak dinner and settled down for the evening. I took a quick run down to the dumpster to drop off a bag of garbage and was surprised I didn’t see more trailers here for a Friday afternoon. I have one couple a few sites away, one woman with a mule that parked almost directly across from me, and another woman parked next to her on the other side. Only one person at the bottom in the same site I was in last time I was here (and the time we came here in 2013), but the rest is empty, so I guess this little corner I’m in is a popular spot! Not sure why, it doesn’t seem to have anything special going on with it, other than a good cell phone signal, but that’s most other places here. Anyway, doesn’t matter, I’m here for another ten days, I’m sure I’ll see lots of people come and go. Everyone’s is settled in, and I’m heading off to shower and bed shortly. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Honey!
Rain came in a little while after I went to bed, so earplugs went in, and I slept well for the rest of the night. Since it was due to be a gray day, and I had planned to do some bookkeeping and other computer and paperwork the first rainy day where I had a good cell phone signal, today became that day! I literally spent almost the entire day getting caught up. I didn’t think I had let it go for as long as I did, was surprised to see unfiled receipts as far back as March! I also had to do some reports for Equity, and sent a check in, followed up on my insurance claim for the truck (I forgot I had a $500 deductible I’m going to have to pay, darn it! But at least I’ll have a nice paint job on the hood that was overdue!), and ended the afternoon by running down to the post office for a package that I thought was going to be delivered by Amazon Prime (who can usually track me down anywhere that shows up on Google Maps) but instead was sent by USPS, so they wouldn’t deliver to an uncontracted address so I had to pick it up. I ordered three shut-off valves for hoses of the firehose type with the flip over switch, such a superior design to all those ones with the little handles you have to push to one side, they always seem to fall apart or get stuck or leak or in the case of the last one, the plastic cover came off and it was so stiff to move it killed my fingers. I love these new ones. I originally bought a hose splitter with that type of valve and I loved it, so I got a couple more like that, and then I saw these single hose shut-off valves, which is perfect for the water tank in the back, so much easier! Anyway, got back to camp, several more trailers had come in so I’m guessing it’s going to be a busy weekend here. Saturday they’re having a Christmas in July gift swap and ride, I might participate in that just for fun. Anyway, settled in for the evening, binge-watching the 3rd season of Virgin River (and finished it off just now), glad to have all that other work done. Oh, and after all that rain, I only found two small spots of water on my bedroom window sill, so still not perfect, but a whole lot better! Still not sure where it’s coming from, but I’ll have to check in one day when it’s light out to find that out, but for now, it seems like all the rain has been coming in at night, so no luck on that at the moment. Anyway, ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a pretty good night sleep, woke up a couple of times, finally had to read a bit around 5:00, but then fell asleep again. Had a bit of rain come in, and it got worse after I got up, but I managed to get the horses fed between showers. After breakfast I went into town, first going to Scott’s Body Shop for an estimate on the truck damage from the limb that fell on the hood at Jeff’s, then on to Tractor Supply for horse feed, medicated shampoo (Apollo’s got a case of rain rot) and antibiotic spray. Though they had a propane tank in their gated area, they aren’t selling it yet, so I had to go to an Amoco station across town to get some, but they were pretty fair, even though it was by weight they did deduct for what was in the tank, unlike some places. Finally off to Walmart for my big shopping day, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten groceries. They were having a clearance sale on some weird bourbon, cream, ginger stuff that I persuaded myself to get for a change, turned out to be awfully nice, so it won’t last long! Got back to camp and treated Apollo’s rain rot, put everything away, did a few odd chores. I’m happy to report that despite all the rain, and it coming from seemingly the right direction, there were NO LEAKS around my bedroom window, so I’m hoping I finally solved the problem. There’s more rain forecast later in the week, so I’ll hold off stating that as a definitive until it’s had a few more rounds of rain, but fingers crossed, I think I may have finally solved the problem. Had a nice grilled chicken dinner, than took a walk around camp to visit with two ladies staying at the bottom of the hill for awhile. Got back to discover it was well after 9:00! I really don’t like this late daylight for some reason, it just seems too light for bed, yet it’s time for shower and bed already. I’m still going to watch a one hour TV program, just to wind down, but then it will definitely be time to go. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Woke up a couple of times during the night, ended up reading until I fell asleep again, then woke up late at 8:30. No worries, I only have to travel about three hours today, so I wasn’t worried about the time. Got everything packed up, coffee made and hit the road around 10:30, arrived safe and sound around 1:30. Filled up both tanks with water, the trailer and the truck, at the water spigot, then drove around to find my perfect spot. That turned out to be #22, right on a corner. Easy access, no tight turns or trees in the way, a pretty big spot, and my patio and bedroom window will look right onto the horses highline. Got everything set up by about 4:00, just taking my time, so happy to hear my phone chirping away as I received messages, texts, emails, voicemails, everything I’ve been missing for weeks and months now! I’m hoping to get a lot of work done in the next few days now that I have internet again! It’s still a bit slow, but I think that’s because it seems I have a broken wire on the antenna of my cell phone booster, that will be job one tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ve just settled down, enjoyed the care package leftovers of ribs and sides from Sandy so it was an easy dinner, watched a little TV, and generally relaxing after a very busy couple of weeks! Looking forward to getting a little rest while I work solely on my computer for awhile. There’s rain in the forecast for tomorrow, and a couple of other days later this week, that will be a great incentive to get my computer work done! Meanwhile, it won’t be long before shower and bed tonight! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Another rain and cold night, and I’m sorry to say that my window leak was actually worse! I think by tightening the bottom, which is all I could reach, the top may have opened up a bit, and there was more leakage than ever (though not that bad, I easily dried it up with a towel), but it means I have to take apart the whole shade and maybe even the window frame itself to reach it. Fortunately it’s not going to rain for a few days, so hopefully I’ll have time to get to it before it does. After chores and breakfast, I went down to the Lumbermen’s Monument to try to get some work done, but got such a lousy signal I came back and got my cell phone signal booster, which helped a tiny bit, but not too much. I did manage to get in touch with a body shop in Big Rapids that is well-rated, and their backlog is only about a week, so my plan now is to head down there, probably on Monday, back to Hungerford, where I know if I park a few space farther up the hill I’ll be able to get a decent cell phone signal. Actually, way up on top there were a few spaces with a lot more open area, which would be good for my solar panel, so my only challenge is water, which really isn’t a challenge since all I have to do is fill up the 110 gallon tank in the back of the truck and refill my trailer and the horse buckets as needed. I’ll be down to two horses then, so it should be a lot easier. I also struggled to find some hay, one guy really had an attitude problem, even though he was the closest, but I didn’t want to deal with him after one conversation. Found another one about 45 minutes away, and scheduled to meet him at 5:00. Finally did all I could stand to do and got back to camp, where I proceed to change the oil and filter and do a lube job on the truck. I knew it was due, and coming across the state the other day finally made my “oil change” light come on, so I picked up what I needed shopping yesterday, and since it finally stopped raining, and the ground miraculously wasn’t very wet a short time later, I went ahead and got that done. It had been a long time since I lubed it, too, so I got down the grease gun and got that done, too. I even checked the fluid in the rear axle, something I’ve never done on this truck, and I’m happy to say it was just fine! Just as I was finishing up that job, Sandy arrived, to tell me she had arranged to pick up hay a bit closer than the one I had arranged, so it wasn’t long before we headed out to that one, while I messaged the other one to cancel. It’s so frustrating not having a cell signal here, having to drive miles to the Monument to get a half-assed signal while sitting uncomfortably in my truck. It turned out to be nice hay, though, bales three weeks ago (well, except a couple of bales that looked like leftovers from last year, but still good), with about 20% alfalfa and the rest nice grass. Didn’t really need the alfalfa, but the horses will like it, for sure! Sandy went home from there, I got back to camp and stored all the hay, fed the horses early then settled down for the evening, watching a movie on DVR. I’ve already taken my shower and I’m ready for bed, even though it’s still a bit light outside, crazy! I debated putting the blankets on the horses because it’s going down to 50 degrees tonight, but I figured since it was going to be dry they could handle it. If it was raining, I would have done it, like last night. Supposed to be warm and sunny tomorrow, so I’m probably going to do some laundry in the morning, as well as trying to fix that window problem, then Sandy’s coming over after a doctor’s appointment, and we plan to ride after she gets here. So another busy day tomorrow. Sure could use a day or two off! Maybe next week! Anyway, headed to bed shortly, so I’ll say good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Well, we had a bit of a change in weather, like crazy! Last night I had both paddle fans and both floor fans on trying to get it cool enough to sleep, then the rain moved in, and by this afternoon, I was running the furnace to warm it up in here! Whew! It rained off and on all night, and was happy to find the there was only a small bit of water around the bedroom window, so I may have solved most of that problem. I tightened the screws again, so maybe I’ve fixed it now. It was a cold and rainy day, so I made it a productive one. After chores and breakfast I headed off to East Tawas, first to the Tractor Supply to get three of the propane tanks filled (with all the rain, I’m not getting much solar energy so I’m using more propane, of course!), then to Walmart, where I sat in the parking lot for a bit doing some computer work, since I have no signal at camp. Then I did my shopping, then headed back to camp to print out a letter and label for a book order I got. Though the nearest post office is a long way away, I managed to talk to the folks at the Lumbermen’s Monument just up the road, and they agreed to let me put it in their mail, so once the package was prepared, that’s what I did. Then I drove out to South Branch where we had camped in 2013, because I couldn’t remember it, and thought maybe it was a better facility and cell phone signal than where I am right now. Turns out it’s not. In fact, I couldn’t even find where we got water from when we were there, though when I got back I looked it up, but I swear, I couldn’t find the spigot we used last time. Plus it’s another $15/night (half price for Golden Access), whereas where I am now is free, so I see no reason to move over there. There’s a decent signal at the Monument, so at least I don’t have to drive too many miles now. They don’t really have any horse facilities over there either, we evidently just highlined the horses on trees last time, at least they have some posts here. A lot of running around, but got my shopping and propane, which was the most important thing. It had rained on and off all afternoon, and the forecast is for more of the same tomorrow, cold and wet, so I’m thinking I’ll call a couple of body shops to see if they can do an estimate for me, I have to make arrangements to get this done, but everything is so far behind, I don’t know how long it will take, that’s one of the things I need to find out. Finally settled down for the evening, got the grill out to do a hamburger, then watched a couple of movies while the generator was running and charging the batteries. I’m going to have to run the furnace for a bit before going to bed, it’s supposed to be getting down to 54 degrees tonight! I even put the blankets on the all the horses, they were shivering a bit this morning, I figured after all the hot weather they would need the extra protection. Headed off to my shower and bed, just another day on the road! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Finally had a decent night sleep, with earplugs, because we had an unexpected thunderstorm pop up right around bedtime, slept almost straight through to just after 7:00 when I got up and started getting ready to go. Sorry to report that despite resealing the bedroom window, there was still water along the edge of the window, so I tried one last thing, I tightened the screws that apparently hold it together and it place. I can’t think what else it might be, but some of them were a little loose, so maybe that’s the problem. I’ll know after the next storm! Didn’t take me too long to get everything done, headed out of camp right around 9:00. It was a straightforward and uneventful drive to Standish Milling where I was FINALLY able to pick up three bags of Balancer, then on to Sandy’s arriving about 12:15. She had gone out and hadn’t gotten back yet, but she showed up not long after. It didn’t take long to realize that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to get into her yard! They have a narrow driveway with ditches on either side, and the road is also very narrow with a big ditch on the other side, just no way I was going to be able to get in there! Fortunately, I was able to reach live people at the National Forest office, and arranged to have the gate unlocked at the River Road Trail Camp, which is one of the stops on the Shore-to-Shore Ride across the state of Michigan, and they managed to get out here very quickly! We arrived just after 2:30 (Sandy was leading the way), and it didn’t take too long to get set up with two of us doing it. We brought her mare with me because her yard still isn’t quite ready for her, and if I’m not there, she doesn’t have a riding partner anyway. This is quite a large camp, though isn’t generally open, and is one of those that has water IF you have a 5000 watt generator to plug into the pump to make it work. Not quite sure why they don’t have one of those solar pumps like at Hungerford, that would make a lot more sense. Anyway, doesn’t matter, I put my generator on there and got everything filled up, the trailer, the horses’ buckets, the truck tank, Lola’s pool, and even her automatic water bowl, so hopefully I won’t have to do it again, unless I stay here longer. Unfortunately, I have almost no cell phone signal again, even worst than at Hungerford where at least I could drive up to the top of the campground or walk over to a picnic table a couple of sites away and get a signal. Here, almost nothing. I’ve managed to get a text or two on occasion when 3G pops in momentarily, but it’s very sporadic. Oh, well, that’s been the story of the summer, practically everywhere I’ve gone I’ve had no signal. I have to do some shopping tomorrow, I’m going to have to take my computer along and get caught up, I’m so far behind on so many things right now. Anyway, Sandy left about 4:00, it’s been uncomfortably hot again today, but there’s a cold front moving in overnight that’s going to drop the temps about 25 degrees, be nice not to sweat for awhile. I have no real map of this place, Sandy said she might know where to get one, hopefully she’ll have one tomorrow. Well, it’s after 9:00, still plenty of daylight but the mosquitoes are starting to come out, so I’m heading in for my shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
I’ve been having a bit of trouble sleeping lately, though I’m not sure why, maybe just the change of activities and meal time or something, I don’t know, but I decided to take a couple of acetaminophen PM last night, and did knock me out pretty good. I did wake up long enough to say good-bye to Trish at 7:00, she was packed and all ready to go. Afterwards, I came back to bed, fell right back to sleep, and the next time I looked at the clock it was 11:37! I can’t believe I slept that long! I think I had better only take one of those pills instead of two, they REALLY knocked me out! And I can’t believe Apollo didn’t make a fuss about breakfast being so late, he usually tends to get vocal when he’s hungry, but I didn’t hear a thing. Once I did get up, I didn’t do much, felt too groggy for most of the day, but it was nice to just sit and read all day. It was so hot by mid-afternoon that any movement evoked a sweat anyway, so sitting still was the best option. By 7:00 the temps started coming down a bit, so I ended up sealing the bedroom window, now that it’s had a few days to dry out inside, hopefully, and leaking is one thing I can’t delay repairs on! Hopefully I did it well enough to prevent any further drips around the edge. I put most of the hoses away as well, so I won’t have too much to do tomorrow. Maybe I’ll even get that last ride on Apollo in if I feel more rested tomorrow. Anyway, didn’t do much so there’s not much to report. Off to shower and bed shortly! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
More rain overnight, but a beautiful, almost clear sky this morning while I finished packing up to move. I had to do the horse stuff, of course, and hook up, which I didn’t do last night, then finally pulled off to the dump a bit after nine, so I was out of camp by about 9:30. Fortunately, had an uneventful drive, though it took longer than I originally planned because I wanted to stay on U.S. Highways rather than cross country. All the interstates around here head northwest toward Chicago, so the wrong direction for me (northeast), and the regular map was calling for routes with lots of turns on small roads, so I opted for the bigger roads with less turns. Worked out well, though, I arrived at Potato Creek around 4:00 local time, having lost an hour changing time zones. The girl assigned me a site, but I had to change it because it was way too short for me (didn’t she notice how long I was, or doesn’t she know the site limits back there?). Anyway, I ended up in a fine spot, simply tied the horses to the hitching post (my least favorite horse containment system), but I didn’t want to take any more time setting up and breaking down, since this was just an overnight stop. I was slowed down a bit by a weak breaker, wouldn’t heat water and run the AC at the same time, but I couldn’t get anyone out despite two phone messages. Did manage to get two loads of laundry in, though, watched a Dish movie (no cell phone signal here, which I’m really getting tired of!), had my shower, now I’m off to bed. Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Once again had trouble getting to sleep, but made up for it later on by sleeping a little later. Was up by 8:00, and because I did so much prep work yesterday, I was on the road by 9:30, which means I arrived at Middle Fork by just after noon after a nice, uneventful drive. There was only one other trailer in here with three girls, so it didn’t take me long to find a spot up on a hill. They have highline posts with cables already on them, which I don’t particularly like, not to mention they were VERY high up, no chance of reaching them without a ladder, which fortunately, I have! Put my own highline up for my boys, then just put a spring lock and a ring up for Coco, which worked out just fine. I’m very close to a water spigot, so I filled up all the water, and just got everyone settled in, got my chairs and awning out, had a short visit with the neighbors, then came back just as the rain started to come in. I had left Apollo on his anchor and Flash nearby, but then some man in a truck came by to tell me that my horses had to be tied up (really? There’s no one anywhere near me, but okay, fine), so naturally that was when the deluge hit, so by the time I had my guys on the highline, I was wet through. He immediately disappeared, don’t know who he was but he didn’t look like anyone official, not sure why I even listened to him. Thanks a lot! Settled down for a quiet rainy afternoon, mostly reading until dinner time, got everyone fed, including me, then relaxed for the evening. I’ve arranged to go riding with the girls tomorrow, and since they have stock horses, it will be on Apollo, who needs to be ridden anyway. Then I’ll take a quick trip to town for shopping. Good news is that will the rain, at least it’s not hot today! Put my solar panel up in hopes of sun in the morning, but we’ll see. Meanwhile, time for shower and bed! Good night, darlin’! Love you!