Hey Sweetie!
A late night followed by a medium late morning, got my chores done, had a small breakfast as I was expecting my old friend Steve to come by today. The last time we saw him was at his wedding in Alfred, NY, hard to believe it was nearly five years ago now! He arrived right on time around 11:30, we chatted for awhile, then drove down to Matt's Place, the nearest restaurant, and one that you and I used to ride to when we were here, and had a great burger. Got back to camp where we broke open a bottle of wine he brought, which was later followed by a bottle of Biltmore wine that I had from my time volunteering there, and we had a spectacular afternoon of talking about times, old and new, and generally getting caught up on each other's live. We reminisced about the various Republican National Conventions that we all worked at as speech coaches, all of our family lives, and just never ran out of conversation all afternoon. We also climbed up the tower so he could have a good look at the wonderful view up there. He finally left after 7:00 just as a thunderstorm was making it's towards us, and I finally settled down for the evening. What a wonderful, memorable day. Again, feels like old home week visiting with all these high school buddies! So glad I decided to come to NYS this summer! Wish you were here! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Woke up early to the alarm, did my chores and breakfast, then headed over to Rock Stream Diesel so Luke could do the work we spoke about on Monday. It took considerably less than an hour to replace the belt tensioner (the new ones have a plastic wheel, so I expect I'll be changing that out again at some point!), remove the faulty vacuum pump, and reprogram my computer so that it no longer thinks it's a California emissions engine. All my codes are now gone, the noise is gone, and it runs perfectly! A very reasonable $348, I think. Was back in camp by 10:00, but I had noticed the other day that my brake controller was on the fritz again, so I spent some time working on that until I got it working again. Seems like no matter how much I tidy up the blue power wire, it keeps coming undone, even though it feels perfectly tight! Today I really squeezed them together with some tiny pliers, and that finally did the trick. Can't pull this trailer without my brake controller, especially on these NY hills! Spent the rest of the day reading and playing computer games. I considered taking Apollo for a ride but decided to wait until tomorrow, I'm still a bit tired from yesterday's long ride, plus getting up earlier than usual this morning. Lazy me! But I got the one big chore done that I wanted to do today, get the truck fixed, and happy about that! Settled in as usual, dinner and a movie, next shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a wonderful night sleep! More than eight hours! So woke up pretty refreshed, did my chores and breakfast, then headed down to Montour Falls to the truck repair place, FleetPride. They came out and listened to my truck, and after awhile, decided that the problem was with the cam train and that they didn't have the time or facility to repair it. They said it would be about a 15-16 hour job and they probably didn't even have the tools to do it. They called around to a few places for me, but found nothing. Then I got on my phone looking for a diesel mechanic, and found one just north of Watkins Glen, with good reviews (and whom the folks at FleetPride had never heard of), so I headed up there immediately. Unfortunately, no one was there, so I called the number and got a hold of the guy, Luke, but he was on a service call and wouldn't be available until later in the day, obviously a one-man shop. I went back to camp and killed time by reading (the Lioness of Morocco is my latest book), then finally reached out to him around 4:00, and he was just on his way back to his shop, so I headed over there. He immediately recognized that this truck has the California emission package on it, which I had forgotten about, and first found a slight problem with the belt tensioner and replaced it with a spare he happened to have, but that didn't solve the noise. He did some more investigating and determined that the problem was actually the EGR vacuum pump, part of that emission package, and which would evidently be the reason for most of the codes I've been getting. He seemed quite certain that was the problem, and he gave me the choice of replacing the part or to just take it off, as he said it wouldn't affect the performance, or might even make it better. He said he would need to put on a shorter belt, but otherwise, it was a simple job. Well, since I'm not in California, and I don't live in a state that requires inspections, that makes more sense to me. We made an appointment for Wednesday morning to do the job, and I'm truly hoping that's all it is. I don't think continuing to run it like that would be catastrophic, but I'd rather keep my truck in as good a shape as I can! Finally got back to camp around 5:30, had some dinner, finally settled down for the evening to dinner and a movie, and looking forward to another early night. Tomorrow, we ride!! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Darlin!
Had a good night sleep, did my chores and breakfast, then finally got a text from another old friend, Donna (from Cleveland, who we spent time with quite a few years ago!) about meeting with her and some friends who were staying at another friend's lake house. Her and her book club all came over from Cleveland, and they decided to visit the Women's Rights Museum in Seneca Falls, the spot of the first Women's Convention that later spread across the country. I met them there, toured the museum, had a great lunch nearby, then went back to the lake house for a bit before they went on a tour and I came back to camp. It was a great day with a bunch of great people! I made a quick detour to look at the nearby Backbone Horse Camp in the Finger Lakes National Forest just to check it out, confirming there was no water there, and even though some of the sites would be big enough for me, I would have a very difficult time going around their main loop. The curves are too deep and narrow, I'd be very hard-pressed to make the turns, so I guess I won't be visiting there! Once I got back to camp, I was glad to see the horses were fine, despite the fact that it had rained almost all day. I'm going to move their highline tomorrow, they're unfortunately making a mess of the grassy area they are in, the rain really made it slippery, so I will take them down the hill, which will be harder on me but easier on them. I then decided to try to clear out the codes on my truck, so I disconnected both batteries, but that didn't do it. Then I remembered that yesterday when I was looking for something else I found what looked like a code reader, even though I didn't think I had one for the truck, but I pulled it out and checked it, and lo and behold, it DID work on the truck! It showed the same codes as what the mechanics did. I went ahead and cleared it out, figuring if they didn't come back on, maybe I solved the problem, though I'm still going to take it to the mechanic on Monday because it's still making some kind of noise. I hate to say it, but it kind of sounds like the water pump (which I've already replaced once) or a timing chain, which I'm not even sure they have on diesel engines, though it could be anything, both big jobs, and I'm hoping I'm wrong. Anyway, warmed up the other half of lunch for dinner, settled down to a little TV, ready for bed! A great day! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Ended up being busier today than I had planned, but it's a good thing! After chores and breakfast, I headed out to do some running around, first to the truck tire place in the town of Odessa, where they had a new Roadax tire that I guess will work with my other tires. The tread pattern is a bit different, but it's the same depth and tread size, so I guess it will work. It's the spare, anyway. I had noticed that my motor was making a kind of funny noise, and since they didn't do that kind of work, I stopped at their sister office in Monterey (where we bought a tire many years ago), but even though every bay was empty, they said they didn't have any technicians available (looked more like they didn't have any technicians at all!), but could schedule me for next week for a $149 diagnostic if I wanted. All I really wanted was a quick code test to see if anything showed up, and/or a capable mechanic that could listen to the sound and figure out what it might be, but I wasn't to find it there! Another customer overheard, and after we went outside, he suggested I stop at one of the parts stores, who would do a basic diagnostic for free, which I did. Two stops later, I found a shop that instilled a lot more confidence, and they did the diagnostic for me, and it was a couple of small things having to do with fuel, air and egr. I checked and figured out I was overdue for a fuel filter change, and probably an air filter too (which I already had on hand), but I don't know what to do about the egr. Anyway, I picked up a fuel filter at NAPA before heading to Walmart for some light shopping, and then I checked my email and found that my package of tools had arrived at the post office, so I swung by there and picked those up, finally making it back to camp. After putting the groceries up, I went to work on the truck. The air filter change went very quickly, and even the fuel filter change went a lot faster than the last time I did it (practice makes perfect!), but after doing my usual youtube research, I couldn't find anything really helpful on the egr sensor. Fortunately, the shop that I went to said they could slip me in on Monday at 10:00 (though they were fully booked for nearly two weeks!), so maybe they can figure out what the noise is. It was coming up to 5:00 by then, so I turned toward settling down for the evening. Made a big batch of dirty rice, which I haven't done for awhile and watched a movie. Soon to bed! Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, got up around 8:30, and I saw that my friend Lorna was getting ready to leave when I went out to feed the horses. We chatted for a few minutes before she left, then I went on with a very quiet, cool day. Temps never got above about 63, and I almost can't believe I'm saying this, it felt too cool to ride! Well, I rode yesterday, so I wasn't planning on riding again today, so it's a moot point anyway. I spent the day reading, doing some research on my computer, and generally relaxing and enjoying the day. I've spent so little time keeping up with the news, but I learned there was the first Presidential debate tonight, so I watched a little bit of that, until I couldn't stand it any more. Heading for a shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a fitful night sleep, finally dragged myself out of bed at 8:30, got the chores done, had breakfast, and debated whether or not I was in the mood to go riding, decided no. Decided to try to replace the water compartment door that I received a while back, but the screws were so rusted the heads flew off immediately. So I had to do some research on how to remove broken screws, and of course, that meant I had to research the tools to do it, and finally order them once I figured out what I needed. I hope I'm getting the right stuff! Then, an old friend from high school reached out to me, I had learned from another friend she was in the area, and it turned out she was very nearby, so she drove over with her little teardrop camper and we got together in the afternoon and chatted away like crazy! Amazing, I don't think I've seen her since 1976, but we had a great time getting caught up! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so probably no riding until Thursday, if she wants to go. Anyway, time flew and it was nearly 8:00 when we finally adjourned for the evening. Made a quick late supper, finished my tool order, now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Well, I had the chance to use some of my new tools, today, much to my surprise! Got up at my appointed hour, had breakfast and finished packing, put Flash in the trailer, and when I went back for Apollo, I remembered I hadn't put Flash's fly mask on, which I like to do when traveling to keep the dirt and hay out of their eyes, so I hooked Apollo up on the side of the trailer and noticed that one of my tires sidewalls was bursting out. Oddly, I checked that same tire a few days ago, and saw that it was my oldest tire, though at the time it looked fine. Now, the sidewall was bursting, so I knew I couldn't go anywhere until I changed, it, I was just happy I saw it before I hit the road. I took Flash back out of the trailer and put them both back on the highline, then got out my Jiffy Jack and my new impact wrench, and had the lugs loosened and the tire off in no time. Got the spare out and got that on shortly, then seeing that the spare was about ten pounds light, I got out my new compressor, started the generator, and got the tire up to specs. All in all, it took about 20-25 minutes, but I got it all done! Finally got everything put away and the horses loaded up, did my final check, and headed out just before 9:00. I debated whether to stay ont the freeways, which would add another 100 miles, or stick to US 15, which I seemed to remember had some twisty, windy bits, but from what I found on the internet, it seemed to be okay. I went west on Shippensburg road as planned, but then Google tried to send me down a road with only a 10.5' clearance, a good two feet shorter than me, so I had to find an alternate route, which took a few minutes more to get to I-81. Once I was on the interstate, we soon got caught up in an accident-caused traffic jam which slowed us down another 20 minutes or so. I couldn't believe it when we passed the accident, there was a semi that was completely burned down right to the chassis! The trailer was fine, but the tractor was utterly gone, almost nothing left of it, no cab whatsoever, right down to the frame. The engine didn't even seem to be fully there, it was that bad! Once we got past that point, though, the rest of the trip was uneventful. Just one stop for fuel, which I was burning up pretty fast due to serious headwinds, but they actually helped my downhill slopes by slowing me down. Most of the hills were long and easy, so really, it turned out to be the best route, at least until we got close to camp. Note to self, don't follow the route up Evergreen Hill road, it's a long, steep gravel road, need to find an alternative. Best to come in from the west/north, the turn into the road from the east is sharp and I had to take two stabs at it to get in through the gate. It was a bit farther out than I remembered, but finally managed to arrive in camp. Unfortunately, there was a small trailer taking up the spot we usually take, and things have changed quite a bit here! They now have designated campsites, so I stopped and reconnoitered the best place, until I finally settled on Site 2, because there were a couple of trees where I could highline. I managed to get somewhat settled in, then went looking to fill up my tanks, only to discover that they sawed off the spigots here! I hate it when they do that! Apparently they expect everyone to carry buckets of water to their horses, instead of just letting us hook up a hose and filling them! I saw a young ranger talking to some other folks and asked him about it, and got the usual story about how some folks abused the privilege, and since it was free, there was no obligation to provide services, yada yada yada, all so stupid! Throw out the bums that abuse the system, but don't make it unusable for the rest of us! I was also told horses aren't allowed on highlines anymore, they would have to be put in the covered standing stalls, which, I'm sorry, I'm not going to do. Last time I put Apollo in a standing stall, he laid down, then when he tried to get up he hit the front bar and hurt himself. When I checked on him, he was on the other side of the front bar with a terrible scrape on his back, and he was in so much pain I couldn't ride him for over a week, so, no, thank you, I'm not putting him in one of those! I had already got my horses on a highline, and as far as I'm concerned, they're just fine there. I was told I could put them in a temporary corral in an area about 200 yards away, but that I couldn't put my trailer there, so again, no thank you! If a bear came out of the woods, how long do you think a small electric fence would hold? Sorry, but I'm not endangering my horses because of some stupid bureaucrat in Albany. Anyway, we'll see how it all turns out, hopefully they'll just leave me along, but who knows? I finally settled down for the evening, grateful I finally have a cellphone signal, yay! Watched a Warehouse 13, had dinner, heading to bed early after a busy and eventful day. The good news is, a cold front went through yesterday and the temps are PERFECT! Looking forward to a fabulous night sleep tonight, with lows set to be in the upper 50's! A bit warmer tomorrow, but nothing compared to what we've been stuck with for the last couple of weeks! Hopefully, the search for seventies is finally at hand! Fingers crossed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Spent the day doing a load of laundry, a bit of housekeeping, and packing up what few things I unpacked, grateful for a cloudy, windy day which kept the temps down in the mid-80's rather than the 90's like it's been most of the week. Otherwise, read all day, so a slow, quiet day. Looking forward to moving on to someplace where there are some better trails, better cell phone service, and hopefully nicer weather! Should be a better sleeping night as well, with the cooler temps. I didn't even have to run the fans all day, thank goodness. Won't be late out of bed, though, as I want to get a good start in the morning. Love you, babe! Good night!