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!
Speak Your Mind