Tuesday, August 31, 2021 – First Ride Day at Waterloo

Hi Babe!
Had a great night sleep, without earplugs, yay! No trains or traffic nearby, just the sound of night insects, there was no one else in camp, and the temps dropped down to perfect sleeping weather, couldn’t have asked for a better first night. After chores this morning, I spent a little time trying to diagnose my brake problem, with no luck, so then I reached out to a mobile RV service that’s only 20 minutes away, and he said he would get back to me today about whether he had someone he could send. Unfortunately he didn’t, but I’ll call again in the morning to see if there’s a chance. Meanwhile, I saddled up Flash, put his boots in the saddle bags rather than on him, since a hiker that was here yesterday told me there aren’t too many stones here, but I took them anyway just in case. Just as we were setting off, a big deer came right into the campground grazing for a bit, but ran off as we started to move out. Flash was in an energetic mood today. Not sure if it was because of the cooler temps, lower humidity, not having to wear boots, or maybe the high percentage of alfalfa in this last batch of hay I bought, but he was definitely in the mood to move today! While they use the same great intersection numbering system I’ve grown to love here in Michigan, they didn’t execute it entirely, there are a number of poorly marked intersections and renegade trails around, so naturally, I got lost a couple of times. Took one trail twice when it circled around, and completely missed another trail that led us onto a gravel road that we had to follow in order to find our way back to the next trail. Other than that, though, it was a fabulous ride! A beautiful forest, a few steeper grades than we’ve been seeing lately, which was fun, and the far west trail was like a trail challenge course, with logs down every few yards! Flash was brilliant today! I gave him a loose rein practically the whole way, let him make his own decisions as to speed and alternate trails, and at one point, he had a choice between a bridge and a water crossing and on his own volition, he headed straight for the bridge! He did a great job today, it was such a pleasure to ride him today. We even saw a big snake on the trail, and we usually both miss those, but this one was slow to cross and even Flash noticed him (though I don’t think Lola did). It was a longer ride than I had planned, and he certainly was ready to get back to camp, as was Lola, who thoroughly enjoyed herself, too. The temps were perfect, the woods were thick and cool, couldn’t have asked for a better day. The rest of the week looks like it will be more of the same, so I can see us getting a lot of riding in this week! Got back to camp, put Flash up, then got out Lola’s pool and used the last of the truck tank water to fill it, then went up to the solar well pump and filled up the truck tank, so that should last for a bit. Later on, a big old truck with a guy named Butch showed up with a load of logs, evidently he’s stocking up for the weekend when a bunch of folks are coming in. Another RV had come in which I hadn’t noticed already, so it looks like I’ll be getting a lot of company in the coming days. I’ll be glad when the season is over and I’ll have places like this to myself, though having a bit of company might be good for book sales :-). Anyway, I settled down for the evening, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Speak Your Mind

*