Hi Babe,
Woke up to cloudy skies with just a touch of rain, not enough to accumulate in the rain barrel, unfortunately. Had a relaxing morning, then went down to fill up the truck tank and distribute water to the trailer. I felt like I needed to recover from all my physical activity yesterday, so I relaxed most of the day, reading, then late in the afternoon, starting to watch some TV. Unfortunately, my generator has been gradually getting worse and worse, starting with a boost, but cutting off more and more. The last week it's been cutting off in about a half hour, but today it was about ten minutes, less progressively shorter and shorter. Naturally, I started doing some analysis and research, confirming that it wasn't the air filter, the oil level, or the air intake. I have concluded, at this point anyway, that the problem is with the spark arrestor, which is part of the exhaust system. I checked the exhaust pipe and it was clear, but the spark arrestor requires the removal of a square headed bolt (naturally, a very atypical bolt requiring an atypical tool). Once it's is removed, you're supposed to run the generator for five minutes with a full load, which is supposed to clear out any soot that has accumulated. Considering how much I've been using my generator this summer, it doesn't surprise me soot might have accumulated. I tried to remove the bolt, but a regular socket doesn't work, and it's so rusted up anyway that it's super stuck. I'm still searching online for a simple solution, but half inch square sockets (either 4 point or 8 point) seem to be hard to find. I've still got a few other things to try, but it was getting late, so I sprayed it with PB Blaster, hoping that soaking it overnight might help. Meanwhile, my batteries are just about dead, not even sure they'll last long enough to run the water pump for a shower, but I'm dirty from crawling under the trailer, so I'm hoping for the best! Not the way I like to finish my evening, with problems staring at me, but c'est la vie! Can't have every day be perfect! Anyway, I'm going to give the shower a try, hope I don't burn out the water pump from low voltage in the process! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Pix to come!

Hiya Sweetie,
Up with the alarm at 7:00, out of camp by 9:00, three uneventful hours driving to Hungerford, then managed to find the perfect spot with a clear sky to the north for my Starlink, Site 22, which is the same site on the corner where we stayed the last time we came here together. This site wasn't available last time I was here three years ago because of deadfall, but was glad to see it reopened, because it's fairly easy to get into, all things considered. Got the horses on the highline and mostly set up before heading out to Tractor Supply to get feed and three propane tanks filled, then to Walmart for a couple of grocery items before heading down to pick up some hay nearby, a dozen bales at $6 a bale. Still haven't touched the second cutting bales I stored a few weeks ago, trying to save that for as along as I can! With all of the physical activity putting everything away, I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Finally sat down for dinner and was just finishing up when one of the other campers came by and asked for help with one of their horses who was behaving oddly, but by the time I got there, the mare was back to normal. Had a nice chat, then came back to camp, watched a couple episodes of House before finishing off the evening. Lola wandered over to the next campsite over, and was returned by three girls from over there, chatted for a couple of minutes, and now I'm calling it quits for the day, feeling very tired. There's rain in the forecast, so I put out the rain barrel, since getting water is a chore and I wasn't able to fill up when I came in, but I will have to do tomorrow, but hopefully, if the barrel fills up, it will service the horses for a few days. We'll see! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
A better night sleep, then a beautiful and busy day! Clear skies, perfect temps, a great day for the laundry, as well as for everything else I did. Spent a lot of time online firming up travel plans, putting flight reservations on hold, and trying to work with a travel agent, but in the end, I think I may do my own reserving. Didn't seem like he was listening to what I wanted, but I tried! Was hoping to save some time and convenience, but as usual, if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself! Got as much packing done as I could, and still had time for a short visit from Sandy, who stopped by on her way home. Was sorry we couldn't do kayaking today (if only we had today's weather yesterday!), but c'est la vie! Finally was able to settle down for the evening, off to shower and bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, probably because of getting home so late, and ended up sleeping in until 9:30 this morning, would you believe! It was a gray morning, and then later it rained quite a bit, which wasn't called for in the forecast, and didn't clear out until late afternoon. Our plans to go kayaking didn't pan out because of that, but you know how I love a rainy Sunday, so I spent the day reading and later watching some House episodes, loving my new Starlink! It felt good to relax, and I did little else except put Apollo out on his anchor and put my spare tire away. I considered putting it on the trailer, but figured if there really was an axle problem and another tire was going to blow, I would rather it be one of the non-matching tires than the new matching one that is now my spare. I'll sort it all out at some point, just not at the moment! Not much else to report, just a lovely rainy Sunday! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a decent night sleep, spent most of the day just hanging out reading, then headed down to Hale for the rodeo at the Iosco County Fair around 3:30. Wandered around a bit, then met up with Sandy and wandered some more, had some food, first a pulled pork dinner provided by the FFA (not quite as tender as some I've had), then Sandy and I split an elephant ear, the only junk fair food I'll allow myself. I couldn't believe it was $13 for one elephant ear! Then we watched a rather strange bubble-making show, and finally headed off to the rodeo where she met up with a bunch of her friends from the not-for-profit organization that she volunteers for, that deals with horses and at-risk kids, as well as others. There was a fine mist in the air, but no real rain, and the temps were quite comfortable, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Crazy stunts by the rodeo clown, games for the kids involving bouncing dragons and one-shoed foot races, a touching celebration of small town rural America. So great to see these kinds of traditions being passed down, and so many kids being raised right! A fun way to spend the afternoon and evening. Got back to camp just after 9:00, fed the horses, ran the AC long enough to cool it down to outside temps, now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a pretty good night sleep, then once I got chores and breakfast done, I concentrated on doing all the internet computer work done that's been put on the back burner while I had such a terrible cell phone signal. Did a lot of Peru vacation planning, reduced my cell phone plan, and generally ran down the list of things I've been accumulating for awhile now. It turned out to be quite a hot day, would have been nice to be on the water, but plans to kayak fell through, and it was just as well, I needed to get this work done. I put the horses out on another site south of me, and for some unknown reason, Flash decided to head down an old trail I hadn't even noticed (probably a perimeter trail around the campground, or down to the group camp), wandering much farther than I would have expected away from his buddy Apollo, until he tangled himself up, and started whinnying for help. I actually had a hard time finding him, he had gone so deep into the brush! Silly horse! Got him untangled and back home, but a few minutes later, he went back into the paddock and started eating hay, so I closed the gate and disconnected him from his anchor, since he obviously wasn't interested in eating fresh grass. Apollo stayed out, though. Finally settled down for the evening to few episodes of House, so happy that I am able to do all of this will minimal delays and buffering! Such an improvement! Not perfect, I did lose the signal a couple of times, but it usually remedied itself before too long. The app says there's an obstruction, but it can only be the tips of trees, so it comes and goes. No worries, I'm thrilled with it! I'm obviously going to have to find a more open site at Hungerford, which could be tough considering how wooded it is there, but at least I know what direction I need to have clear, and unlike the old satellite dish, it's NOT to the southwest, but rather to the north! Sort of the opposite of what I usually like to do, but it is what it is! Just need to adjust to the new normal. Settled down for the evening, shower and bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Woke up to another gorgeous morning, did my chores and breakfast, then saddled up Flash to try to find the missing trail out of camp to the north. I couldn't find it out of camp, so I decided to try to find it from the other side, going out past the swimming hole in the river, but once I got to where my GPS said it should be, there was nothing, not a trace. Whatever trail had been there that's shown on the map is obliterated. So I went back down around the other way, the section of trail that was used for the endurance 10 mile trail, and decided that would be just fine. Got back to camp and diddled around for awhile, mostly reading, then Sandy arrived after 3:00 (with my freshly delivered Starlink in hand!), and we saddled up both horses to take that same route, only this time I went backwards, saving the best for last. I had her ride Flash while I rode Apollo, worried a bit about his stumbling, but I had given him a bute at breakfast and he seemed to be handling it pretty well today. Slow, as always, and he had some challenges climbing up some hills, but he did more trotting, even up hills, so I think the exercise is doing him good. I hope so, anyway! When we reached the waterhole spot where folks like to swim their horses, Sandy and I took a nice dip, marveling at the fast current, but quickly getting used to the cooler temps. It was lovely! Feels like the first time I've been in natural water for a long time! Got back to camp after 6:30, she headed out and I took care of the horses, then set up my new Starlink, which took me all of two minutes! So easy! I made some supper and finally settled down to a couple of episodes of House on my TV instead of my tablet, a nice change. Afterward, I did a couple of things online just to check it out, like uploading some pix on past diary entries, and it was blazingly fast, at least compared to what I've been used to lately. I have a lot of stuff to do online over the weekend, and since I rode twice today, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon, I'm guessing I'll spend the day getting caught up on computer work tomorrow. A great day, had a wonderful time with Sandy, love having both horse out together (even though it was mostly a slow ride), and ending on a positive note that my future internet and communications issues are now solved! Off to shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a bunch of thunderstorms come through in the evening, and despite giving Lola two gabapentins along with her Carprofen, she paced and panted for nearly two hours! Not sure if she finally quieted down because the pills finally kicked in or if she just wore herself out. Rain continued past my getting to bed, so I put in my earplugs and enjoyed a nice sleep, and even laid in for an extra hour of reading, just to get my day off started. At first it was pretty cloudy, but as noon approached, the sun started peaking through, so I started on a couple of loads of laundry, and also hooked up the hose and filled up everything, which should now last me most if not all of the week. Spend the in-between time reading, and later in the day, watching some more episodes of House on my tablet. Made Lola some Satin Balls, walked her a couple of times, but otherwise spent the day doing as little as possible to recharge my personal battery banks. Looking forward to a good night sleep as well! Good night, baby! Love you!