Tuesday, July 14, 2026 – First Ride at Potato Creek

Hiya Sweetie,
Not a very good night sleep for some reason, got chores and breakfast done, then saddled up Flash for a spin around the park. I had met up with two ladies yesterday who are involved with the ride this weekend, and they indicated that the trails were in pretty good shape, so I decided not to take my clearing tools and just have a pleasure ride. Turned out there is a lot of clearing that could be done, but I was kind of glad I didn't take my tools along, or it would definitely have been a work day and not a pleasure ride. We did about seven miles, which is practically every trail in here, not really a lot, but what's here is pretty nice, except for the brambles. Was only out for about an hour and a half. Flash was in a pretty good mood, doing a nice four+ mph walk the whole way. Got back to camp and spent some time working on the kitchen faucet, something inside of it slipped, but I only made a marginal improvement. Another thing on my list of trailer repairs the next time I take it in. Then I spent time finding hay and making an order at Tractor Supply, although the nearest TSC doesn't refill propane tanks, so I'm have to go quite a bit out of my way for that, but I also need horse feed, so I'll make that trip tomorrow. Pretty hot today, can't wait to be heading north so I can enjoy the summer weather without it being too hot to ride or do anything else outside! Settled down for the rest of the day and evening, cleaned up my saddle a bit, it was pretty muddy from the previous muddy days, tried to hook up with Linda, the gal ride organizer Marti suggested I get together with, but all three times I went by, either on horseback or walking Lola, she wasn't there. Hopefully we'll catch up tomorrow! Horses are good in a nice fenced in pen, and Lola's enjoying some freedom. I've been letting her out alone since there's no one else near us and she's not fit enough to get too far, though I've been walking her on her leash when we go farther. Anyway, an otherwise quiet day, and ready for bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Monday, July 13, 2026 – Travel Day to Potato Creek

Pix to come!

Hey Darlin',
No alarm this morning, since my trip today was less than 100 miles, so I let myself sort of sleep in before getting up and finishing the packing. Was leaving camp by 10:30 and arriving by 12:30 after an uneventful trip. When I reached the campsite, it was a bit challenging because there were quite a few obstacles on both sides of the road, but I managed to swing in on my first try, a really fabulous attempt, especially since there was a car with a family in it right behind me. No pressure! Surprised myself with how straight I got in, but when I started looking for the electrical box, I was dismayed to see it was a very long way away, so far away that even with my extension cord I wouldn't be able to reach it. So I had to redo it, pull out and back in again, which, fortunately, I was able to do fairly quickly. Turns out the family had a couple of kids that really wanted to see the horses, so I accommodated, bringing them out so they could pet them and give them treats. Once they were satisfied, I finished my setup, which was a fence around their silly hitching rail, filled my tanks, and was all in by about 2:00 or so. Settled down, watched some TV, took Lola for a couple of walks, had dinner and settled down for the evening. Just another day on the road! Good night, babe! Love you!

Sunday, July 12, 2026 – New Day, New Job

Hi Babe,
Didn't sleep very well last night, not sure why, but I'm suspecting maybe too much aspartame, too many diet drinks, or maybe just too much food. Regardless, I was up with the early alarm, got chores done, skipped breakfast since I ate so much yesterday and still didn't feel hungry, walked Lola, then finally reported to work around 8:15. Today's job was pulse timer, and I found out later, out timer as well. No big deal, the number of riders was much smaller, so it was easy to stay on top of, and I had already created a cheat sheet for the hold times, so it was simple enough. It was al over, including the breakdown, before 2:00. I had the farrier trim Apollo's feet, which were overdue, and drove down to pay for another night of camping since my borrowed reservation only went through today, then finally settled down for the rest of the afternoon and evening, doing my usual day before packing, walking Lola and bingeing on my latest series. Also managed to get in three loads of laundry, so I won't even have to worry about that tomorrow. Once again, I'm driving less than 100 miles, so it won't take me long, no hurry about getting up in the morning. I'm not going to go to the dump here because my notes (and memory) from last time is the dump is very difficult to get to with a camper my size, and I don't really need it yet anyway, not to mention that my next stop, Potato Creek, had an excellent and easily accessible dump, so I have no reason not to wait for that. Most folks left today, but there is still a good number of campers in the horse camp, which I'm glad to see! Anyway, day is done, shower and bed next! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Saturday, July 11, 2026 – Busy Day Scribing!

Hiya Sweetie!
After getting another good rainstorm overnight, I got up with the alarm, did chores and breakfast, and spent the day at the vet check area helping to scribe and to train some new scribers. I have to give this ride it's due, it is investing a lot of time and energy into bringing in new recruits to the sport, something it desperately needs. They held an all-day clinic yesterday for new people, some young, some not so young, and it was great to see! Although I spent the day at the vetting area, it wasn't a terribly taxing day. Barely a moment of sprinkles, but the day was cloudy so although it was humid, it didn't get too terribly hot, which was a relief, considering I had to spend the day outdoors. Ate too much at the potluck dinner, of course, but am finally relaxing back in my air-conditioned camper, trying to watch an episode of House (the signal here is quite intermittent, no doubt slowing down because of the number of folks in camp), and will soon be showered and off to bed. Sunny day called for tomorrow, so likely to be hotter. Just have to deal with it! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Friday, July 10, 2026 – Volunteering Begins!

Hey Darlin’,
Slept well, then headed up to the check-in area after chores and breakfast, and helped put up some pop-up tents, stuff goody bags and make signs for the pulse area. Many hands make light work, so we were all finished just after 11:00, so I went back to the camper, walked Lola, then settled in to read for the rest of the afternoon. It started raining around 3:15, but was mostly through by 4:00, when we started vetting in. I performed the duty of scribe, which earned me dinner and a t-shirt. I’ll be scribing tomorrow as well, as well. Attended the rider meeting at 7:00, and it was over by 7:30, the shortest ride meeting I can ever remember attending! Walked Lola again, then had a long phone call with my friend Steve before settling down for what little remained of the evening. Early morning, so off to bed soon! Good night, babe! Love you!

Thursday, July 9, 2026 – Quiet Day, Bookkeeping, and Meet and Greet

Hi Babe,
Another good night sleep, no alarm this morning since I didn't have anything particular to do today. After chores, breakfast and walking Lola, I decided to fix my closed up pierced ear, and went at that with a straight pin until I could put a real earring in, something I've been trying to do for months now but haven't managed it. Finally had success! Then I spent some time doing bookkeeping, my new effort to try to do it monthly rather than occasionally so that it piles up too much. Filled up the tanks, including the truck tank, so that I wouldn't have to keep running the hose just to fill up the horses' buckets. Met up with ride manager Noelle a little after 2:00, but she didn't have anything for me to do yet, so I headed back to the trailer to do some computer work. Went back over at 7:00 when they were having a meet and greet for some newbies that are here for a beginners clinic that they've put together, a great idea for growing the sport, I thought. Came back to feed the horses and walk Lola, then was asked by a trio of young newbies to help them put up a highline. I had mentioned during the M&G that I thought hitching rails were a death trap and spoke of the virtues of the highline, so it's not surprising they came to me for help. My pleasure! We ran it from one of the rail posts to the hay loft bracket, and it worked just fine. They had three horses, and they were all a bit crowded on the hitch rail. Finished our walk and settled down for the evening. Work starts at 9:00 tomorrow, so I'll be in bed shortly! Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Wednesday, July 8, 2026 – More Trail Checking and Shopping Trip

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, woke up before my alarm, got breakfast and chores done before heading out to check out some more trails. I had intended to do all of the remaining loops, about 10 miles, but Flash was showing signs of some gimpiness, so I cut it back to the two southern loops and two shortcut trails, about five miles in all. The trails are not difficult per se, but they are not pleasant inasmuch as there are long stretches of mud, some of it quite deep, and more long stretches of gravel. The combination is my least favorite, because I'd like to use boots for the gravel, but with deep mud, I'll be so concerned about losing a boot it won't be very enjoyable. I'm sure Flash will be happy to have the rest of the week off! When I got back, I ponied Apollo around the campground loop a couple of times just to get him some exercise. After putting them both away, I headed out to nearby Huntington to do some shopping. I was disappointed to learn that the Tractor Supply there doesn't do propane fillups (even though it says they do on the website), so I wasn't able to fill up my two empty tanks. No worries, though, I won't need any more for a couple of weeks, since I have electric here and at the next stop. Went to Ace Hardware to try to find a cap for the hub on my utility cart, I lost it back at Tippecanoe and my wheel has been falling off. They didn't have exactly the right thing, but in the end, with a little German ingenuity and a sledge hammer, I managed to make it work. Was very happy to see diesel prices coming down, found a Phillips that had diesel at $4.59, so I topped off. Guess the Iran war is getting more settled and the Hormuz strait is more open. I don't know, I never watch the news anymore, too depressing. Finished off at Walmart, as usual, and stocked up on all the usual stuff, plus a few extras just to solve a few issues and repairs. Settled down for the usual evening routine, off to shower and bed soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 – Sixteen Miles of Trail Checking

Hey Darlin',
A good night sleep, woke up to my alarm so that I could get an early start, got chores and breakfast done, saddled up Flash and was out on trail by 10:30, with perfect weather. Trails were pretty wet and muddy, plus there are lots of areas with heavy gravel, so it was a classic case of "to boot or not to boot." I took them with me but didn't put them on. I came across a couple of sections that were all but impassable with downed trees, and a couple of places that were just inconvenient to get around, sent the info all off to ride manager Noelle, as I'm sure she had someone with chainsaw skills available to help out. It was a lovely ride, reaching all the way up to the farthest north loops, though I didn't go around the big fields, figured that was surplus to requirement. Flash was his usual brilliant self, naturally. Got back right around 3:00, gave him a nice rinse, Lola for a walk, and settled down for the rest of the day. Perfect weather, a wonderful ride, couldn't ask for much else! Good day! Good night, baby! Love you!

Monday, July 6, 2026 – Travel Day to Salamonie Lake State Park

Hiya Babe,
Didn't sleep quite so late today, but there wasn't a big hurry since I was only moving about 100 minutes away. Got packed up, headed to the RV dump, and was on my way out of the park just after 10:00, arriving at Salamonie Horsemen's Camp just before noon. By 2:00, I had the horses in a fence paddock, had everything set up, all the water tanks filled, and had even started a load of laundry! Then I got a little ambitious and did some housekeeping before settling down for the afternoon, planning my first ride and other activities for the week. Binged on a few more House episodes, won't be long out of bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Sunday, July 5, 2026 – Cooler Packing Day

Hey Sweetie,
Stayed up way too late watching the DC fireworks show, along with a speech by the President, all of which was delayed because a thunderstorm hit the area just before the original start time. As a result, it was nearly 1:00 by the time I got into bed, and even later by the time I got to sleep. No matter, the rest of the day was just doing some packing in anticipation of our departure tomorrow. We had more rain here earlier as well, so it was quite a bit cooler than it has been, though I still ran the AC for a couple of hours just to cool it down, mostly for Lola's sake. For the fifth time since I've been here, I've had to listen to the sound of a lawnmower all day long. Not sure why they chose the weekend to do it (unless it's because I'm the only one here,) but it would have been nice to get a bit more peace and quiet while I was out here. I think they need a bigger lawnmower if it takes three days to finish the mowing! Anyway, a pretty dull day, though I broke the rules again and let my horses graze all day. No one else has said anything to me, so I just kept my fingers crossed that the one ranger who objected wasn't working today, and that seemed to be the case. Did some more research on the Peru trip, discovered the actual dates of the Spring Paso Festival in Trujillo, and discovered they are in direct conflict with my ride, so that's no longer a possibility. Still want to work in a flyover and possible exploration of the Nazca Lines, and time to do a bit more exploring than just the ride, but that will take more research. Read and watched more House episodes in between packing up, so a pretty mundane day. Looking forward to a new location, though I've been to Salamonie before, and the trails aren't all the great, but at least I'll have something to do once the ride folks start to come in. Not much else going on! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!