Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009 - Highway Robbery at Hard Labor Horse Camp

On the way to the Trading Post this morning, we discussed whether we wanted to stay here another night and hope the weather cleared for a ride on Friday (our original plan), or if we wanted to drive on to our next stop on a drizzly day we knew we didn't want to ride in, and hope we could ride Friday at our next location. We hadn't made a decision when we walked into the Trading Post, but the decision was quickly made for us.

The cost of the campground site was $25, a little higher than usual for us for just electric and water, but we figured because we couldn't highline the horses in the campground, the fee must include the stabling. Boy, were we ever wrong! Stalls were an additional $18 EACH per night, plus we had to pay a $5 parking fee for EACH vehicle. Total cost for one night - $66.00! The cashier couldn't honor Hubby's Golden Age Passport (which gives a 50% discount to cardholders in all Federal lands, but this was State so they didn't accept it), but did manage to give him a senior discount, a whopping $5 off the campsite, period. Maybe that's affordable to some, but for us, and our plans to spend the whole year traveling this way, was way too dear. Without speaking, one look at each other was enough to confirm we were leaving today.

We packed up, loaded the horses, cleaned out the stalls (for $18 each it would've been nice if they did it, but c'est la vie!) and were heading out by noon.

It rained off and on for the entire trip, though by the time we arrived at our next location, Lee State Natural Area near Bishopville, SC, we had actually gotten ahead of it just a bit, and had just a little bit of time to get set up before it rolled back in on top of us. Lee State is just a mile off I-20, but it's a little piece of heaven, full of pine trees and sandy trails. I had spoken with Lester the manager on the phone, and he said to just come in and find a spot in the equestrian campground, all were available except the ones already filled and one other. We drove in, found a perfect spot in no time, great trees for highlining the horses. A nice young man nearby came to tell us that there had been some electrical problems on that site with the 20 amp, but as we only needed the 30, he said that should be fine.

About the time we were finishing setting up, Lester arrived, but said "no worries" he'd come around in the morning to take care of business. We happily agreed, having already confirmed the rates for a water/electric site was about $15/night! We finished the evening with some lovely homemade pea soup I had canned before we left home, watched a movie on DVR and fell into bed, still exhausted, but getting better all the time!

Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 - The Adventure Begins!

The day is finally here. For weeks my husband and I have been working non-stop to get everything packed and ready to begin our "Year of the Horse." After taking several extended horse trips during 2009, we decided to go "full-time" this year. We are ready to go anywhere, pursuing the simple goals of work and weather. As consultants and facilitators, our work could take us anywhere in the country, and having spent so many years where the winters are cold, we decided to seek out 60-70 degree daytime temps, whereever they may be.

Having secured six-month passports so that our horses could travel across many state lines without further certification, we left our Tennessee mountaintop home. I drive the RV trailer, Hubby drives the horse trailer. After several stops along the way (to pick up propane, some parts for the RV to repair a mouse-chewed water pipe, and, of course, gas along the way), we arrived at our first overnight stop, the Hard Labor State Park in Rutledge, GA, east of Atlanta along I-20. Easy to get to, well-marked, we arrived just after 5:00. We went straight to the campground only to discover we needed to go to another part of the park, to the Trading Post, in order to register. On our way out, we stopped a man (James) in an official looking cart who told us the Trading Post was closed at 5:00, but just to find a spot we liked and settle in, we could take care of it in the morning, so that's what we did.

The first sign we saw said "No Horses in Campground", an ominous beginning for horse campers, however next to the parking area there was an arena and a series of stables, all thoroughly locked, both gate and stalls. James came to the rescue, unlocking everything for us, so we unloaded the horses, found them stalls, and fed and watered them. No troughs in the stalls so we used our own large bins. No hay racks either, so we just threw the hay on the ground for now, figured we could get the hay bags out later. Once done, James was right behind us to lock every up again.

Had a great night sleep (we were both exhausted after our long weeks of preparation), woke up about 12 hours later, listening to the continuing sound of rain, as it had rained all night. We were glad the horses had been under cover, though usually we would just put them in the trailer on stormy nights. We were looking forward to a day off to rest on the morrow!