Set the alarm to get up a bit earlier, had breakfast and then finally headed out about 11:15 toward the Land Bridge over I-75. Cornelius our campground host had said it was about five hours, so we figured we were in good shape. We took the buggy route because we thought it would be more direct, but missed a turn somewhere and ended up on a dirt road that was obviously on the Ross Prairie Wilderness, which was south of the Greenway. Since it was heading east, in the direction we wanted anyway, we stuck with it for awhile, until we found an unmarked trail heading due north. That soon took us back to the buggy trail, which we followed to the road crossing at Route 484, doing a lot of trotting along this section to condition both ourselves and the horses. From there we stayed on Yellow Trail number 1 across the entire next section of the Greenway, from 484 to 49th Street. It was a nice trail, though the scenery wasn’t nearly as nice as the first section, it was still pretty good. It took us longer to cross than we thought, and we got behind schedule. We eventually got to an underpass at 49th, and kept going, still following the Yellow trail, mostly walking now, as the horses had gotten more tired than we had anticipated, guess we pushed them too hard too early. We finally reached the Land Bridge, where, thank goodness, they had a couple of hitching posts and a trough of water for the horses. We crossed over to the other side, just so we could say we did, and then came right back again, stopping at the trough to rest and have some lunch. Gave the horses some oats and feed, which helped their energy a bit, and headed out again about 25 minutes later. They were still reluctant to do more than a walk, however, so it was a long ride home. We took the main Greenway Road because we figured it would be the most direct route, plus the footing was a bit firmer, mostly old asphalt with a few patches of gravel, not our favorite, but the trails here are pretty deep sand, particularly in the second and third sections of the trail, and the buggy section of the first section, which is one of the reasons the horses got worn out so early. We managed to get to the road crossing at 484 just before the sun went down, but the rest of the trip was in the gradually darkening skies of civil twilight, which was really lovely going through our favorite part of the forest, though as it was getting dark it was a bit spooky at time, though the horse were too tired to care. Fortunately, the skies were clear and there was an almost full moon brightly lighting the sky. I just put Apollo on auto pilot and let him take us the rest of the way, almost. I made him turn in one spot to stay out in the open rather go into the now quite dark forest, and that messed us up a bit, but soon we crossed the right field, and from there, Apollo led us straight to the gate at the campground, though honestly, I was having a hard time seeing it until we were practically on top of it. Good horse! He got us home safe and sound. We quickly stripped off their gear, checked them out to make sure everyone was okay after their exertions, gave them extra rations of feed before hanging them back up on the highline, took the dogs for a walk and collapsed into our recliners with a bowl of ice cream after having spent almost SEVEN HOURS in the saddle! What an adventure! Before going to bed I looked out at the door, and Apollo was laying on the ground sound asleep with mama Clio watching over him, just like she always does for her sweet colt. Tomorrow no alarms, we sleep as late as we want and do our best to rest as much as we can, though there are some chores that just have to be done. What a memorable ride!
Didn’t bother with the alarm this morning since we had such a short trip today, got out about noon after using the dump here at Alafia. After stops at the Post Office and Wal-mart on the way, we arrived at Little Manatee River State Park, less than 25 miles away from where we started. The ranger at the entrance seemed rather surprised that we were even aware that they had four extra primitive horse camp sites, apparently they’re brand new and haven’t even been put on their computer yet. Nevertheless, she made a call and managed to make the arrangements after I explained that I had called and spoke to someone who told me they had these spots. Before long we were on our way to the equestrian camp. They have four sites that are reservable through ReserveAmerica, but they were all booked for the weekend, so we opted for the first-come, first-served sites, figuring coming in on a Thursday would improve our chances. We arrived to discover that all four "reserved" campsites were full, but not one of them had a horse. Apparently they use this area for overflow when the regular campground is full. Fair enough, except that the four new spots were really crude and incomplete. They had put big gravel down, and hadn’t really cleared anyplace for the horses to go, although they do have covered stalls behind the reservable sites, not within view of the primitive sites, though. We did find a grassy area between the reservable sites and the trailhead, however, that had tall pines in the right position to highline, and enough room for us to park both vehicles and create a nice little alcove for ourselves. There is also a very convenient spigot right here as well. We were set up, satellite dish and all, well before 4:00, so we had a relaxing evening. Funny, we had stayed here once before years ago at the regular campground, and when we drove in, I saw the sign for horse camping. I actually think that we saw that same sign back then, and that was when we first became aware that people actually camped with their horses, planting a seed that would eventually grow into what we are doing today! Sort of feels like we’ve gone full circle on that one! Looking forward to our first ride tomorrow!
