Sunday, July 14, 2013 - Prep for Departure

Had a few chores to do today, like rearranging the hay on the truck, and Hubby spent quite a while resurrecting a nice multiple tool jacknife of mine that had seized up from humidity and lack of use, as well as a few other jobs, so it wasn't a terribly relaxing day, but it was a productive one. Got everything put away that we could, so our departure should be fairly quick tomorrow morning. No dump to go to, and Clio has been very good about sticking her butt out in the woods to do her business, so cleanup has been pretty easy here. We had to get one large bucket of water from the pump, but we had we had the horse trailer not leak on us, it seems we would have had just enough water to last the week. Hubby thinks he found and repaired the leak in the tank, around the nozzle, so hopefully that will solve the problem next time. Finally finished up and settled down for the evening.

Saturday, July 13, 2013 - Third Great Ride at Pine Marten

Another fabulous ride here at Pine Marten! This place definitely goes toward the top of the list of favorite places, one we would certainly make an effort to return to. Today we took our longest ride in quite a while, about 9.5 miles long, including most of the Ironjaw Loop and half the Swan Loop, which took us past numerous lakes, through all kinds of forest, up and down a few hills, with lots of opportunities to trot and canter. There hasn't been a cloud in the sky for days, and even though today was the warmest day we've had, it was still quite comfortable, probably in the low 80's, with a nice breeze cooling things down even more. The horses were great, and seemed to really enjoy themselves, having had a rest yesterday. We stopped along Swan Lake (I just HAD to get to that trail while we were here : -) for a drink of water at a marked watering hole and shared apples with each other and the horses, resting for a bit halfway through the ride, then carried on from there. What a perfect day! Got back around 4:00, got everyone settled in, pretty much finished up the water in the rain barrel, so we'll have to get at least one or two more buckets from the hand pump before we leave. We probably would have had enough for the week if the water tank in the horse trailer hadn't developed a leak, we lost half of that before we discovered it, but saved what we could. I'm thinking about getting another portable rain barrel, just to insure we can get a full week (or maybe even two, as we head out to the desert and plains areas, where water is at a premium), and I can hopefully get it delivered to the place we'll be staying at the end of the month. This is the first time we've done it this way with the new rain barrel, and it's been working out great. Had a quiet evening, though we have a list of chores for tomorrow as we get ready to depart tomorrow.

Friday, July 12, 2013 - Rest Day

Took the day off today, just ran out a couple of times to check on email and upload some of my blog, relaxed, read and watched TV the rest of the day. Nice, and Hubby needed it because his back was hurting him a bit after yesterday's ride. Had a horse trailer come in in the early evening, they parked at the other end of the field next to the road, so we hardly noticed them.

Thursday, July 11, 2013 - Another Fabulous Ride at Pine Marten

Another good night sleep, another quick run out to check on email, learning our client's schedule doesn't mesh with ours, so no logistics to work out, back to camp, saddled up and headed out on the Triangle Lake Loop, another fabulous ride! Good footing once again, a beautiful trail that mostly follows the circumference of one of the many lakes here, though a few more roots sticking out of the ground than before. Just over two hours, 6.4 miles in all. They've really done a nice job of marking and mapping these trails. There's a "You Are Here" placard at every intersection, and there's just enough trail markers to be reassuring, not so many as to insult your intelligence (though a few of the arrows are probably not necessary, but better safe than sorry, I guess). There were a few good places to trot and canter, though we mostly walked because the trails were narrow and we didn't want to twist anyone's ankles on the roots. Really enjoyed the ride again today. That large bird screeched at us again when we got near his domain, but it didn't startle anyone today. I tried to get a picture of it, but he took off before I had a chance to. I need to look up what kind of bird it was, possibly a hawk, but maybe an owl. It's underside was completely white, but I think some of it's top feathers had a darker pattern to it. It had a good screech, though! Got back around 3:00, had our ice cream lunch, did a little planning now that we know we don't have to fly out next week, then settled down for the evening.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - Wonderful Ride Day at Pine Marten Run, Plus

Slept well and late again today, which is much needed. Several forest workers arrived to mow the lawn and clean the vault toilet, and since I had to go out and try to find a cell phone signal, I stopped and spoke to one of them about where the nearest signal is, and he gave me some instructions to go west out of the camp and look for the "top of the hill" where there might be a signal. I headed out, and sure enough, just after a mile, I found two bars worth of signal, so I pulled over, did some essential computer work, and got back to camp by noon. We then saddled up and headed out on Lyon's Loop, named after the ranger who first developed trails here. What a fabulous trail! Footing is dirt and sand and some pine needles,with only one short stretch on the back side of gravel, but even that was covered by a layer of leaves that kept the discomfort to a minimum.  There were several great areas for trotting and cantering, while most of it was single-track and winding through all kinds of deep, even eerie woods, which kept my Apollo constantly on guard for any horse-eating stumps or critters. We had one hawk kind of squawk at us unexpectedly which caused everyone to jump, but eventually everyone settled down and it was a great ride, lasting just over two hours, 6.6 miles in all. Fabulous! After getting the horses settled in, I took another quick drive to the top of the hill to check on my email, as one of our clients is inquiring as to our availability over the next few weeks, so I may have some logistics to do pretty soon. Meanwhile, got back to camp by 7:00 (which seems much earlier, but it gets dark so late here!), had dinner and a movie, per our usual schedule.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 - Rest Day at Pine Marten Run

Delightfully quiet here, so we both slept well and late. Although we had originally planned to ride today, we were both a bit spent from the long drive yesterday, so we spent the day reading, napping, watching TV and generally winding down today. Some day riders came in for a bit, but other than that, there was no activity here today, so it kept being delightfully quiet.

Monday, July 8, 2013 - Travel Day to Hiawatha National Forest in the U.P. of Michigan

Headed out early as we had along drive ahead of us today. Packed up and managed to get out quickly, heading out by just before 8:00. We headed for a nearby county park that Sanidumps.com says has a dump, and arrived there by 8:30. Fortunately, it was right out in front, no time wasted trying to find it, easy in and fairly easy out. Just before we reached I-75, we started running into a rain front that my smartphone radar showed me was coming. At the freeway, we stopped for gas and put the tarp over the hay, then made the decision to stop and have breakfast at a cafe, in the hopes that the majority of the rain would pass over us by the time we finished. Not quite, but a lot did. We headed out, taking our time, with the tarp at least giving us some bare protection on most of the hay, but of course, the tarp had already lost it's corner grommets, so it didn't take long for the bungees to break through, though only on the back, the front stayed secure. The sky started to clear somewhat once we crossed the Macinaw Bridge to the upper peninsula, so after a few miles, we were able to stop and take the tarp off, allowing the wind and sun to start to dry the hay a bit. One more stop at Jack's Supermarket, where we picked up water at the Home and Garden center next door, filling both the RV and the portable rain barrel, which I set up in the back of the pickup, now that I had moved some hay around to make room. A few groceries later, and we were on our way to Pine Marten Run! The route was pretty straight forward, though we did have over 5 miles of dirt road, it was some of the best dirt roads we have ever been on, almost no holes, not much gravel, so we made good time. At last we arrived at the camping area which was a small grass field with a vault toilet in the middle of it, and a hand pump at the trailhead. We soon picked a spot toward the back of the field, high-lined the horses between well-spaced pine trees, and proceeded to settle in. It didn't take long, even with the satellite setup, so we were able to resume our usual evening schedule by just after 5:00. Only trouble was, being so far north, and so far west in the Eastern time zone, we still were having twilight at 10:15! That seems really weird! Beginning to wonder if maybe we'll be able to see some Northern lights up here! Only down side is that I lost my cell phone signal quite a ways back, so computer work may be problematic if I can't find a nearer signal. Can't have everything!