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!
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