Friday, December 31, 2010 - Move to the Sunny Side Stables

After a few phone calls in the morning, we settled on moving to the Sunny Side Stables in Corpus Christi, which is also the PeeWee Pet Adoption orphanage, a no kill animal shelter with hundreds of pets, mostly dogs, looking for a new home. Proprietor Ernie generously didn't ask for a fee, she simply asked for an appropriate donation. She found us an open paddock and a place to park the RV way in the back, which was a lot quieter than near the front, so we were grateful. I ran out to the local feed store for an extra bale of hay to get us through the weekend. It was a warm day in the 80's, and the forecast is for colder, windier days for the rest of the weekend, so our original plan was to go right back out and ride today, but Hubby decided we needed to finish some repairs and cleaning chores before the new year, so that's what we did for the rest of the day, though we stopped by 4:00 to start our New Year's celebrations. Spent the evening watching movies, munching and drinking, finishing the evening with a bottle of sparkling wine which we opened when the East Coast rang in the new year and was finished by the time the fireworks started here in Corpus Christi. For some reason, our big dog Marina was very bothered throughout the evening, behaving uncharacteristically needy, jumping in my lap a few times, which was very unusual for her (and rather crushing on me, she weighs 75 pounds!). I can only think it was all the explosions and shooting that was going on around us, but it's never bothered her like that before. I hope it's not anything more than that, we'll know soon enough tomorrow when all the bangs will be over. Late night, and really looking forward to another year of freedom on the road!

Thursday, December 30, 2010 - ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Travel Day to Padre Island

Well, incredibly, it's been a year since we left home on this adventure! Truth be told, we don't miss home one bit. We love having a new back yard every few days, we love having new trails to explore every week, we've been handling every challenge that's come our way thus far, and frankly, sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to believe we're really living this dream! It's days like this that make us realize just how incredibly valuable our freedom is. Two days ago we were planning on going to Brazos Bend State Park south of Houston, but the discovery that we can camp and ride on the beach on Padre Island allowed us to change those plans in an instant, and head south to warmer climes as another cold front moves in. Of course, not everything has worked out perfectly, and it's the challenges that keep us on our toes. Today was another example. After having been assured two days ago that the beaches were in great shape, when we arrived we learned that that had changed. High tides and strong easterly winds had shrunk the beach and plastered it with slippery seaweed, so that only 4-wheel drive vehicles were now recommended. We checked out a couple of access roads to the beach, but the story was the same everywhere. Finally, we found a popular fishing spot on the inland side of the beach road, just south of the Mustang Island State Park, where there was room and hard enough sand for us to camp on. We highlined the horses between the horse trailer and a utility pole, and settled in for the night. Fortunately, we were at low tide overnight, so the ground stayed hard beneath us. I felt like a true gypsy today, essentially parking by the side of the road for the night! We parked the RV so that it blocked the wind for the horses, and we all had a pretty good night.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - Play Day, Cut Short

Woke up to discover that Larry had moved our horses out of the large paddock into a much smaller one, but I assumed that the horses had had much of their breakfast before they were moved, I just tossed a moderate amount of hay into the new paddock. I hadn't taken off their halters when they were in the big paddock because it was so big and I didn't want to have any trouble catching them later, and should have taken them off after they were moved, but didn't take the time because we were anxious to get our play day started, and because Larry had assured me all his paddocks were "horse proof". Considering this was one of the most expensive stables we've been in yet, I certainly expected that. That said, we drove downtown, parked the van and started walking down the Riverwalk. It started out very cloudy, but gradually became sunny throughout the day, with very nice temperatures. We finally settled on a late lunch at Landry's, which served us fabulous broiled seafood platters which we thoroughly enjoyed at a table right on the Riverwalk. Afterward, we walked over to the Alamo and toured around for a while. Once again, we were disappointed, because earlier memories of our last visit were that it was less commercial and more like the original layout. I just don't understand why "preservationist" want to dress it up these landmarks like an overly landscaped amusement park rather than actually preserve it in it's original form as much as possible, which is what I always thought they were supposed to do. Anyway, we were walking around, waiting for dusk so that we could see the Christmas lights (our primary purpose for the day), but at about 5:00 we got a call from Larry, who told us that Hubby's mare had had an accident, and that she had a cut on her face that might require stitches. We were mortified. The one day we had counted on to spend the day enjoying ourselves knowing our horses were safe and then this happened. We cut our day short, went back to the ranch to see how bad it was. Turned out it was about 1 ½ inches long an deep enough to hang open, though most of the bleeding seemed to have stoppe. The cut was so close to her left eye it was a miracle she wasn't blinded. We got out our super-duper antiobotic spray we had bought a few months back, as well as some wound ointment, and after cleaning it out, I put a couple of long butterfly "stitches" with medical tape across the cut to hold it together. We finished by putting her fly mask back on to keep her from rubbing it all off. She seemed grateful for the attention, and held still for the whole operation. Apparently, she was trying to reach under the gate for some grass (I guess they didn't have as much for breakfast as I thought), and got her halter caught on some wire at the bottom, then lifted her head up in such a panic she pulled the gate completely off its' hinges. It's a miracle she didn't get hurt worse. What she did end up getting should heal in a few days, and hopfully, if the tape holds, she won't have much of a scar. Needless to say I was rather unkind to Larry, who I felt should have discussed his plans to move the horses before doing so, and for telling me everything was safe, though I suppose if I had taken the time to remove their halters it could have been avoided as well. Enough said, it was an unhappy end to an otherwise pleasant day. Of course, we took off the horses halters for the night, though left on Clio's fly mask to protect her cut. Looking forward to leaving in the morning.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - Short Trip to San Antonio

Didn't bother to set the alarm this morning, as we only have a relatively short trip today. Penny was nice enough to let us buy a couple of bales of her hay to get us through, and we shoved off around 10:00. Stopped at an IHOP for breakfast in San Marcos, but it was so packed there was a 30 minute wait, so we walked to another restaurant nearby, but decided we were too much in the mood for breakfast to eat peanuts at a Roadhouse, so we moved on. We finally stopped at another IHOP in New Braunfels, which was only about 30 minutes away from the N&S Stables, which is where we've arranged to spend the next two nights. We arrived at about 2:00, met owner Larry, who showed us a nice three acre paddock where our horses will be staying. We got them settled in, parked the RV, and I spent the rest of the day on the computer looking for horse trailers, hay and planning our next leg of the journey. We had originally thought that we be heading to Brazos Bend, but I just discovered yesterday that they allow horse camping on the beaches of Padre Island near Corpus Christi, so I called them to get the details and discovered it was all true! There's another cold front coming, and we want to be as far south as possible before it hits, and what better way to celebrate New Year's than on a beach? After all, it was riding in the Atlantic that made us want to ride in the Pacific, which started us off on this incredible journey. Now we can ride in the Gulf of Mexico, and next year, ride in the Great Lakes, and then we can truly say we've ridden all four corners of the country, touching every border! Cool! And considering that December 30 marks our first anniversary of full-time horse camping, it couldn't be more appropriate. That decision made, I've arranged for mail to be forwarded there, checked to make sure our truck registration got through, and now we're just about set for the New Year. Yeah!

Monday, December 27, 2010 - Travel Day and Evening with Family

Headed out with the intention of going to Lampasa to pick up a load of hay, but because it was almost an hour out of the way, and because the forecast is calling for two days of rain, we decided the better idea would be to just pick up a few bales at a feed store and stock up later when we wouldn't be driving in rain. I don't mind covering the hay when we're standing still in one place, but it's really hard to keep a tarp on without damaging the truck with smacking bungees and ropes. I didn't care so much with our old beater truck, but my new truck has to stay looking new! Stopped for breakfast in Round Rock at a restaurant owned and operated by a group of folks who came up from New Orleans with their church group after Katrina. A very interesting story, and they even have a book out about their journey. After breakfast we made our way to Graymar Farms, an incredible facility owned and operated by Penny, who welcomed us as if we were long lost family. Turns out she had a paddock that had just been made available because the previous horse had been sold. The funny thing was, his name was Apollo, just like my horse! Got the kids settled in, got some water in the RV tank before parking, took a quick shower then headed out to visit with family that lived nearby. Had a very pleasant evening getting reacquainted (we don't see each other very often), enjoyed a very nice dinner they prepared, and generally had a good time. Left around 10:00, had a nightcap, and finally wound down enough to go to bed about midnight.

Sunday, December 26, 2010 - Boxing Day Ride

Woke up to sunny skies, calm winds and somewhat warmer temperatures, though we slept rather late and didn't get on the trail until almost 1:00. Putting their boots on was so much easier after the fabulous trim Mr. Peavey put on them! We headed north to take the 9-mile Blue Trail in the clockwise direction. Once we discovered the blazing method (some arrows, a lot more blue ribbons, some flags and the occasion blue spot on a stone), the trail was very easy to follow. We had heard so many bad things about how rough the trails were we were concerned for a while, but the earlier part of the trail was almost entirely sand or dirt, with only a few rocky areas. It did get a little rockier in some places, but it didn't seem to bother the horses too much, and there was no stone bruising on either their front or back feet. It was a lovely ride. We bundled up in our parkas and gloves, so we were ready for the weather, and the longer the sun stayed out the nicer it became, especially with very little wind. There were lots of opportunities to trot and canter, a number of "water crossings", though most were nearly dry at this time of year, only a little bit of climbing and none of it was very steep grade, so overall it was a wonder 3+ hour ride. Stopped at the assistant ranger's house to see if my second package had come in, and met Candice at last. We had talked on the phone and emailed, but this was our first face-to-face. She and some family were just saddling up to go riding as well, and she was working with a 3-year old on how to stand still while mounting :-). We had a nice chat before carrying on with the blue trail, and about an hour later, we met up with them going in the opposite direction. We chatted again for a few minutes before moving on. As usual, the horses were brilliant, willing, happy to be out of the corral and all-around enormously cooperative. I sensed my gelding was having a particularly good time today, as he was able to brush his face against all kinds of soft cedar trees as we passed, something he's become rather fond of. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely, glad we had waited for a nicer day. Got back, got everyone bedded down for the night, and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Saturday, December 25, 2010 - Christmas Day

Woke up to a very cold, windy, frosty morning. Temps were in the 20's are rising slowly, but with the 20 mph north wind, the wind chill was forecast to stay in the 20's, so we decided that a ride was just not sensible. The forecast for tomorrow is a bit warmer and a lot less wind, so we decided to wait until then. Spent the day watching schmaltzy holiday movies like It's a Wonderful Life and Sleepless in Seattle, all the sentimental romantic stuff that make Hubby and me cry. Had a good rest, some eggnog and some munchies all day before getting to bed in anticipation of tomorrow's ride.

Friday, December 24, 2010 - Christmas Eve Rain Day

Woke up to a very overcast day, quite a change from anything we've seen in quite some time, and there is rain forecast and a precipitous drop in temperature for the next few days, which I guess is appropriate for getting folks in the Christmas spirit. A massive storm is bringing snow across much of the country, including at home in Tennessee, a rare white Christmas for them and everyone around them. I spent the day balancing my checkbook and doing other mundane chores, hoping for a nice enough day to ride on Christmas, but it's not looking too great. Had a lot of rain today, and as the temperature started dropping, we decided to cover them with new rain sheets we had bought from Valley Vet (our favorite online animal supply store!) back in October. They seemed to appreciate them, but I suspect they won't stay on very long, at least not until tomorrow morning, but it's worth a try. Glad we have electricity to keep our little space heaters going, but even with that we're needing to put on the gas furnace occasionally. Well, like they say at this time of year, the weather outside is frightful!

Thursday, December 23, 2010 - Runaround Day

Because the horses' vaccinations expired yesterday, we had to find a vet that would get them caught up, and fortunately, the Belton veterinary clinic just told us to come on down and they would service us as a walk-in. The horses jumped into the trailer (literally, they nickered when we brought out the flymasks, which we use to protect their eyes from the swirling dust and hay in the trailer, and which they now associate with going for a trailer ride), and we were off. We stopped at the ranger's residence to pick up a package (a new phone upgrade), then to Walmart for gas at the Murphy's before driving east to Belton. The clinic was right across from the Bell County Arena, a huge facility that is obviously centered around the livestock/rodeo industry. We checked in to the vet, and didn't have long to wait before Dr. Knight came out back, spent several minutes making friends with the horses, and before we knew it, the job was done. (Really, I didn't even see the needle in his hand!) Within a half hour, we were walking out with a health certificate in our hands, and a reasonable bill, so we were happy. Now all I need to do is get a fax number for the Tennessee Equine department, have them fax the certificate to them, and we'll have two new passports on the way, the only question will be, where to? Afterward, we found a Feed Store and picked up a couple of bales of shavings for the corrals (the ground is kind of hard), then HEB to get some groceries (it was packed), then Lowes because Hubby decided his old battery power drill had finally given up the ghost (after 20 years, the batteries just won't hold a charge anymore, and they've been discontinued), then I stopped at a book store, then finally, we fought ever-increasing traffic to a liquor store before heading back to the ranch at last. It was nearly 5:00 by the time we got back, and the traffic was ridiculously bad by the time we headed back out to the country. Got everyone settled in quickly, including shavings, and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - Travel Day to Parrie Haynes Ranch near Killeen, TX

Set the alarm for a very early rising, it was still dark when the alarm went off, dawn started cracking about the time we got dressed and made coffee. Out of the campsite by 8:00, a quick stop at the dump and we were on the road by 8:20. Our first stop (after picking up breakfast at a Jack in the Box) was at Terry Peavey's of Voca, TX, a retired serviceman who trims using the Ramey method part time. He did a great, thorough job of trimming the horses' hooves, and the horses did a pretty good job of standing for him. We were there almost two hours, chatting with him and his wife, a very nice couple. Then we moved, making excellent time across country. Suddenly, at about 3:00 (and 30 miles from our destination), a tire on the horse trailer blew out. Fortunately, there was a wide shoulder, and we found a level spot just at the end of a driveway. We pulled out our handy Jiffy-Jack (an invaluable tool that has made our life so much easier so many times already!), took off the wheel, and I ran into nearby Lampasas to a tire store that my On-Star folks told me about. Unfortunately, despite assurances on the phone that they had a tire for me, A-1 didn't have a tire for me, and tried to talk me into a different size, an old tire with a nail in it, which they said they'd fix. I decided to look elsewhere (I really object to these bait and switch shops), and found a tire the right size at a place called Larry's Lube. Not a trailer tire, it was a truck tire, but considering we're planning on getting a new trailer very shortly anyway, it didn't make sense to put one brand new tire on it, so a $29 used tire will be just fine for now. I was gone a bit longer because of that, and got back just before 4:30. We quickly put the wheel back on, and continued on to Parrie Haynes Ranch. Arrived about a half hour before the sun went down, giving us enough time to find a spot to settle in and get the horses settled into a couple of pipe corrals. Dogs are loving it here, because there's no one else here and they're wandering everywhere. Rather surprised there's no one else here, though we discovered that the water here is non-potable, making the cost of staying here higher than it should be, and higher than we normally pay. For the cost, we thought the facilities here would be better, but there's no grills, few picnic tables, most of the sites aren't level unless you want to park in the group spot, which has no trees. A little disappointing, but the trail maps seem promising, hopefully that will make up for it (though the weather forecast doesn't look too promising, rain on Friday and colder on Christmas Day). But that's been known to change at the last minute, we'll wait and see.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - Second Ride Day at San Angelo Park

Had a wonderful ride today! The new trail map was very informative, we didn't get lost once, which always makes it much more relaxing! It was actually warm enough to strip down to a tank top, so I got some sun (in fact, it almost got too hot!), and rode for about three hours. We went to a place called Cougar Lookout, which was obviously built to overlook the "lake", which has pretty much dried up by now. We came across one sign on the road that said "Caution Lake Ahead, Slow to 10 mph", which was so incongruous because the only this "ahead" was essentially a scrub desert. We rode by boat ramps that were 100 feet long and ended up in the same scrub desert. I guess they've been having a drought for a LONG, LONG time, or else the folks who thought a dam here were a bit misinformed... But most of the trails were dirt, with only a few parts that were rocky, and we got quite a few trots and canters in. It was a great day, just the kind of day we look forward to most! Went to bed early, satisfied that we had a great stay, and anticipating an early morning and long day tomorrow.

Monday, December 20, 2010 - Cleanup and Runaround Day

I spent a few hours working in my "office" in the morning, I ran down to town to mail some things, and to pick up a few more groceries and other sundries, including stopping at the park office to add two more nights to our stay, and to pick up a better trail map, which fortunately they had (though apparently the ranger found it on the internet at a moutain biking site, rather then anything they had produced themselves). Hubby spent the day washing the outside of the RV, finishing off the bulk of our spring cleaning (just have the outside of the windows to do at some point later). After being on our own here for the duration, we had two more horse trailers join us (obviously camping together). They didn't have any dogs, but they quickly made friends with ours, little Billy was in his element as the social butterfly. Only spoke a few words to them, but they seemed nice enough. Weather forecast for tomorrow calls for temps in the 80's and sunny, so a ride is planned, at last!

Sunday, December 19, 2010 - Recovery Day

As promised, we relaxed/crashed the whole day, thoroughly exhausted after all our exertions of the last few days, but at least we're relaxing in a brand spanking clean house!

Saturday, December 18, 2010 - More Spring Cleaning

Hubby finished off the carpet today, in the highest traffic part of the living room, while I scrubbed the bathroom from top to bottom. Not exciting, I know, but necessary, and a great relief when it was finished. The carpet looks practically brand new! A fabulous job! It took us most of the day to finish up, though I took a little time to try to get some bookkeeping done. Vowed to have a day off tomorrow to recuperate!

Saturday, December 18, 2010 - More Spring Cleaning

Hubby finished off the carpet today, in the highest traffic part of the living room, while I scrubbed the bathroom from top to bottom. Not exciting, I know, but necessary, and a great relief when it was finished. The carpet looks practically brand new! A fabulous job! It took us most of the day to finish up, though I took a little time to try to get some bookkeeping done. Vowed to have a day off tomorrow to recuperate!

Friday, December 17, 2010 - Busy Day

Did some more cleaning, Hubby started steam-cleaning the carpet with our new Bissell, which is doing a fantastic job! Hard work, though, as it's been way too long since it's last cleaning, and that was with a scrubber type cleaner and not a steam cleaner. So much dog hair! I spring-cleaned the bedroom while Hubby the carpet on the slide in the living room, the hall and the bedroom. Hard work! But so necessary after all of the dusty places we've been out west. Exhausted by the end of the day, but still have lots of work left to do tomorrow.

Thursday, December 16, 2010 - Clean Up Day

Decided that since it's been almost a year since we've been on the road (hard to believe!), we had better do some "spring" cleaning. I had a few things to do in the office, including looking for a hoof practitioner, it's long overdue to have a professional reshape the horses' feet, though I've managed to keep them in pretty good shape over the year. Hubby needs to replace one of his mare's boots, and we were looking at the new Easyboot Glove, which looks a lot easier to put on, but it needs a sure fit, so a trim is necessary to get a proper measurement. I bought a hand rasp that I've been using for the last six months, so hopefully I'll be able to stay on top of it a little more once they're done right. I found someone who does the Ramey method who's almost directly on the way from here to our next destination (which has now changed from the Hill Country Recreation Area to the Parrie Haynes Recreation Area, because most of the Hill Country campgrounds are closed, and the only one open has almost no facilities). After spending most of the afternoon with the both of us cleaning, I ran into town to mail a letter and buy a small carpet steam cleaner (Simply Green by Bissell), the perfect size for an RV at a very reasonable price, and had great reviews on the internet. Settled in for the night when I got back, with lots on the to-do list for tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - Ride Day at San Angelo State Park

Slept late, it's nice to be someplace where it's fairly quiet, even though the road isn't that far away. Did a few things in the morning before saddling up and heading out around noon. The trail was mostly dirt and sand, so we didn't have to put boots on, though there were a few rough spots along the way. It was mostly flat, apparently an old pecan orchard, though there were a few rises and washes to enjoy. The biggest problem was that the trail map they gave us used completely different names on them than the signs on the trails! Every intersection was a mystery! Had no idea where we were for at least an hour, guessing and navigating by instinct. Eventually we figured it out and got back to the road, which has a good dirt road that follows the main road, though safely inside the park fence. I guess the only thing we really needed to remember was the road was to the south and west, and the lake (which we never got to) was to the east and north. We also had some tall main power lines that helped keep us on track. It must be some kind of joke or something, that the trails are marked with names that aren't on the map. Oh, well, no one said this was going to get boring!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 - Work Day

Spent the day getting caught up on work and recovering from the long busy day yesterday.

Monday, December 13, 2010 - Travel to San Angelo State Park

Got out early, out of the park by 8:15, picked up hay just up the road and headed out from there in less than half an hour. Headed straight north to Marta, where we stopped for breakfast at a little cafe (no fast food except Dairy Queen, so we decided we needed to take the time for a quick sit-down. Half an hour later we were on the road again, making excellent time. We stopped at Walmart for a few things, including gas for Hubby's van (I had stopped earlier for diesel just south of town), and made it to the park headquarters by 3:30. Unfortunately, headquarters wasn't where we needed to go, so we were re-directed to the South Entrance, where it took over 20 minutes just to register. Texas State Parks has the most confusing entrance fees I've ever seen. By the time you get done you think you're being nickeled and dimed to death! An entrance fee (one waived for Hubby because we bought a Texas State Park Pass, but not for me because we were in separate vehicles), if we had been in the same vehicle we would have both got in free. Then we had to pay for two extra vehicle fees (one for the RV trailer, another for the van, but not for the horse trailer - go figure. Had we been a motor home instead of a truck pulling a trailer, we would have only been charged one extra vehicle fee). No senior discount until Hubby turns 80! And the list goes on. It was impossible to figure it out in the end. They also mentioned that we would get two nights free if we stayed for a week, which was a good possibility anyway. Finally, after we finished at the office, we were directed 8 miles up the road to the North Entrance, a locked gate that would get us to the horse camp. They marked the map wrong, so I missed the entrance and had to turn around. Finally we arrived at the campground, a nice little camp with 10 sites, all with water, electric and corrals for the horses. We picked out Site 7 because it was long enough for both vehicles (or should I say, all four), and a good sized pen (some were smaller), and it didn't take long to get settled in. Hubby had no problem getting a satellite signal in between huge old pecan trees, and we got everything done before dark. Yeah!

Sunday, December 12, 2010 - Rest and Preparation Day

Spent the day tending the horses, watching TV, hooking up the horse trailer, getting caught up the blog and generally relaxing for the bulk of the day in preparation for a very early start tomorrow morning. We took a short drive down to the shores of the Rio Grande, just to say we saw it. (That's the pic, Hubby with the Rio Grande behind him.) It was rather disappointing, much smaller than we figured it would be, apparently Mexico has been draining a lot of it for agriculture (though I suspect there are just as many Americans upstream doing the same thing...) We've decided our next stop will be San Angelo State Park, which will be close to a six hour drive, and we've arranged to stop to pick up a few bales of hay from Terry, the owner of the RV park who also happens to grow hay, mostly alfalfa, but some mixed, which is what we want anyway. That should hold us over until we get to the Hill Country area, where I expect hay will be more readily available.

Saturday, December 11, 2010 - Ride Day near Big Bend

Slept late this morning, and after a late breakfast we saddled and booted up the horses and headed north out a dirt road behind the RV Park. It had some areas that were very rocky, and others that were sandy like a beach. We passed a number of junk piles, riding out until we reached a small rise that, once we were on top, could see it led directly into town, accounting for the reason why it had become the town's unofficial landfill, and we turned around, looping around a ridge to the east before coming back to the RV park about 90 minutes later, just enough to give the horses some exercise without making them work too hard. They had worked up a sweat in the heat (this is the first time I've been able to ride in a sleeveless shirt in ages!), so we got out a hose and rinsed them down. That lasted about 5 minutes, when Hubby's mare flopped down and did a half roll in the dirt, making her a muddy mess on one side. Well, at least she was cooler! Had another nice evening at Happy Hour, though the cigarette smoke was starting to bother me today, it seemed most of the group was smoking today, and not enough breeze to send it away. Got back as the sun set and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Friday, December 10, 2010 - Work Catch Up Day

I spent the day getting caught up on work, while Hubby went into town to meet with the propane guy (we had to make an appointment, would you believe!) and get a few things we had missed at the store the previous day. Went to Happy Hour again, met some more people, and had another pleasant evening all around.

Thursday, December 9, 2010 - Travel Day to Big Bend, Another Screwup

Got out by 10:00 after going over to the campground to dump. An easy drive down some desolate roads, with just a few small hills to cross on the way. After shopping and getting gas in Presidio (where the prices were much higher than anywhere we've been lately, mostly because it was so small everything was pretty much a monopoly), and discovering the only propane place in town was closed, which was a problem because we had one empty tank and despite our southern location the nights are still below freezing, we arrived at Fort Leaton, an interesting museum of the early history of the area and one of the outposts for Big Bend. After several minutes of pleasant banter with the Ranger there, we discovered that almost the entire park was closed for all but a public hunt, a fact that neither the reservation in Austin or the folks at the park had mentioned to me when I had called earlier. All he could offer was one night, but we'd have to be out before 9:00 am when the hunt started the next day. Considering that we had to go 27 miles on washboard gravel roads to get there (and another 27 to get out), we declined. Now we were stuck. Fortunately, just up the road was the Loma Paloma Golf Course and RV Park, and the owner was kind enough to let us stay there with the horses. We found a perfect spot, way at the western end in their storage area, that had two trees just the right distance apart for a highline. It didn't have water or electric, but at the time we thought we were only spending the night so it didn't matter. We had filled the RV with water at Ft. Leaton before our unfortunate discovery, so all we needed was to fill the 55 gallon drum for the horses, which we did in short order. We were soon settled in, and were then invited to Happy Hour at the Lizard Lounge, a tent-covered are in the middle of the park with long tables and chairs for socializing, which apparently happens every day at 4:00. We made our way over there about 4:30 with drinks in hand, and met some of the other temporary residents of the park. They even had some munchies, like a real live happy hour. It was very pleasant, and quite a nice surprise after being in so many public parks that have posted warnings about not having alcohol on the premises. We soon learned that all of the property directly behind the RV park was State land, and we were welcome to ride back there. Once Hubby learned that, we decided to stay a few days, rather than to rush back north into much colder weather (a major blizzard was crossing the country). Stayed in the gathering until the sun went down and the temps dropped, then got everyone settled in for the evening.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - Avoided Going Outside Day

Spent the day conslidating as many jobs as we could whenever we needed to go outside, just to avoid the 15 minute exercise of getting the burrs off our boots and clothing before coming inside, longer if we took the dogs with us, because I had to put boots and Marina and carry Billy out to the dirt road. Not a fun day. We went to get water out of the trough for the horses, but it was frozen and hadn't refilled, so we had to run over to the main campground to pick up some water there. Did some work on the computer, made a few phone calls, confirmed there were openings at the horse camo down at Big Bend Ranch State Park on the Tex-Mex border, and otherwise prepared for our departure tomorrow, ahead of schedule purely due to the misery of the burrs!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - Ride Day at Davis Mountain

Had a rough night, worrying about how to solve all the problems with these little burrs, but by the time I got up to let the dogs out, I had a plan. I took four small plastic bags and filled the bottoms with toilet paper, then used hair bands to hold them on. I put these on our big dog Marina and though she tried a couple of times to shake them off, once I let her out, I think she realized the purpose behind the booties and went on about her business. She still didn't go very far though. The little dog Billy, I put him on a lease and carried him to the driveway, which was mostly dirt, and walked him along the edge, avoiding the grassy areas as much as possible, and managed to keep his agony to a minimum, though he still picked up a burr or two that I had to brush off with my gloves on. That solved, after breakfast we headed out to ride the 7+ miles of trails here at Davis Mountain (named after former Secretary of War and later President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis). We especially careful not to get any burrs under the horses' saddles (it's not just a saying, it's true there's little more maniacal than a horse with a burr under his saddle!), and headed out the trailhead. At first the trail was mostly the dirt road, then we crossed several rocky creek beds following the electrical poles. Finally we turned off and headed up the mountain switchbacks. The trails were very rocky, but we waited until we were a mile or so out before putting their boots only, mainly because I wanted my gelding to have something else to think about than taking off on me. After no trailriding for nearly a month, and feed that was mostly alfalfa, he was more than a little frisky. Fortunately, since the first 2.5 miles was almost all uphill, he settled down in short order, and was soon back to his old self. The trail was a lot of switchbacks, and the rocks were rather loose, causing them to slip occasionally. There was one place where two trees looked like they had been split in the middle and the trail went right through them, which was kind of interesting. Near the top, the trail splits, so we headed right toward the overlook about 1.2 miles away. It was still a little climb, but had more level ground, though the ground was still mostly rocky. At the overlook, the view was quite stunning. We could see an observatory on the top of a hill to the west, and a couple of huge covered fields, at least 20-30 acres, maybe much more due south. It was a great 360 panorama. After about 10 minutes of observation and rest (the horses stood perfectly still, and seemed to be taking in the sights as much as we were) before heading back down to the intersection, where we stopped for lunch at a bench under a tree. Afterward, we headed out the other trail, toward Sheep Pen Canyon, passing an old cistern that hace "Abirel 8, 1948" carved in the cement of the trough. Don't know if it was a date, age or name but it was very impressive stonework. This trail was more level and offered a few places where the ground was good for trots and canters, so we sped along that leg whenever we could, until we reached the park boundary 1.5 miles out. We headed back and made it back to camp before 4:00, about a four hour ride. At one point, my gelding got a little ticked at the rocks and shook his head a bit (he's a comedian, my horse), but otherwise it was enjoyable and uneventful. We thoroughly enjoyed being back in the saddle again after our long absence, and I senses the horses were glad to get back on the trail as well. Gave them some oats as a reward, and bedded them down for the night, made one more excursion with the dogs after dinner (what a pain these burrs are!), and settled down for the evening.

Monday, December 6, 2010 - Travel Day to Davis Mountain State Park

After a quick stop at Walmart to pick up a few things, we headed out to Davis Mountain, passing through Pecos, TX (Home of the famous Judge Roy Bean courtroom), arriving at the State Park around 2:30. After buying a Texas State Park Annual Pass and paying for our camping through Thursday morning, we drove down to the dump and filled up with potable water at a nearby site, then headed across the road to the primitive equestrian area, which had a locked gate. There truly are no facilities for horses, except a water trough that had apparently just been fixed today (I'm glad we didn't head down here last Friday like we had originally planned!), but managed to string a highline between a couple of tall evergreen bushes (or low trees, depending on how you want to look at it :-). Then we made a horrifying discovery. The entire field where we were parked was infested with the nastiest, prickliest burrs we have ever encountered. Whereas the burrs in Colorado could cling like crazy, they were soft, though almost impossible to get off. The ones in New Mexico were prickly, but they stayed in one piece when you flicked them off. These.... these are not only as sharp as a ball of needles, when you try to remove them the point breaks off and become like slivers, and the only way to get 8hem out of your skin is with tweezers! The dogs were paralyzed within steps when we let them out, and we couldn't believe how terribly painful these little things are! We had to use gloves to pull them off their feet, until we found our little rubber brush, which whisks them away fairly easily, at least off clothes and shoes and dog feet. We're SO glad we only paid through Thursday morning (though Hubby had originally wanted to stay longer, but was glad afterward I talked him out of it), and would probably leave earlier if we hadn't paid through then. I hope it's not like this at our next stop, Big Bend, or it's going to be a very short stay there as well!

Sunday, December 5, 2010 - Rest and Blog Day

Slept until almost 10:30 this morning! Obviously we needed the rest, and it certainly did wonders for my aches and pains. Hubby fed the horses for me this morning, and we spent the day watching TV, getting caught up on the blog and generally vegging out for the day, finishing the last of the laundry and otherwise getting prepared for our departure tomorrow.

Saturday, December 4, 2010 - Rode in the Arena

Decided to ride the horses in the arena today, as they hadn't been ridden in weeks now, and the feed we bought in Albuquerque seemed to be more alfalfa than grass so they were starting to get a bit antsy. Saddled up in the afternoon and rode around for about half an hour before some other riders showed up. We decided to continue, to see how the horses behaved with other horses were around, and for the most part they were just fine once they got used to the idea. Hubby had been trying to get his mare to canter all day and hadn't succeeded until the other horses were there, and my gelding lit off after her, going first at a canter, then at a full-fledged gallop. When I tried to slow him down he decided to kick up his heels, which, at that pace, got me off balance and I took a fall, though I managed to hang onto both my horse and my hat (a true cowboy test!). I was winded for a few moments, but then climbed back aboard and rode around a bit more before we exited the arena. Since they had worked up a sweat, and it was warm enough, we gave the horses a bath before putting them away, and I carried on and gave the new pickup a bath as well. I kept getting an electrical shock, and after some exploration, discovered the outlet that we were plugged into was the cause. I switched it to the upper plug and that seemed to solve the problem. Finally I came in and sat down, and after a while, not surprisingly, got a bit stiff. Falling off a horse is a bit like having a car crash, you don't really know where it hurts for a while. It wasn't too bad, though, I actually had more pain in my shoulder (which I'm still trying to straighten out, and had spent a couple of hours working on it earlier in the morning) but I'm getting close! Went to bed fairly early, anticipating taking the day off tomorrow.

Friday, December 3, 2010 - Shopping and Errands

Spent the morning getting caught up on work, then went shopping for some essentials. Had originally planned on heading out today, but decided to stay and do some laundry while we had water and electric, something not likely for the next few weeks, or possibly even the rest of the month. We decided the weather would allow us to stay until Monday, though it's supposed to be a bit cooler on Sunday, but the stalls seem quite cozy and the horses are better off here than out on a highline. At one point, we decided the horses needed to get a little exercise, so we walked them down to the arena and let them loose. I made a tactical error, assuming the arena was secure, but by the time I realized the far entrance was open the horses had discovered it and slipped out. Despite numerous runs and corrals of piping, they managed to beat the maze and find their way out to the parking area, then to the grass next to it. Fortunately, that was in the opposite direction from the road, and it only took us a few minutes to catch them, after which we secured the entire arena and let them run around for a bit. Otherwise an uneventful day.

Thursday, December 2, 2010 - Day Two at Carlsbad Caverns

Set the alarm to get up early, because the first guided tour was at 10:00. We arrived just after 9:30, signed up for the tour and headed down the meet the group. Our guide as Ranger Andrea, and she set off at a pace that had most of us (we were a mostly older crowd) breathing heavily, with one poor woman practically having a heart attack before we stopped to look at a dead bat. After that we went much slower, going through the three rooms that make up the tour. At one point they turned the lights out just to let us experience total blackness, then we moved on from there. Hubby and I remembered that we had been through this room before, when it didn't require a guide, but they apparently instigated guided tours during the 90's to "protect" the cavern from those rare few would desecrate them. If we had simply walked it, even at our slow pace, we would have been through in no more than 30 minutes, but because it was a tour, we had to comply with their schedule, listening to mostly propaganda with very little substance or information. Anyway, after 90 minutes we were done. We stopped in the lower snack area for a cup of coffee and a small tub of salad (macaroni for me, potato for Hubby), and decided since it was still so early, we would take the Natural Entrance trail again. We originally thought we'd start at the bottom and work up as far as we could, but quickly realized that was a fool's errand, so we walked from the visitors center to the entrance and headed down. The change between last time we were here and now was incredible, and not for the good. When we went down in 1988, there were paths that were well marked and easy to follow, but had a natural surface that allowed you to get a feel for what the early explorers experienced. Granted, it wasn't as crude as being lowered in a guano bucket or climbing down a ladder as early visitors had to, you could still feel connected to the wonder they must have felt as they descended. Not so anymore. Now there's a paved path, they've built stone walls along both sides and completely reconfigured the opening, adding amphitheater seating at the opening, and there's a HANDRAIL on the trail! It was like walking in a Disney World queue (albeit a steep one), but it was no more interesting than that.
There was no sense of wonder or awe or respect for the early visitors, because it was just too "safe" to make any connection whatsoever. Really disappointing, and shocking to know that our National Park Service, which is supposed to preserve these sites for future generations, in fact ruined it for them. They should be ashamed of themselves that they made it so commercial and unnatural (quite ironic considering it's the "Natural Entrance"). I supposed if you've never been it would be okay, but compared to our memories, it was an awful disappointment. Finished off the museum, bought a few items in the gift store and headed back to the Arena, glad we could check the Big Room off our bucket list, doubtful we'll ever come back again because of the destruction they've inflicted here.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 - A Day at Carlsbad Caverns

After doing some usual morning chores, we headed out to the Caverns before noon. We decided to take the self-guided walking tour of the Big Room, something we knew we had missed the last time we were here back in 1988. While the beauty of the Caverns was unchanged, the pathways and visitor center was much more commercial than we remembered it. We hadn't done the Big Room before so we couldn't compare it for sure, but it didn't seem to have the same natural cave feel that we remembered. Nevertheless, we spent more than two hours on the 1 mile trail (that was listed as being a one hour tour, but obviously that was only if you rushed through it), taking out time to really enjoy it, but getting passed by many others in a bigger hurry than we were. Afterward we walked through part of the museum in the visitor's center, then decided we needed to come back tomorrow to take the King's Palace tour and the rest of the museum. Got back around dusk, tended the horses and settled down for the evening.