Sunday, July 31, 2011 - Rest Day

Took the day off as much as possible, knowing it would probably be the last time for awhile. Still did some work on the computer, preparing for our two jobs in Atlanta later this week, but finally stopped in the middle of the afternoon in order to relax and watch a few movies for the rest of the day. Early morning tomorrow, as we have a septic service coming out to dump our RV tanks, a necessity as we’ve been here more than two weeks, and that’s about our limit!

Saturday, July 30, 2010 - Ride Day at Northampton State Park

Set the alarm to get an early start today, as we headed out to Northamption State Park on the west side of Rochester. I had high hopes for the trails here, as the map I downloaded indicated not one but TWO horse trailer parking areas in the park, one in the middle and one on the west side. We arrived to discover there was a big weekend festival being held here, which included a barbecue cook-off and a blues and music festival. How cool was that! The horse trailer parking area had been cordoned off for $5 event parking, but they waved us through for free, since we obviously were headed for the horse parking area for a reason. I joked with the parking guy about having to suffer riding with the smell of bbq, but he echoed the same concern as he was manning the parking lot! We arrived to find two other small trailers already there, confirming our feeling that this was a good spot. Just as we were saddling up, two women arrived off the trail, and we chatted with them for several minutes about the condition of the trails and the efficacy of the trail maps. They were very helpful, especially in helping us find the east trailhead, as there were almost no real indications in real life where it started. Seems we had to go down the road a bit, across the top of a "sledding hill", then turn right along the brush line to the edge of a cornfield, where the trail actually began. Good thing they told us, we would have been wandering awhile looking for that one! We maneuvered the horses around the parking areas, the traffic and the people to get to the trailhead, then entered a wonderful section of thick woods on a well traveled trail. Nevertheless, there was a time or two I pulled out the camp saw to clear a few low branches that made the going tough, but for the most part, the trail was delightful. Only problem was there were no markings, and once again, we got turned around, not finding the proper loops as they were marked on the map, taking one linear trail to a road that we thought would be a loop, and after backtracking, not sure which linear trail we took. I’m still not sure how much of the actual loop we took, or how much we backtracked! Eventually we ended up back at the trailhead, so it didn’t really matter. Any time spent on the back of my horse is a good time! Besides, how often can you ride your horse while listening to live blues nearby? That was pretty cool! We had only been out for an hour or so, so we headed back toward the horse trailer, discovering that both the trailers that had been there when we arrived were gone. After a few minutes of letting the horses munch out on clover, we headed out the west trailhead, which, thankfully, was much better marked, with numbered intersections that actually corresponded with what was on the map (miracle of miracles). We looped around, going all the way to the west trailer parking area, which included having to cross a road (though there was almost no traffic on this side of the park). The trails were truly lovely, again with dirt and grass footing, but what made this one side particularly nice was that the bridle path was about 10 feet wide and mostly grass, but it immediately turned into thick woods, so there was a nice tunnel effect most of the time. It was mostly shady, which was good because it had gotten rather hot today, but the wide paths made it easy to jog and canter several time throughout the ride. We circled the various loops, not having to take the same trail twice until the last 100 yards or so to the trailer area, and arrived back about 90 minutes later having thoroughly enjoyed the ride. One of the prettier rides in a "developed" park that we’ve ever been on. Once we unsaddled the horses, we walked over to the festival in search of ice cream (our new diet lunch, since we always seem to lose weight when we have ice cream for lunch lately, believe it or not! Plus it makes a nice change...), but we didn’t find them. We only discovered folks from all over the eastern half of the country from as far away as Iowa here to compete in the cookoff. Alas, BBQ wasn’t on the diet, and how would you be able to choose one anyway? We didn’t find ice cream either, so we headed out shortly thereafter in search of the nearest ice cream shoppe. According to my GPS, that was in a nearby town of Spencerport, so we headed in that direction. Just as we arrived, we noted that the main street was cordoned off for a street festival known as Canal Days (as in Erie Canal, which runs through the middle of this and many other upstate New York towns). We barely managed to find a parking spot big enough for the horse trailer, then walked to a coffee shop first, who had surprisingly excellent coffee with a touch of cinnamon, then over to another place for some Abbots frozen custard, a local favorite. Really enjoyed that, it was very nostalgic, as we used to get that a lot as kids. Finally made it back home late in the day, have had a very fun-filled day!

Friday, July 29, 2011 - Another Chore Day

We had received a package from National Bridle yesterday, some stuff we had ordered just a few days ago, so Hubby spent the day putting things away and fixing things up so they would be ready for our next ride tomorrow. I did more paperwork and finished working on the outlines for our two workshops next week.

Thursday, July 28, 2011 - Computer Work Day

Another day doing work-related stuff, setting up trips and writing workbooks for upcoming training sessions, while Hubby did a few chores around the "house".

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - Doctor’s Day

Another visit to the chiropractor today for the two of us, Hubby still waking up with a stiff back, and me still trying to straighten out my shoulder once and for all. Masochistically insisted the doctor do some serious manipulation on me, and he did. I left feeling better, but more sore, if that makes sense. At least it feels as if some progress might be occurring, but only time will tell!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - Ride Day at Two Parks

 Today was the day we were going to try to get the horses’ feet wet in our final compass point, a beach in Lake Ontario. So far we’ve ridden the borders in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf Coast of Southern Texas, and the only one left is the northern border. We headed out to Durand Eastman Park along the lakeshore near Seabreeze, a place I nostalgically remember from the days before my parents bought a cottage out at East Bay, not too far from where we and the horses are staying in Marion. I had called previously to learn where to park, and was told to go to the maintenance building off Zoo Road, which we easily found. As we were saddling up, though, one of the workers came over (and I think it was the same guy I spoke to, at least the voice sounded the same), who then informed me that the trails hadn’t really been maintained all that well lately, so we might have some problems. Not sure why he didn’t tell me that before we drove out here, but there you go. Anyway, we did have a few problems, but none were too difficult. Mostly it was just low-hanging branches and leaves, but there was at least one place we had to get down because the branch was too thick to move and too low to go under, though the horses had no problem once we were off. The trails essentially just edged along several ponds, and were pretty dry right now, though it was apparent from a parallel trail slightly higher up the slope that flooding was common here. At one point we even got to skirt a golf course, on which the horses gazed with interest at the various golfers, golf carts and golf swings. That didn’t last long before we were back in the woods circling the ponds. Finally we came to the road, which had to be crossed to get to the beach. We dismounted, and after waiting for traffic to clear, we managed to get them across safely. Unfortunately, we dicovered that the dropoff to the beach was too steep except in a few places, and those few places had families swimming and wading, despite signs saying No Swimming. We had hoped that being a Monday that it wouldn’t be that crowded, but no such luck. Well, we definitely didn’t want to have to retrace our steps, but a very short trip along the pathway took us to the end of Zoo Road, and we were back at the trailer in no time, a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to get our feet wet. We had only been out for about an hour, so we decided to head down to Ellison Park, near where I grew up, to go along the trails where I first learned to ride. A short trip down the freeway (sorry, they call it an expressway here, I remembered), and we were at the parking area the park folks had recommended. I had been looking forward to this for some time, but sadly ended up somewhat disappointed. By starting at the middle of the trail instead of at Heberle Stables where I was used to, I had no memory of anything. They had obviously changed the trails considerably, as we soon got turned around in a disk golf course (which hadn’t been invented when I was last here), despite the fact that there were several markers indicating we were following the horse trail. The markings were terrible! It took us twenty minutes to convince ourselves that we had to go back the way we came, even though the map insisted we were supposed to be on one side of the creek, and the obvious trail was on the other side of the creek. After much discussion and several false starts, we finally managed to find our way up to the stables. As there were multiple "No Trespassing" signs, we were deterred from going up the trail any farther than the arena, then turned around, once again hoping that something would spark my memory, but not luck. It was all a mystery, and it was all poorly marked. After about an hour, we finally gave up and headed back to the parking lot, though we had a lovely gallop along the edge of the playground area which made it all worthwhile. Not as enjoyable as we had hoped, but at least now we can check these two off the bucket list!

Monday, July 25, 2011 - Shopping

Decided we needed to get some more clothes and other items, so we headed out to Eastview Mall again, as well as to Walmart where Hubby had to pick up a prescription.

Monday, July 25, 2011 - Shopping

Decided we needed to get some more clothes and other items, so we headed out to Eastview Mall again, as well as to Walmart where Hubby had to pick up a prescription.

Sunday, July 24, 2011 - Ride Day at Mendon Ponds Park

Time for Hubby to get his chance to ride in Mendon Ponds Park!. We trailered the horses to the same parking area where we went on Monday, but this time instead of heading to the southern trail, we headed north to the longer trail. What a lovely ride! Once we found the proper trailhead, we followed the green blazes all the way to the water tower, which led us up and down moderate hills through a nice thick forest. The footing was mostly dirt, very little stone, so boots weren’t necessary. Eventually we climbed to the water tower, then shortly thereafter picked up the blue trail, which eventually led us to a grassy area that required us to ride along the road. After turning the corner, we sooned followed the trail back into the grassy area, where we kept seeing a lot of deer. Once we saw two fawns laying down together, but they scooted off before I had a chance to get their picture. Gorgeous! Didn’t faze the horses a bit, though, it seems they’re getting used to coming alongside deer! It was a fabulous ride, we were out for more than three hours and enjoyed every minute of it. A really nice park that’s we’ll no doubt come back to, time permitting!

 

Friday, July 22, 2011 - Shopping, Jazz at Wegmans

Went to the local big mall, Eastview Mall in Victor, NY, and spent a good portion of the day getting some new clothes. We don’t shop often, but with all the weight we’ve been losing since our New Year’s Resolution in January, nothing fits anymore, so we had to bite the bullet and go shopping. Enjoyed it, though, we had a good time. Afterward, we met up with my friend Mary and her husband at the Wegman’s in Canandaigua. That’s a rather fancy grocery store that happens to feature a jazz quartet on Friday nights during the summer (I know, that sounds crazy, but it’s true!) Wegman’s is all the rage around town, apparently, with a special $6 dinner tray including main course and two sides. Unfortunately, the fish was served cold (it was pre-cooked, not sushi), which was odd, be we managed to find a microwave to heat it up. Not bad, though I can’t say it was really worth the money. Enjoyed the company and the music however, and that was the real reason we went!

Thursday, July 21, 2011 - More Paperwork

Had hoped to go riding today, but we were both sore from our chiropractic appointments yesterday, and I’ve gotten behind on some paperwork, so we spent the day doing chores and paperwork.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - Doctor’s/Vet Day

In the last day or so, little Billy dog has suddenly had some serious pain in his back, so much so that he can hardly walk. We made an appointment with a local Vet (Pittsford Animal Hospital) and took him over there today. Doc says he thinks it might be a spine problem, something typical in a low, long dog. He also said it might be a soft tissue strain of some kind, which I think is more likely. Chances are he climbed up on the kitchen table, then when he heard us coming he leaped to the ground, probably slipping on the way down and landing wrong. At least that’s what I hope it is. Doc prescribed several drugs, pain killers, an anti-inflammatory and an anti-spasmodic. We left with instructions to try to keep him quiet for awhile, which shouldn’t be too hard since he’s in so much pain he’s barely moving right now. Keeping our fingers crossed he’ll be okay! Meanwhile, we had doctor’s appointments of our own. Hubby’s been experiencing some back problems, and I’m still having some problems with my shoulder, so we figured as long as we were going to be here for awhile, we should try to get them straightened out. Made appointments at the Pittsford Chiropractic Clinic, and we both got an adjustment and a few other treatments there. Left feeling a bit better, and with continuing appointments while we’re in the area.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 - Work Day

Spent the day working on the computer, getting caught up on future logistics for jobs and ongoing horse camping.

Monday, July 18, 2011 - Ride and Travel Day

Not surprisingly, we felt a bit more tired today, though still have more energy than we thought possible. Shared another great breakfast with Mary and her family (though they’ve been more like brunch considering how late we’ve been getting up!), then packed up the horses in the trailer and headed out with Mary and my other reunion friend Donna who joined us, out to Mendon Ponds Park to go riding. I took them each for about an hour ride, which they both thoroughly enjoyed. Donna went first, as she had to head out for home in Cleveland right afterward, then Mary and I had a spin around the park. We used to hang out at a local stable together, which is where I learned just about everything I know about horses. She was sure she was going to fall off, but I told her it was like riding a bicycle, and before we knew it, she was trotting away, and I even got a little canter in. It was fabulous. Trails were great, though a bit sunnier and thereby hotter than we normally like, but the footing was all grass and dirt, so no worries there. A good time was had by all! Then we headed back to Mary’s, finished packing up the RV, then headed out for our next landing zone in Marion, a stable owned by a quarter horse breeder. They’re only about a half hour away, and we’ll be staying with them for several weeks, so I expect we’ll see some of our local friends over that time. Our new landlord Jody welcomed us warmly, and we had the horses out in their paddock and the RV settled in in no time. During the evening, we gradually came down from our adrenaline high from the past few days, and crashed into bed exhausted.

Sunday, July 17, 2011 - Lake Day

Once again slept as late as we could, barely enough, the late nights are starting to catch up to us. Mary and her family had gone off to church but left an email that they’d be back to have breakfast with us by 10:30 or so, which they were, another fabulous meal (she’s a great cook!). Before long we were back on the road toward Sue’s cottage, where we spent the whole day chatting and eating (I actually lost weight this morning, if that gives you any idea about the meal last night : - ), but today I’m splurging. My old friend Barney is a former chef, and he went all out on cooking and preparation for the day, with fantastic gluten-free cheesecakes both white and chocolate, and more food than you could possibly feed an army with. Ate more than I needed, and took home some more food besides, but we’ll start our next diet phase tomorrow! Stayed until nearly 11:00 before driving the half hour back to Mary’s, satisfied that we had made old connections new again, and thrilled at the entire weekend. It really couldn’t have been much better. Sue and I are already planning on making next year’s reunion bigger and better, even if it’s only for our group. Straight to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow!

Saturday, July 16, 2011 - Reunion Day

Well, the day has finally arrived. Other than work days, this is the last day on our schedule we had actually planned to be somewhere. Mary and her hubby took us to a nice little diner where we had a fabulous breakfast, then we headed out to the Stuart Horse Trials nearby for their cross country event. We had to take a detour to pick up our mail in Canandaigua (which hadn’t been there yesterday, supposedly, but had magically appeared today, even though it really should have arrived on Thursday, but some younger postal workers are unfamiliar with the concept of General Delivery), but arrived in time to see the last 8 or 10 horses jump. Seems they had a lot of scratches so the event went much shorter than usual. Then we went to an ice cream shop for a cone (it was hot enough, and that was to be lunch) before heading home to take a nap so that we would be in decent shape for the evening. Hubby and I both slept for more than an hour, which was the perfect power nap. Then we showered and got ready to go, arriving at the reunion dinner right at the appointed hour of 7:00. Didn’t recognize many people, and was glad my my friends started arriving. The dinner was actual several "food stations," which is not my favorite kind of dinner unless there are a lot of other activities, like a band and dancing going on, which there wasn’t. Wine was late in coming, we had our first glass of alcohol since we quit on New Year’s, smelled oddly strong to my unaccustomed nose, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Spent some time talking to other people, but can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I did last night, which I figured would be the case, that was hard to top. Anyway, after the dinner, we got shuttled out of the rented room into the main bar area around 10:30, where we were joined by more of our cross-class friends, but unfortunately, the nice little combo they had playing was already packing up, as the restaurant was slated to close at 11:00, so any dreams of dancing that I had were demolished. It was closer to 11:30 by the time we were being pushed into the parking lot, and it was obvious most people wished the evening could last longer (not sure why this particular restaurant had been chosen, you’d have thought this was predictable). Anyway, we again all drifted to the same pub where we ended the previous night, and were there for a couple more hours, finally shoving off after 1:00, fading fast. We made plans to all gather again tomorrow at another good friend Sue’s cottage on Honeoye Lake for the day. Can’t wait! This is way too much fun!

Friday, July 15, 2011 - Travel Day to Victor, NY, and First Reunion Events

Got up with the alarm early, finished packing up and saying our goodbyes to Greg and Julie before heading up the road. Arrived at the Denny’s in Canandaigua with perfect timing, just finishing our breakfast in time for my conference call with a client, then headed up the road to the waste water treatment plant to dump the RV, then arrived just a touch later than expected at my dear old friend Mary’s house, who I’ve known since I was 2 ½ years old, though we haven’t kept in touch the way we should have. Nevertheless, she and her husband welcomed us, and had arranged for her next door neighbor to put our horses in an extra paddock she had, and we had a wonderful lunch and a great afternoon of catching up. Eventually we had to start getting ready for tonight, two gatherings at two pubs, one with a cross-class group that was my main "clique" as it were, on one side of the Erie Canal, and the second with just the ‘76ers on the other side of the canal (though in the end, they all merged anyway). It was a fantastic time! Lots of squealing and hugging and all the best things you’d expect at a reunion. Lots of folks came from a long way away, and it was great. It’s true what they say, it was like we had all been together just yesterday. How can 35 years feel like that? But it did. We stayed up way past our bedtime, and still felt great when we got back at nearly 2:00 am. Hope we sleep late in the morning!

Thursday, July 14, 2011 - Prep Day

Busy day today, packing up and getting everything ready to move out tomorrow. Had to move the hay that we had bought locally from the horse trailer into the back of the pickup, after which Hubby adjusted the brakes on the horse trailer. Washed the dogs, cleaned the house, kept busy all day, then joined our neighbors Greg and Julie around the fire for an evening of swapping stories, finishing the evening off with a bit of Shakespeare. Off to bed later than we had expected, have a early and long day tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 - Last Long Ride Day

Though our original plan had been to ride with our new neighbors Greg and Julie, I let Hubby sleep a little late because his back was hurting a bit, so we encouraged them to go ahead without us, and ended up getting out about 11:30 or so. We had two main trails, D & E, that we wanted to do, so that we would know them all, so that next time we could start exploring some of the many unmarked trails that riddle this forest. We headed out the Mohawk trail to the A trail, passed the E trail entrance to get to the D trail, some 3-4 miles from camp. We really enjoyed the E trail, as it once again wound through a great mixed forest and varied terrain. Once we reached the end, however, we had a lot of trouble trying to pick up the D trail. The trail that seemed right had a sign saying it was temporarily closed, so we looked for an alternative. Signs led us along the snowmobile trail that paralleled the road, but soon that became obvious that it hadn’t seem much traffic, and soon after it led to a "bridge" that was so rickety I would walk across it, much less take a horse across, and there was no way around it, so we knew we were in the wrong place. We took a number of other false starts, including crossing the road where the D trail was clearly marked, but that just took us around to a road that led us back to the same intersection. After stopping for lunch and once again trying to find another trailhead, we finally decided the only logical answer was to take the "closed" trail, which we soon discovered was, in fact, the right trail that we needed. We soon discovered why it was supposed to be closed, though the reasons no longer applied. A long portion of the trail was essentially a creekbed. No doubt during the spring it’s too wet to traverse, but it was fine now during mid-summer, at least as fine as trying to walk on a creekbed goes. The rocks were sharp and insecure, and the ascents and descents were pretty treacherous in places, making this our least favorite trail here. We were both happy when we finally reached the end of it and were back on the A trail again. We didn’t arrive back in camp until after 5:30, with both us and the horses thoroughly exhausted. Got everyone settled, had some leftover Chinese for dinner, then visited with our neighbors getting caught up on all the day’s activities, and sharing ideas for horse camps and equipment and other horsey stuff. Learned that Greg is a retired veterinarian, and learned more about Julie liking to ride in endurance races, more for the challenge than the winning (she’s been riding a Gypsy draft horse, so speed isn’t her priority). As the sun went down and a full moon came up, it got quite chilly (forecast is for mid-50’s overnight), so we headed back to the bungalow for hot cocoa, a movie and to bed!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 - Solution Day

After weeks of trepidation about where we were going to stay after the weekend, I finally managed to secure a place about 30 miles east of Rochester, which will actually be a great location as it’s close to both the city and to the place where my brother has rented a cottage for a week around the dates of the family reunion. Can’t tell you how relieved I am! I was really starting to worry we’d get stuck, but I think this will work out just fine. Spent the rest of the day washing all four vehicles, figured since we had free access to water here, this may be the last chance for a while, and it was much needed, since we were still carrying mud that we had churned up back in West Virginia when we had trouble getting out of our campsite after several heavy rains. That took most of the afternoon. This morning, our long-term neighbors were packing up to leave, and Hubby and I thought we’d have the place to ourselves for a few days, when, just before they left, another convoy came in. Turns out to be a snowbird couple that has a place in Ocala for the winter, and a place nearby here in NY for the summer. They had a motor home, plus a pickup truck towing a horse trailer, much like our setup. We ended up chatting with them for much of the evening, seems we have much in common. They’ve been on the road much longer than us, so it was nice to pick someone elses’ brain for awhile, rather than having mine picked. Compared notes on places we’d both been, and took suggestions for places we’d like to go. Could be the beginning of a very helpful network! Stayed up late catching up on my blog before turning in, having made plans to go riding with our new neighbors tomorrow, which should be interesting as our horses aren’t used to being around other horses. Hope that works out okay!

Monday, July 11, 2011 - Shopping Day

Decided that we’d go shopping today, as the weather forecast was calling for hot temps and a possible thunderstorm. Never got more than a tiny, momentary sprinkle, but it was pretty hot, though nothing like what we’ve experienced in other areas of the country. Left about 11:00 and didn’t get back until after 6:00, ended up going a lot farther than we had anticipated, but did managed to get most of what we needed, including cotter pins from a fastener store in Elmira (for the horse boots), new sandals for me (for my Friday reunion outfit), pants and a shirt for Hubby, groceries and a bunch of other stops. Glad to get back, horses were fine in our absence, though the number of neighbors had diminished somewhat. Down to just us and one other motor home, a couple that had been here almost as long as we had. Didn’t speak with them much, just to say hello occasionally, but it was always pleasant enough. We may ride tomorrow, or we may wait until Wednesday when the temps are supposed to be cooler. Busy day, so we relaxed again in the evening.

Sunday, July 10, 2011 - Rest Day

Another Sunday of rest and relaxation, though I still spent many hours on the computer and phone still trying to solve our accommodations problems, as well as tackling some other client related chores.

Saturday, July 9, 2011 - Another Long Ride Day

Once again we headed out the Mohawk Trail, this time following it all the way down to the same parking/camping area for lunch again, then afterward heading up the other half of the A trail loop that we had missed last time. Our original plane had been to include the D and E loops, but the first part of the ride seemed to take so long we decided it was too late in the day, and we’d have to come back and do those again on another day. Once again, a lovely, varied terrain, still different from other areas of the forest. After leaving our lunch spot, we made a small diversion on the wrong side of the creek, only to return and cross the creek to the right side. One of the few areas where there was water on the trail, but the horses didn’t seem interested in taking a drink. Not long after that, we headed up a long vertical climb under the power lines, all grass but practically straight up for half a mile. The horses took it all in stride, though they did take several breaks along the way. Then it was deep into the woods once again, winding our way from one gorgeous section to the next. At one point, unfortunately, a couple of teen dirt-bikers came up from behind us on two very loud, unmuffled motors. We heard them coming from a long way away, and pulled the horses off the trail to prevent any accidents. The youngsters almost didn’t see us, we had to yell to them before they spotted us. One of them had the good sense to turn his motor off, the other one had to be told, though not before Apollo had to be calmed down. They walked quietly past us, and I told them to go another 50 feet or so before I said they could start up again. By that time, the second kid’s overly large shorts were hanging halfway down his overly large behind, and we had the unpleasant view of an overly large crack that no one should ever be subject to. I know I sound like my parents did, but I really don’t understand these fashions these days. At least I saw the point of a miniskirt in school, I don’t see the point of exposed bra straps and shorts hanging down to the knees, courtesy of no waistband. Oh well, it’s just a sign of the times I suppose. Anyway, not long after that we came up to a road, and while comparing it with the map, the park ranger came by in his truck, and I asked him if motorized vehicles were allowed on the trails in the summer (it’s a snowmobile trail in the winter, but that’s not the same, right?) And he said absolutely not, but I suspect he knew who the kids were. In any event, they were long gone, so there wasn’t much to be done anyway. Other than that, it was a great ride, and it was still a good five hours minus the lunch break. Once again arrived back in camp, tired and hungry, but satisfied at another wonderful day.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 - Short Ride Day

Spent a good part of the day on the computer. Having trouble finding a place to stay near Rochester, never thought it would be this hard. There are scores of stables within a 50 mile radius, but for some reason, I can’t seem to find one that will say yes to the horses and the RV. Lots of show barns, so I can sort of understand it, but even farms with hundreds of acres of property claim they can’t accommodate our RV, which seems really weird to me. With all the times when we’ve had to find a place, we’ve never had such a hard time before. It looks like an old friend of mine might be able to take us in for the weekend, her neighbor has pastures, so she’s checking to see if they can take in the horses, while we park in her driveway. I hope we can work something out, this is getting so frustrating! Later in the day, we decided to take a short ride just to keep the horses occupied (it’s amazing, they seem to just be begging to go for a ride after a day or two!), so we saddled up and headed out the Seneca Trail, a fairly short loop that took us just over 90 minutes or so. Another nice ride, with a lot of unmarked trails and roads going off of it. Hubby and I are looking forward to a time when we know all of the main trails well enough to feel safe venturing off on some of these smaller trails. Had a few nice opportunities to do long trots and even a few short canters, and it was mostly through woods, with only a few grades. Several road crossings, but no big deal. Enjoyed it, just the right length to keep the horses, and us, in shape!

Monday, July 4, 2011 - Independence Day Ride, Nothing Like Freedom!

What a fabulous ride today! Another good night sleep, another leisurely breakfast, and finally got on the trail a bit after 12:00, having packed snacks for us and oats for the horses. Headed down to the Mohawk trail, then turned left to follow the A trail clockwise. Lots of varied terrain, forests both pine and deciduous, ascents and descents, rocky sections, muddy sections, perfect dirt and pine needle sections. Coming downhill near the southern end of the A Trail it got very muddy, and at one point Apollo stepped right out of one of his Easyboots, not an easy thing to do! Had to stop and pick it up, but it was so muddy I couldn’t see me being able to put it on again until I found some water to clean it up a bit. Shortly thereafter, we came to the halfway point, a lovely parking and horsecamping area with tables, fire rings, two sets of two stalls each, right off a road. A half hour later, we were back on the trail again, heading back up the Mohawk Trail, which would connect back up to the intersection where we first took the A Trail. A really wonderful ride, arriving back in camp tired and happy at about 5:00. Got everyone settled in, including ourselves, for a much deserved relaxing evening!

Sunday, July 3, 2011 - Rest Day

Though Hubby felt better today than early yesterday, we took the day off to rest up, relaxing as much as possible so that we’ll be fit for a long ride tomorrow. Spent the day reading and watching movies. At dusk (which starts at about 9:00 and lasts until nearly 10), I climbed the fire tower to see if I could spot any fireworks. We had heard a lot last night, apparently the big Watkins Glen show was after a race, we couldn’t see it, but we certainly heard it. Tonight I saw a beautiful view of the remnants of a beautiful sunset, and as it grew darker, I saw quite a few fireworks all up and down both Keuka and Seneca Lake, though Keuka was definitely more active. It was a beautiful 360 degree view, absolutely stunning. It was too late to get Hubby up there, but I promised myself I’d bring him up tomorrow, thinking that there surely would still be more fireworks to come, being that tomorrow was the actual holiday of Independence Day. Eventually climbed down and came to bed, looking forward to a long ride on a beautiful day tomorrow.

Saturday, July 2, 2011 - Second Ride Day at Sugar Hill

Had another wonderful night sleep in perfect upper 50’s temperatures, another perfect sunny morning, though a bit warmer than it has been. Headed out to ride about 11:30, this time taking a longer loop, heading out to Onandaga Trail, then up a steep incline on the B Trail, then over toward the Mohawk where we had a brief misstep going down to a Lean-to and back again. What a great ride! Though there was a lot of mud in some areas, and a lot of stone in others, with the horses’ boots on they took it all in stride. There were a few significant inclines and descents, though most were fairly mild, yet larger than the gentle terrains of Maryland. In other words, a perfect step up for the conditioning of the horses. We trotted whenever the terrain allowed, and even managed to get a few canters in as well. Really enjoyed our 2-plus hour ride. We might have gone longer except Hubby had woken up with a sore throat and a stiff neck and a general feeling of unwellness, but he dosed himself up with Tylenol and gargled with H202 and felt good enough to ride, but we didn’t want to push it. Gave the horses a rinse off before letting them graze again, they are really enjoying being able to move around the yard, albeit dragging a 10 lb. Weight behind them. Relaxed the rest of the day, taking a short nap in the afternoon, reading outside for a while, watching TV in the evening, just a lovely, wonderful way to spend a holiday weekend!

Friday, July 1, 2011 - First Ride Day at Sugar Hill

After picking up a trailer load of hay this morning, and running down to nearby Watkins Glen to pick up a few things, we got back just after noon, grabbed a bowl of cereal for lunch, then saddled up and headed out, deciding to just take the short Cayuga trail up to and around a little pond and back. Trails were a bit muddy in spots, and rocky in others, but we had put the horses’ boots on before we left so that was no bother. Very wild looking trails, despite their obvious heavy use, some wide enough for two abreast, others so narrow you can hardly see the trail for the ground cover. Out just over an hour, just enough to stretch the horses’ legs, getting some jogs and even a couple of short canters, though the trails didn’t really have the best footing for that. When we got back, we tried something new. Several of our neighbors have been letting their horses graze on the fresh grass and clover of the campground, so when we went shopping today, I had an idea. I bought a 10 pound boat anchor and a fifty foot anchor rope, which I cut in half, then added another hook to the second half. I tied them to the boat anchor, then clipped them on the horses’ halters. That gave them the freedom to move around, but not very far, as the weight was enough to slow them down considerably. They enjoyed the grass for several hours in the afternoon before we hooked them back up to the highline for the night. They seemed to appreciate the freedom, and I was happy I have finally found a solution to a problem we’ve had many times, how to let them graze safely. I had considered hobbles for a long time, but never could fine any I liked. I was also worried about the horses hurting themselves, or getting farther than we wanted, but the anchor seems to be the perfect thing. We’ll see how it works, anyway. We sat out and kept an eye on them for awhile, they seemed to adjust fine, as they seem to do with everything we ask of them. We relaxed the rest of the evening, still tired from our busy week. Still planning on a good long ride tomorrow though!