Horse Camp!

Today we got lots of new neighbors…9 big horse trailer/campers! With lots of big dogs running around loose. Roxie is having a ball telling them what’s what. Here are the folks next door. They’ve got nice living quarters in the front part, with a slide-out.

These are their horses. There are big posts in the ground all over the place here, so they can run ropes between them and tether the horses.

And these horses are right across the road from us. Their owners have very strong southern accents, talk really loud and play their radio quite loud. Oh joy.

Some of them came yesterday, and they all had nice big campfires, with no fire rings or anything to contain them. This in an area already inundated with wildfires, with no rain in sight….what are they thinking??!

The wildfires make me so sad; some of these areas are where I used to whitewater kayak….here’s a photo taken at Nantahala Outdoor Center, where they set backfires to try and save the buildings. That was a gorgeous area to paddle….now it’s going to be very ugly for years to come. There’s also the Pinnacle Mt. fire which is only 35% contained, with windier conditions coming tomorrow. This one might result in our having to cancel our gathering on the 27th if they don’t get it under control; right now the air quality at our campground is RED. Not very conducive to outdoor fun. So far the air here is clear.

Last night I tried to start up my new heater before going to bed and imagine my surprise when a little flame came up OUTSIDE the heater, at the gas connection elbow! Yikes! I blew it out like a birthday candle; luckily that worked. And then I shut it down. My first thought was “Oh God no, don’t make me set off that fire extinguisher in here again!!” But all is well. I tightened the connections (though it didn’t feel like anything moved) and started the heater. The fire stayed where it was supposed to be, no more roaming around!  It does make me nervous though; I won’t use it while I’m sleeping.

I have been walking! Since I’ve been here I’ve been taking the horse trail for abotu 1/4 mile each day, and yesterday I went twice, for a total of .7 miles! That’s way more than I’ve walked in a very long time.  I hope I can keep it up, though today I didn’t go very far because my knee hurt. I’ll let it rest and give it a go again tomorrow.