Thursday, July 26, 2018

Decisions...Decisions... -- July 26, 2018


Well, Bo and I have been in the midst of glorious summer days here at the Hoosier National Forest horse camp....so "decisions...decisions"... do we go or do we stay?  We decided to stay a little while longer!  Plus, my schedule at home base says I don't need to be back until August 6th, so there's still plenty of time for the next campsite....which is going to break a rule...but more about that when we get there next week.

Really, the weather has been great.  Every time rain has been predicted, we've gotten maybe 10 drops!  Not too good for grass and warding off forest fires, but nice for camping, in general.  






Off and on there has been a little activity around here.  A few tent campers have stayed a night or two, then moved on.  But they were quiet and not really near us.  One day, in particular, all the locals must have contacted each other to meet up here at the horse camp!


That was okay...they only stayed a few hours and virtually all that time is out on a trail.  Bo isn't fond of the "intruders", and goes into the van until they leave the area, but I don't mind these visitors.  I never get tired of looking at the beautiful horses!





There are all kinds of horse trailers from the fairly basic ones that get you from one local area to another....to the trailers with A/C for the horses and practically RV accommodations for the riders.  But this one was really my favorite, although it didn't offer any bells and whistles for the horses or the riders!  Loved all the rust! It serves its purpose...


 Time for a little adventure!


One day, albeit a little warmer than other days, Bo and I started down the trail right next to our campsite.  We walk a little  part of this trail several times a day...like 15-20 minutes round trip, and if no one is around, which is most of the time, he can be off-leash.  Well, this day I took my camera along and thought we'd walk just a little further than we usually do to try to get some new photos and hopefully find the creek that's supposed to be around here.  It was nice and quiet in the forest and so we just kept walking...and walking...and walking.  All the while, I was noticing that we were continually going downhill.

We did, finally come across the "creek".....and much to our dismay, it was totally dry.  Another reason so little rain is not a good thing for the ecological balance of things...


Now the adventure begins!  Having realized we were very far from our original elevation and that turning around now would be an almost vertical climb [uphill], we decided that we would just continue onward.  When I mentioned I brought my camera along, did I mention I had brought anything else???  Noooooooo!  No phone,  no water, no map.....nothing!  I really didn't think we would be out so long.

So, we just kept walking.  Surely the loop would come around soon and we'd be back at our starting point.  Along the way, though, I was glad I had brought my camera along...

 


Bo found this guy and was pretty intrigued by him!


After walking quite a bit further, getting pretty parched and tired and hot, and not really knowing where we were, I couldn't help but think of one of my RV adventures, "Stranger in a Strange Land - July 17, 2014"....almost exactly 4 years ago!  If you were with me back then, you might recall it....if not, here's the link.


It's kind of comical now, but there was nothing funny about it then!

Anyway, FINALLY we came across a map posted along the path at an "intersection".  I should have taken a picture of it, but I was so intent on just figuring out where we were, I didn't even think of it.  DUH!  I memorized it in my head and saw if we went one mile to the left, then took the next two lefts, we'd be back at base camp.  "Decisions...decisions". Turning back now was definitely not an option, as I remembered the terrain that we had experienced was all downhill with a lot of switchbacks.....so we turned left, UP A HILL (which I hoped wasn't going to be an indication of things to come), and hoped for the best!  Walking....walking....walking....boy, another mile+ sure seems like a long way at this point!  We stopped and rested a couple of minutes a few times, but I just wanted to keep going.

We FINALLY got to the next intersection and the picture in my head remembered we had to go .3 miles to the left, then another .3 miles to the left and we'd come out at the horse camp.  We had made it this far, so what was another 1/2+ mile??

Obviously, we did make it back!  Bo fared very well.....and I actually did too, all things considered....except I really needed some water.  I know the signs of dehydration, and luckily, I hadn't experienced that quite yet.  As we made our way into the common area, I stopped at the kiosk for a trail map. I really wanted to see where we'd been!


Our 3 mile "walk"!  It was a good thing we made that left  turn for the 1.0 mile jaunt!  Otherwise, instead of  1.6 miles further to base camp it would have been another 2.8 miles.  I don't think so!  LOL!  Anyway, we made it!  Of course there is a simple moral to this story.....don't keep walking....walking....walking without water and a map!  But, it's a good thing I like adventures....I can keep my cool and not get too panicky.  That serves no purpose!

Well, now I've really wrapped up our time here at the horse camp in the Hoosier National Forest.  I can't imagine that anything else is going to happen that will be blog-worthy.  I do expect to pull out of here early next week....probably Tuesday.  Will  have to watch the weather.  It's not far to the next camping spot.

Oh -- we did run into town yesterday for a very fast grocery/ice pickup since we were going to be here a little while longer.  Coming into town, we got a quick glimpse of the West Badin Springs Hotel/Casino that I mentioned a few blog posts ago.  No time to stop.....but sometime we will!

So long for now!  Thanks for continuing to view my posts!
Have a great weekend!



 

4 comments:

  1. The horses are always beautiful to see. The weather has been nice, and fall is just around the corner! Thanks for another great post and pictures!

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  2. Yes, i remember that harrowing time you got lost! So scary to me...
    These pics of the horses are beautiful, for sure...
    Enjoy your last days there!

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  3. Nice Tiger Swallowtail :)

    Don't feel bad about not photo phone that map. My kids.. automatic. Everything pic'd - travel schedules, etc. But I always forget!

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  4. Such beautiful hotses! A scary walking experience! Enjoy the stay.

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