My friend Nancy was going to use my horse for the week. There were four of us traveling together. Another friend, Ann, would be arriving on Tuesday to stay with us. She does not have a horse but she wanted to spend time with us. She was bringing her dog Etta and she was planning to go hiking during the day while we rode. I had gotten everything packed and ready during the previous week. I was all ready to go when Nancy arrived. There was a bit of a delay in leaving as Joanie and Pam were waiting for the seafood market to open to pick up lobsters. They finally gave up waiting and they left without the lobsters and we all met at Exit 43 Quick Mart. We had an uneventful drive to Acadia. It's about 2 1/2 to 3 hrs up. Joanie and Pam stopped along the way to pick up the lobsters. When we checked in at Wildwood Stable, there was a mix up on Nancy's reservations. She has specifically requested to be in the same barn as the rest of us and they had told her that was no problem. But, they had reserved her stall in another barn. They had done the same thing to her last year so she was not impressed. After a bit of fussing, they managed to arrange for us all to be in the same barn and gave us our stall numbers. When we got down to the barn, there was already a horse in one of the stalls they assigned us. After a bit more confusion we were finally settled on our stalls. We set up the stalls and settled all the equines in and unloaded our tack that we wanted at the barn. We then pulled into our campsites and relaxed for a while and had lunch. Nancy had cooked and sliced up a nice fresh turkey for sandwich meat. We had a good choice of wonderful deli breads and cheeses. We then set up the tent that Nancy had brought. I was camping in my trailer, the others would be staying in the tent. It was a 6 man tent. Being experienced campers we knew that 6 man really meant maybe 4 people comfortable. But, after setting up the tent and putting in 2 air mattresses and a cot, there was no room left for Ann. So, it was decided she would bunk with me when she arrived. We also set up to EZ up canopies to put over the picnic tables. Joanie put much thought into just the right place to store the wine. It was now time to ride! We saddled up and headed out. Maura and her daughter Meri arrived just before we left camp. They were staying at the Otter Creek Motel. Luke was wonderful as usual. Pam's Morgan gelding Stormin was a bit animated on this first ride. He looked quite impressive though I don't think Pam was quite as impressed as we were. Marie and Frannie were also there usual wonderful selves and we had a very nice ride. We got a little lost at one point and ended up on a dead end trail that was an access for a private stable. We came back by way of the Jordan Stream trail. Once back I sponged off Luke in his stall. Nancy took Marie out to hose her off and Marie had some heartburn about not being able to see her buddies. After the horses and mule were settled in we went over to camp to relax for just a short time then Nancy and Joanie prepared supper. Maura and Meri joined us for supper. Nancy made a nice salad and then there was lobster (though I had a cheeseburger as I'm not too fond of lobster) and corn on the cob. It was Maura's birthday and Nancy made a nice pound cake for her that we topped with fresh blueberries and raspberries and whipped cream. It was getting quite late by the time we were done with supper so we went over to the stable to top off water and give hay to the ponies and then we headed to bed.
Day 2
I overslept and did not wake up until 9:00 am. The others had already fed the ponies and cleaned stalls and had coffee made. For breakfast we had Greek yogurt that Joanie had made with homemade granola and the fresh blueberries and raspberries as well as toasted bagels. The coffee was really good! We then saddled up and headed out for a ride. We did the Round the Mountain route by way of Bubble Pond. It was a lovely day and so nice to be riding without being bothered by deer fly! We had some great views as it was so clear. We did about 14 miles and were out for about 3 1/2 hours. All the ponies were good today though at one point when we were cantering up a hill Luke lost his rhythm and angled across the road. I was just wondering what was going on when Luke did a little crow hop. Turns out he was making a statement to Pam's horse, Stormin. He didn't actually kick out but still, naughty Luke! And Luke did have one spook today. When we came by the end of Jordan Pond where the trail is always congested with a lot of bikers, and hikers, someone rang a bell on their bike and this jumped Luke. He didn't really do much, it was just with all the congestion I had a moment of worry as I didn't want the headline of tomorrow's paper to be "Large black mule runs over pedestrians in park". When we got back from our ride I gave Luke and extra meal as he has lost a bit of weight since I've finally had the time to start riding him on a regular basis, which coincided with his hunger strike against the grain I was giving him. I have found a grain he really likes and would like to see him gain just a little more weight. Marie was so insulted by Luke getting an extra meal that I had to give her some hay stretcher pellets just to settle her down. Susie and her friend Diana had arrived while we were out riding and they were out on the trail. Maura and Meri did their own ride. We had some lunch then Nancy, Pam and I went to Otter Creek for some ice and so I could pick up some batteries for my water pump. Ann had also arrived with her lovely dog Etta. The most well mannered yellow Lab you ever want to meet. It was a pleasure having her in camp. Ann set up her full size air mattress in my trailer. We decided to put a tarp tarp over both EZ up canopies. Nancy had a large one that fit over both of them. Ann had brought a wonderful appetizer of cantaloupe and prosciutto with a ...... well I don't know... a pesto paste..... as well as "Lava" dip made by Joanie and some other dip that had beans in it so I took no interest in what it was called. (beans...YUCK) After we fed the ponies, Joanie and Nancy once again made us a wonderful supper. They made and nice salad followed by tortellini and many wonderful home made deserts. We had planned to do our moonlight ride tonight but it clouded over so that was put off for tomorrow. Susie had brought her guitar so she and I played and sang by the campfire. A few other campers came over to sit by the fire and listen. A little after 10:00 pm we checked on the ponies one last time topping off hay and water before heading to bed.
Day 3
It rained hard during the night. I woke at 5:00 am, then again at 6:00. It was still raining hard and I didn't hear any stirring around camp so I dozed back off. Apparently I am deaf as during this time poor Joanie and Nancy were right outside my trailer struggling to save the EZ up canopies. One had developed a LARGE pocket of water and had broken but not collapsed. Both of then ended up completely soaked in their effort to drain the water. They did manage to keep everything standing and patched up the one broken EZ up with a stick and some duct tape. It was quite chilly this morning and they were both cold now. They also had gotten some water in their tent so some of their gear was wet too. They made a run over to Otter Creek for a quick shower to help warm up. When they got back we decided to go to Northeast Harbor for breakfast as it was still raining lightly. Nancy and Joanie also wanted to bring all their wet thing to the laundry to dry them. We had breakfast at Colonel's . It was delicious except for the coffee which was very weak. After breakfast we wandered around the shops in town waiting for the rain to let up. When we got back to camp, Susie and Diana were already out riding. They were leaving today so wanted to get out for a long ride. We decided to wait a bit longer as the sky was brightening. I was suddenly very tired so went into my trailer and took a nap. When the weather finally cleared just a little after noon time the others woke me up to go riding. We planned to ride the Hadlocks but got a bit lost again and ended up doing Seal Harbor and Jordan Pond. The day had cleared beautifully and once again we had some great views and it was a lovely ride. All ponies were just wonderful. When we got back to camp, we hosed all the ponies off and hand grazed them for a while. Luke was very happy to get in a good roll. Susie and Diana were just getting ready to leave when we got back so we got to say goodbye to them. We settled the ponies back in their stall then went over to camp to relax for a while. I took a shower in my trailer. I use a muck bucket to stand in to catch the rinse water. When I'd bring the bucket into the trailer all the girls would jokingly comment on me setting up my hot tub. Joanie and Nancy made beef kabobs and rice for supper. They were delicious! And we still had a lot of home made deserts left over to eat. Pam and I fed the ponies while Joanie and Nancy cooked. Once again our moon light ride was postponed by a heavy cloud cover. After supper, Pam, Joanie and Ann started a game of scrabble. I had gone over to treat Luke's feet and I'd cleaned stalls while over there. When I got back to camp, Nancy and I started playing a game of double solitaire. It didn't take long before the others decided that Nancy and I were having more fun with the card game and they abandoned the scrabble game to play double solitaire with us. I dug around in my trailer and managed to come up with 5 decks of cards. Some of them were pretty sorry old decks but that was ok. It was decided that the looser of each hand had to take a shot of the Cinnamon Fireball Whiskey I'd brought. This tastes just like fireball candy. Nancy was quite determined NOT to lose as she does not like fireballs. I think Pam was losing on purpose.........
Day 4
Today was a lot of fun. I was up by 7:00 am. I fed and cleaned the ponies. Nancy was the one that overslept this morning. We had breakfast and then headed out on our ride about 10:00 am. Nancy rode Luke so I could have one ride on my horse. She put her treeless saddle on him but right away did not think it would work well on him so she ended up using my saddle that she sold to me years ago because she did not like it...... We ride the Landslide out to Aunt Betty Pond and then around to the Hadlocks. It was once again a lovely day with great views. Part way through the ride Nancy and Joanie switched rides so Joanie could get a chance to try out Luke. We were laughing on how we were going to tease Kyle about how many women rode Kyle's ass this week. Actually, the ass jokes were pretty much constant all week. You just can't resist them when there is a mule in the crowd. Luke was starting to feel just a little tired today. He was losing steam on some of the hills. When we got back from our ride we hosed off the ponies and hand grazed them. Today Luke managed to roll all the way over 3 times. I've never seen him actually go all the way over before. The horse in the stall next to Luke had backed into a rock and cut his leg badly. The owner was waiting for the vet. He was such a nice man and we felt so bad for him and his horse. I hope the horse heals up ok. After riding and taking care of the ponies, I still felt full of energy so decided to go for a hike. The others went to the Jordan Pond House for Popovers. It was around 4:45 pm and getting a bit foggy so I chose a fairly short trail that started right from the top of the stable access road. The hike was pretty rugged but a lot of fun. I actually did have quite a few spots were I got good views of the stable despite the fog. I saw one deer that let me get very close before moving off. When I got back from my hike, I cleaned stalls, topped off water and medicated Luke's feet. While I was in the barn a couple tourists came into the barn (they really aren't supposed to come in but...) and when they got to Luke's stall, they just stopped and stared for a moment. They were speaking French but I did hear mention of "long ears". The man asked me what Luke was. I had to explain the whole mule thing to him and he was quite fascinated. They both patted Luke for a bit them wandered off. Then they came back and the man said that his daughter (late teens) would really love to have a picture with the mule if that was possible. So, I let her pose with Luke for a photo. Luke is so gentle and friendly and seem to enjoy all the attention. I then went back to camp and took a shower in my trailer. The others were back by this time. I found a slug in my "hot tub"! ACK! We were going to go out to eat tonight but we had a lot of left overs and decided to stay in camp and clean them up. It was a good choice as they leftovers were delicious. We had to give up our hopes of a moonlight ride as once again it was cloudy and foggy so we had another rousing game of double solitaire. Tonight it was decided the loser had to kiss Kyle's ass in the morning. Pam went to be early but she checked on the ponies for us so we could keep playing card. We had a few wildlife issues that evening with Joanie having a beetle getting stuck in her hair and Ann finding a slug on her leg. When our lights rain out of gas, we headed for bed. Ann was very happy tonight as her dog Etta actually growled and barked at something. She said she's never heard her do either before.
Day 5
Today was another lovely day. We had to leave today so after feeding the ponies, we had breakfast them packed up camp. We then pulled our trailers over to the barn and packed up everything there also. Nancy and I tied Luke and Marie to the trailer with a hay bag and stripped the stalls. We then went for our last ride. We did the Day Mountain ride. I know Luke was tired but he was such a good boy and made no fuss. Just fell a bit behind on the hills. He's such a good mule. At the top of Day mountain we took a cantering victory lap around the circle. I think the tourists up there thought we were a bit crazy....they might be right..... We hosed off the ponies when we got back and let them roll and graze for a little bit before loading up and heading home. What a great week we had.
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What great places to pose for photos!
ReplyDeleteI just love your adventures... but I hate slugs. Just so you know.
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