Androscoggin Riverland State Park

Today, since I finally have my truck back, Cierra and I trailered out to Androscoggin Riverland State Park. Cierra has never been here before and I was sure she would enjoy it. We stopped at Gowell's store on the way and got sandwiches to eat on the way and some snacks for the trail. The day started out cloudy and chilly. It stayed cool but by the time we arrived at the park, the sun was coming out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. It was 1:00 pm when we headed out on the trail. On this trail there are a ton of bridges but this would not be an issues with either of our horses. Some sections of the trail are rocky but we trotted and even cantered when we could. When we got to the turn in the trail where you head right to the loop or can go straight ahead to the river, we noticed Tink had lost a rear boot. We headed back to find it but I decided to go to the river first. Because if Tink had lost the boot very far back, we would not have time to make the loop ride and would have to go back to the trailer. So, we rode down to the river and had fun playing in the water there. The river was very calm today and it was beautiful how the trees were reflecting on the water in all their changing colors. We rode back to the intersection where there is the foundation of an old farm house. We checked it out and took a few pictures here. We then headed back the way we came and were delighted to find Tink's boot not too far down the trail. I hopped off, retrieved the boot and put it back on Tink and we were on our way again. Marie was full of energy today and was leading the way in her competition trot. We made the loop in good time. This trail is very lovely. We had a few ATV's pass us and all were very considerate. Neither of our horses mind them anyway. At one point heading back, I asked Marie to canter and she dug in and took off like a shot and threw in a good buck! Silly girl! We took a side trail that brought us to the picnic/camping area along the river's edge. Again, it was just so beautiful along the river today. When we got back to the trailer, we brushed the horses and put coolers on them as they were a little sweaty. As Cierra was putting the cooler on Tink, someone set off a TON of firecrackers or some similar sounding fireworks across the street that also had a lot of high pitched whistling. It popping and whistling was very loud and went on for a long time. This really scared Tink but good girl that she is, though she did dance around a bit she did not pull away from the trailer. I was really surprised that Marie didn't really react to the noise but she didn't seem to care. Yet another great ride.