We woke up to 34 degree (Celsius) weather with wind chills down to 21! We had the horses in blankets all night on the leeward (blocked by the wind) side of the trailer. Cindy and I are in sleeping bags in the metal trailer with quilts and wool blankets on top of that. It is SO hard to get out of that when the alarm goes off at 5:30am! The only other warm spot I found was in the port-a-potty, out of the wind!
We awoke to find Bobbi looking for her and Tammy's horses in the dark; their two mares had gotten out of the electric wire pen they put up each night. We were camped in the corner of Stokes Ranch (US 98 and Cow House Rd) with active cattle in this huge field, so we were worried. It turns out that the two mares had a party outside Stephanie's trailer (she is from Kassel Germany, near Frankfurt) with her horses, which got her up. She was able to catch the two and tie them off for the rest of the night. Disaster averted!
We have a bunch of great kids on this ride who are expert horsemen and horsewoman at such a young age. We watched the kid's whip cracking contest! Those kids are amazing! We saw them cracking those whips, sometimes two at a time, standing, down on their knees, while doing cart wheels, and standing up on the top of the rear end of a horse! Anniston, who is the cutest little girl and only 8 years old, taught me how to crack the whip this morning! She also told me she expected to see me again at the end of the day for more practice! Just adorable!
More wildlife! This time it was spiders! I wore a red glitter top to my saddle pad yesterday (I think it was supposed to be a tree skirt for Christmas) and the glitter got everywhere! This morning as I brushed my teeth in the field in the dark and cold I thought I dropped more glitter, but it was really the eyes of spiders looking up at me from the grass. It was so cool! If you have never been "shining for spiders", give it a try! Just keep a flashlight up next to your eyes, or use a headlamp for hands free viewing!
When I got in the saddle this morning, I felt like I was sitting on gravel! I could feel every tiny little contour of the saddle! Ouch! It turns into a dull ache after a little riding! We have to use a lot of Chapstick as the wind dries out our face. The sun is so bright (but not hot enough) that my hands are burnt from the sun and the wind. I started to get very headachy today and thought I was dehydrated, but it turns out I just needed my sunglasses. Cindy brought them to me when she got the trailer at lunch. That is the time period I use to get started on my blog, then I finish it up after dinner.
My sister-in-law, Anna, gave me some great hand cream called Udderly Smooth that I use every morning and night. My other sister in law, Missy, gave me the grooming tools I use on the horses! My fingernails have never been so dirty for so long! I guess we could work on our nails, but we are just too exhausted by the end of the day to do anything more than take care of the horses, eat, write our blogs, and go to bed!
I am riding Blondie today as she has gotten over her whip cracking phobia. Cindy is back on Sombra. These horses are wonderful and I love getting to know their personalities. It is so nice to be back on Blondie as she is the one I trained with for this ride. As Cindy's husband said to me when I had to ride Sombra "Did you ever think you would have to ride the crazy horse because the other horse was crazier than the crazy horse??!!" Too funny, John! At least neither of them was crazy today!
I heard from my friend Silke and her family in Germany today! We were exchange students when we were in High School! I loved her message and this quote; "wish you the very best for finishing this adventure safely and with saddlebags tremendously filled with new experiences of life and humanity". I love that!
Our morning break was at the Istokpoga Canal Boat Ramp. Lunch was at Kissimmee River Shores on Boondock Rd and CR 721! The big bridge crossing over the Kissimmee River was after lunch. It's a grated bridge and they roll out 5ft wide rubber mats for the horses to walk on, single file. The Paso's went last and they did great! Outriders were on foot all across the bridge just in case. No pictures, since it was a full hands-on experience, but the river is about 200 yards across and the bridge was a least 50ft in the air. The wind was howling at about 25-30mph! It was clear and cold and you could see for miles!
Once we were across the bridge we entered our fourth of 5 counties! We are now in Okeechobee County! We stopped at the Cracker Trailer Store and the owner have us all free soda and water! We had Coke-cola on horseback in front of the gas pumps! Our camp tonight is at the Bass Ranch, another working cattle pasture. Only 21 miles today, with about 70 riders. We got into camp in time to settle in, have a little more whip cracking practice, eat, then circle up for a bonfire and some entertainment! Tonight we heard from Doyle Hainsley, Cowboy Poet. He works for Lykes, one of the biggest cattle operations in the state and he can spin a rhythmic yarn! He recommended a book called Florida Cow Hunters by Jom Bob Tinsley.
Had a nice chat with two cowboy circuit preachers on the ride from North Carolina. Nice guys! They said a prayer for my family this evening that was so moving. We also had a nice time with Bobbi and Tammy from Port Charlotte as well as Debbi from Ormond Beach. I am really going to miss these great people when this ride is over. What looked like a long way is quickly getting shorter and shorter. Tomorrow (Friday) is our last full day of riding. Saturday is the parade and then we are done. I don't want it to end. I will miss this experience, despite its difficulties. That just made it more worthwhile!
It's forecast to be 28 degrees Celcius in the morning with wind chills in the low 20s! Forgot to set a cup of water out to see it freeze and I am NOT getting out of my sleeping bag to do that now! Night all!
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