Camping w/Titmouse!

Recently I was scheduled to be the hostess for our Thursday Saddlebag Trail ride.  As you know, I am no longer riding my horse, however I do still get together with my Saddlebag women friends every Thursday.....for lunch, or something.  So this time I planned for an overnight campout and ride at Trace Trails near Athens.

My hiking friend, Mary "Titmouse" jumped at the chance to join me on the overnight campout.  Now we had had a lot of rain in the days preceding this campout/ride, but the day I headed down to Trace Trails the weather was nice but there was a chance for an afternoon thundershower.  I made it there about 3:00 p.m. just as the dark clouds began rolling in so I hurriedly put up my tent, then threw in my sleeping bag, pad, and everything else I could grab quickly and dove into my tent just as the rains came.  The rain poured down relentlessly for an hour and a half.  Oh my, I sure wish Titmouse had gotten here before the deluge!  She did arrive just as the rain was tapering off, and remained sitting in her car on the roadway, not sure if she could make it into the pasture where we were going to camp because there was virtually a small river running down thru the driveway and into the roadway.  Once the rain stopped, she decided to drive in where I had driven in, to the left of the driveway, thru the tall green grass, hoping for better traction.  She "punched it" and didn't let up until she was at the top of the rise where I had parked my car earlier.

Amazingly, as soon as the rain stopped, the sun came out and we were rewarded with an incredible sunset!

Fun times with Titmouse!  Our tents are our "homes away from home".

Titmouse is hauling all her bedding from her car to her tent.

A campfire makes camping so much better!  You can see all the water puddles all around our campsite, but thankfully our tents were pitched uphill from here on dryer ground. 

I transported plenty of dry firewood from home so we could have this nice campfire.

                        
                         Titmouse enjoying the campfire!

The next morning we awoke to beautiful sunshine.  We are surrounded by lush green field and trees.

There are six more Saddlebag women due to meet here this morning for our Thursday ride.  However, unbeknownst to me and Titmouse, the hard rain yesterday caused a washout/sinkhole on the county road leading into this place, so a pilot vehicle from the county led these gals in another route.  My friend Shari was in the lead and immediately upon leaving the roadway, her rig sunk in the muddy driveway!

So it is Trace Trails landowner, Billy, and his tractor to the rescue

Shari is standing there with her eyes covered up.....saying "Oh no, my poor truck!"

Billy's brother is keeping an eye on things as Billy's tractor eases Shari's truck and trailer out of the mud.

He then drove her truck back thru that mud "by punching it hard" and not letting up until he had Shari's rig back onto the hard surface of the county road.

Now it was finally time for the gals to saddle up and ride.  Thursdays are always an adventure in one way or another.

 

While the other gals are riding their horses, Titmouse and I will go for a little walk in the woods. 

 The trails had a good bit of water running, trickling, or standing and a lot of soft ground (also known as mud).  And we saw plenty of mushrooms!

The brightly colored leaves of the sumac bushes added a splash of color along the path .

I have no idea what these green plum-size balls were.

Titmouse stops to admire these bright yellow flowers, and as always she is just so happy to be walking in the woods.  Her joy is contagious!

As we walked along I admired the spectacular sky overhead.  What an awesome day to be outdoors....with friends!