It's not often that Erik, Cory, and I take a "vacation" together. Veteran's Day gave us an opportunity to spend four days at one of our favorite places, River Rise.
We headed down Thursday morning. There was no agenda or rush for a change. We got there, set up camp, and got the horses settled. We spent most of Thursday holding down the chairs around a campfire and doing 12-oz curls. Chele had stopped at the IGA along the way and picked up a slab of ribs and some cheesecake. We pretty much had the place to ourselves so we enjoyed a very relaxing night under a blanket of stars.
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| Chele & Erik |
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| You don't see me do this very often. Life was good! |
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| Ruby's first camping trip |
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| Camp |
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| Doggie high tie |
Friday morning, we got up early and headed to Fleetwood Diner in High Springs. It's a cool place with great food. If you like to try new things, I highly recommend the Meaty Hippie Hash. Super yummy!
By the time we got back, the rest of our group had arrived. We saddled up and headed out to tackle the yellow loop (16+ miles) for the first time. We're so blessed to have such a good group of horses and riders. There were several spots where we split up to add milage and speed. Eventually, we would always meet back up.
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| Julianne & Romeo |
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| KD & Stylin |
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| Linnelle & Bandit (who found his inner mustang) |
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| Donald & Thelma |
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| Chele & Dawn |
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| Linc & I |
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| Cathy & Busta |
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| Drive thru package store |
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| Dawn waiting in line |
Our adventure took about 5 hours. When we got back, Cory wanted to ride Linc. This was really her first "real" ride on him. It made my heart happy to see them.
Back at camp, Erik had dinner started - oysters, hot wings, black beans, and several dips.
Many of us were moving slow Saturday morning. A few went for a short ride. The rest of us hung out and waited on the lunch feast with Santa Fe Trail Riders. Talk about a spread - turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, and many deserts. After all that food, a nap was in order for some.
Once the food settled, some of us headed out for an afternoon ride. It was beautiful out along the river. We made it back right at dark. We had some oysters again, pork roast, potato soup, and dips. Polished it off with some cookies and stories around the fire.
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| Cory & Rocky; Erik & Poca |
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| Susan & Apache; Curtis & Sparky |
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| Waiting for Curtis. Had to make another stop at the liquor store. |
Sunday we got up, relaxed around the fire, and enjoyed several cups of coffee. We then went out for a 7-mile ride down the green trail.
We took our time and enjoyed the day. Got back and broke camp. Headed home very relaxed and ready to do it again soon.
HERE are the rest of the pics. There are several, and they are out of order because they came from multiple people and cameras.
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