MANY CEDARS CAMPGROUND & TRAIL RIDE

Sunset on the Buffalo River at Many Cedars

Sept. 9 – 13
Oh, what a beautiful Buffalo River Home (I’m sure Pete will elaborate on that reference later). After about a short three-hour haul into Tennessee, we landed in Hohenwald at the Many Cedars Campground and Horse Trails. Again, we had the campground to ourselves and enjoyed the primo campsite – a pull-through site along the banks of the Buffalo River. It was spectacular! The trails were challenging and a bit rocky, but the horses did great. A portion of the first trail was in a rocky stream. The horses had to walk through the rock and rushing water for about 100 yards or so, then up the mountain from there – very cool. The loose rock on the steep downhills had me holding my breath at times, but Maggie just sat back and expertly stepped her way down safely. Guinness tends to want to rush the downhills a bit but luckily he is very sure-footed. Our second day at Many Cedars was a rain out. We certainly couldn’t complain and the folks there were very glad to see the steady rain having suffered a drought this summer. A perfect day for us to take our sojourn into the local Walmart Supercenter! We also searched and searched for an Internet connection – none. But, back at the campground office, Karen, the operator, had wireless and a washer and dryer – Nirvana! Wednesday, the day after the soaker, was a beautiful sunny day! We hit the trails and made a loop around Napier Lake which was very nice. Pete took a wild cowboy ride on Guinness’ neck during this outing! Maggie and I were ahead and had just crossed a road onto an open, flat trail which was heading back toward the barn (horses have an amazing barn-direction instinct). Well, apparently Guinness’ instinct kicked in big time. He wanted to get there fast and in the process let out a buck which landed Pete ahead of the saddle, hugging and straddling Guinness’ neck – yelling “Stop! Stop!” When I turned around to see what all the yelling was about, I wasn’t sure stopping was the best option! I moved Maggie in front of Guinness to slow him down and Pete was able to recover – sit up a bit and grab reins. My cowboy stayed on! I got off Maggie to collect Pete’s ball cap and sunglasses that landed back on the trail, while Pete pulled Guinness’ nose back to his ass and turned him in a few circles to remind him who is boss. Really, it was a beautiful day and a glorious ride. – The Girls


I’m writing this column standing up . . . just kidding. My perfect record of not being “bucked off” continues, with an asterisk, maybe. The way I see it I just landed a bit north of the saddle – driver error. John Hiatt’s “Buffalo River Home” is a great song and I’m sure he wrote it in Many Cedars. By the way, we have theme music for every stop. Our overall trip theme song is “A Night in the Box” by Phil Lee which speaks to the joys of spending the night in a trailer. It starts out “Well, I got a little place out on Highway 10 – Ya’ gotta duck your head when you walk in – Go 3 steps and lay down flat – Babe, my little box is where it’s at”. We played that song at Suwannee, which was just off I-10, but the theme song for that site was the BoDeans ”She’s a Little Runaway” in honor of you-know-who. Look for the CD in stores just in time for the holidays. The perfectly relaxing campsite was a polar opposite to some of the trails. When Kim says she’s “holding her breath” read that to mean that Pete is turning “a whiter shade of pale”. Know that some of these trails, if you came to hike them, you would be on your butt or your hands and knees grabbing at roots and rock edges. My new technique is to simply fold my hands together and look earnestly toward Heaven. Hohenwald, Tenn., by the way, is the home to an elephant sanctuary, where circus elephants hang out when they’re not in the center ring. I inquired about how to get there and was informed that it’s not open to the public. But why? He asked. Apparently, last year one of the elephants trampled one of its trainers to death. I guess traumatizing the small kids on a field trip from the local elementary school is something the Sanctuary is not interested in at this time. But watch out for the next installment of “When Animals Attack” on your local Fox network. Thank God that America will get the truth from “the fair and balanced” network – these “cover-ups” should not continue in a free society.
Later, Pete


Rock wall directly across from our campsite


Ask for campsite "A" at Many Cedars -- it's the best!

It's a dog's life

Today, it's the Border Collie River instead of the Buffalo River!

SEVEN SPRINGS LODGE

Sept. 6 – 9
Seven Springs Lodge is a very romantic name for this barren campground located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Tuscumbia, Alabama. There really isn’t a lodge (it’s the owner’s home) and there is not a tree in the campground! The stalls are 8x8 (very small) but our horses were lucky! There was only one other couple camping, so the horses could use the paddock next to the stalls – whew! Although the campground is not the most picturesque, the trails were hilly, scenic, rocky, interesting and challenging (Seven Springs Lodge’s redeeming amenity). The first day we took the trails to a bald that offered a 360 degree view of mountain ridges. It was beautiful. The second day, we rode the other side of the mountain that had two Indian shelters to explore and the rock was spectacular! Riding along the rock walls was a new experience and we had a great time. We decided with all the rock and much more of it to come, we should have shoes put on the back hoofs of each horse. I had them shod, fronts only, before we left Naples, but all-fours are a must in these mountains. So, with my fingers crossed and a few prayers, the owner of Seven Springs arranged for the local farrier to come to the campground and shoe them. He was actually pretty good and nice guy. This was a first time experience for Guinness, and he did rather well. Much to my chagrin, Walmart Supercenters are now an oasis. I have learned that when on the road in these very small and remote towns, a Walmart Supercenter is a real find. Pete is gloating about the fact that I have finally been converted! Ugh! Another, not such a great thing to brag about is my craving for a pizza; I had to resort to a “Hot Stuff” pizza from the corner Shell Oil station! And, I loved every bite of it!!! Pete thought if we had not died by midnight, we were going to be okay. – The Girls

I learned that you’ve got to have a team (football, of course) to be able to talk to other men in Alabama. You don’t necessarily have to root for Auburn or ‘Bama, but you’ve got to have A team. Luckily. I remembered that my Alma Mater Wake Forest had a legendary season last year so I redeemed myself slightly or I’d of had to resort to a chorus of “Free Bird”. The grocery stores in the rural South are amazing. They’ll have less in them than a small 7-11, and none of it looks particularly edible. At one stop, Kim suggested that they might not have rice milk, which I like in my coffee. I looked around quickly to make sure no one heard, and I admonished her and said “We don’t want any trouble here”. Don’t even ask Kim about the time, she asked for “polenta”. We’ve got the whole trailer set-up and breakdown going well and the best part of packing up is you never really unpack, so it’s almost impossible to leave anything. Just look in your rearview mirror when you’re pulling out and if there’s nothing there, you’re good to go! Later, Pete

Saddled up and ready to go


A beautiful view from a bald along the trail

HEART OF DIXIE TRAILRIDE & CAMPGROUND

September 3 – 6

Sunrise from the campsite

We stayed at the Heart of Dixie Trail Ride in Troy, Alabama, and had the campground to ourselves. The horses were able to stay in a paddock rather than a stall, which was great after a five hour trailer ride. The sunrises were beautiful, and trails were fun – some open, some cut into the woods and some hills to give us just a taste of what is to come as we get further north into the mountains. The campground was very nice and quiet, which was a blessing after the crazy Labor Day experience at the Sprit of the Suwannee. Tessa is suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. Every load noise sends her into a panic. So we have to watch her carefully and keep her safely tied up. Playing with the ball is the best therapy for her at this point. After we set up camp on Monday night, Pete and I both totally exhausted from no sleep the night before and very stressed thinking we would never see Tessa again, we collapsed into our chairs with a cooler of ice cold beer next to us – we proceeded to have a few and really soak in how lucky we are. We were still feeling a bit sluggish on Tuesday – it’s amazing what stress does to your body! -- The Girls.

“Sweet Home Alabama . . . . Where the skies are blue, and the campers few”. Knowing a lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd songs is my personal strategy for making friends and getting out of potential skirmishes. Nothing but really nice people so far, very talkative and friendly – southern hospitality. From the chaos of Suwannee to the peace and quiet of Heart of Dixie was a welcome relief. Troy, AL is the home of the Trojans, which is a football team that everyone is very excited about; and I wanted to debate the fact that everyone that lives in Troy would technically be considered a Trojan even if they never donned pads and a helmet, but Kim said to be quiet. Two cool things about Troy: an awesome Wal-Mart supercenter, and the campground had cable, so we could watch some US OPEN tennis, and listen to Keith Olberman rail against GW. The dogs are loving Alabama ‘cause we’re playing fetch with the ball for hours everyday. Our plan is to wear them out so we can sleep longer through the night. I think they’re just getting fitter and drinking more water – so, ‘bout the same. Great trails, the adventure continues . . . (clap, clap, clap, clap) deep in the heart of Dixie. Later, Pete


Above the lake with the campground in background



Pete and Guinness hit a 300-yard drive!

SPIRIT OF THE SUWANNEE

Sept. 1-3

Saddled up at our campsite

Pete and I arrived safely to the Spirit of the Suwannee campground. The drive up from Naples was a breeze -- no traffic and no bad weather. So we were pleased to make the trip in six hours! Spirit of the Suwannee is located just off of I-10 in northern Florida, about 70 miles east of Tallahassee. We enjoyed a roomy, shady campsite that was about 100 yards from the barn. Sunday morning we saddled up the ponies and headed out on the trail. We did see one deer along the way, but the majority of the four-legged creatures were golf carts that just about all the other campers enjoyed off-roading in, which was interesting! The horses did great though, and the golf cart cowboys were very respectful of the horses. Once we got out of the campground on the trail, we enjoyed walking along the Suwannee River under the shade of the trees. It was beautiful. We even took the horses down a steep sandy slope to get onto a “beach” along the shore. The sand was very soft and deep, but the horses just trudged through it like it was heavy snow (not that we would know what that is like!). The best was riding them back up the slope – they both dug in deep and cantered their way up! It is truly amazing what they are able to do. It was awesome! All I can say is, it was a great ride to kick off our trip with. Labor Day weekend beckons “headliner” entertainment at the Spirit of the Suwannee. – Kim, Maggie & Tessa (The Girls)

Don’t let Kim’s narrative fool you; the drive up was tougher than she lets on. She drove, as you may know, so there was intense pressure on me to navigate (okay, she did provide me with mapquest instructions) and correct any driving errors she could make (there were none, but in between naps I was trying to keep her in between the lines). By the way if you’ve never stopped at a “flying J” it is a must, people! It’s like a trucker’s supercenter, and they will sell you an amazing number of things that no one I know would ever consider purchasing. Exit 285 just north of Tampa on I-75: just do it. Pulling into S.O.S. (Spirit of the Suwannee) was like arriving at Woodstock for RV’s. Everyone we’ve met has numerous tattoos, (even some of the horses), wild and reckless children, and a penchant for loudness. Playing bad country music so loud it hurts your spleen, yelling as loud as you can at your spouse, your feral child, your muffler-less ATV (camouflage pattern, of course), or your ridiculous, brain-damaged excuse for a dog. It’s tough owning Border collies at a place like this; it’s like dropping your honor student prodigy off at the Sheriff’s Boot Camp for the bad juvenile offenders kicked out of the detention center - you just pray they don’t pick up on anything. My boney butt survived today’s ride, (bike shorts under the jeans, my brothers!) so I guess we’ll continue to Alabama, but it will be hard to match today’s ride which is the best trail I’ve seen in Florida. Gotta go – I have a sudden urge to go scream at something. Where’s GeorgeW. when you need him. - Later, Pete

On a sandy beach edge of the Suwannee River









Footnote: We suffered a very traumatic experience with Tessa – but all is well. On Sunday night of the Labor Day weekend, the SOS set off a fireworks display. This was not your ordinary fireworks experience. Rather than the fireworks that shoot up into the air with a poof and fan out way up in the sky, the SOS show was a quick series of “bombs” exploding in rapid succession -- not at all what we expected. Jake handled it well, but Tessa panicked, jumped off the ground and in sheer fright pulled herself right out of her collar and ran – she was gone. We soon find out that she ran back toward the barn area near our trailer. We were told a black and white dog just went through here like a bullet! We a least knew at this point which way she fled. Needless to say we had several fellow campers helping us call and look for her. We exhausted ourselves on Sunday night to no avail and decided after midnight that she was hunkered down and would probably come back in the morning. It was awful. She had no tags on her, because I had her collar. I was very afraid that someone would take her if they found her. It goes without saying that neither of us slept that night, and at first light, we hit the trails again calling her. By nine o’clock there was still no sign of her. Twelve hours missing!!! We went to the guided trail ride barn to leave them my cell number and ask them to keep a look out for her. While we were talking to the manager of the barn, he said, THERE SHE IS! We turned around and Tessa was just peeking out from the far tree line. Once I called her, she came a runnin’!!! A miracle! Once we had her in our grips, I finally broke down and cried like a baby. What a relief. In the grips of total exhaustion and elation, we packed up the trailer, loaded the horses and headed for Troy, Alabama – two dogs and two horses – life is good!




Our sweet Tessa...