Wheew, what a weekend!!!
Ever have one of those weekends where you wished you'd stayed home? I did...
Well, I got back from Bear Valley Springs with Max last night about 5 PM. While I can't say that the weekend was a disaster, I can say I've had better and it's what we call "a learning experience".
Bear Valley Springs is located some 100 miles north of Los Angeles (look for Tehachapi in the map- it's right next door). It's fairly mountainous and the elevation is about 4000-5000.
The original plan was that we were going to leave on Friday about 10 am so I took the day off from work and got over to the stable about 8 AM (I'd gotten mostly everything loaded up the night before). Unfortunately, another person in our party (who also boards where I board Max) got delayed and she didn't show up until about 1 PM. Then, to make things worse, her horses wouldn't willingly load so we spent another hour and a half struggling with two increasingly pissed-off horses. Basically, her trailer is too small and the horses just don't like confined spaces (been there, done that with Max).
After about an hour, we finally got them in but it took some heavy ropes, muscle power and many blows from a whip. Fortunately, Max loaded quite willingly and was content to munch his alfalfa and hang with his stable buddies in my friends trailer (it's a huge combination camper/horse trailer affair so it's pretty much like a limo for horses- lots of room). We finally get on the road convoy style and as a favor to another individual, I rode in her rig so if she got into trouble I'd be there to help (not that I'm a sure cure...).
Naturally the traffic is worse now because it's getting into rush hour and everything moved at a crawl until Sierra Highway.
Then, just as we're transitioning onto the 58 Freeway, we get a call informing us that the same lady's "way-too-small" horse trailer had blown out one of the tires and that they'd stopped in Mohave to buy a complete set of tires for the trailer (I had my doubts about the tires when we left the stable but was assured that everything was OK). Fortunately, it was only one and nothing major occurred.
Basically, the trailer has been sitting for almost eight months with no use and the tires' walls began to rot (you should cover them if the trailer is going to sit for a long time).
We finally arrived in Bear Valley by 6 PM but by this time, the temperature was dropping into the low 40s and it was getting dark. Also, all I had on was a light shirt so it was not fun sitting in the campsite freezing while waiting for Max and all my gear to show up (Max and the gear were back in Mojave where my friend had waited while the tires were changed).
Things finally get sorted out and we everyone's reunited but it isn't until late that we get camp organized. Much to Max's credit, he couldn't care less- I put his blanket on, threw him some alfalfa cubes and stuck him in a pen. I even saddled him up and rode him around the Equestrian Center (where we were camped)- what a boy, he couldn't care less.
Ever have one of those weekends where you wished you'd stayed home? I did...
Well, I got back from Bear Valley Springs with Max last night about 5 PM. While I can't say that the weekend was a disaster, I can say I've had better and it's what we call "a learning experience".
Bear Valley Springs is located some 100 miles north of Los Angeles (look for Tehachapi in the map- it's right next door). It's fairly mountainous and the elevation is about 4000-5000.
The original plan was that we were going to leave on Friday about 10 am so I took the day off from work and got over to the stable about 8 AM (I'd gotten mostly everything loaded up the night before). Unfortunately, another person in our party (who also boards where I board Max) got delayed and she didn't show up until about 1 PM. Then, to make things worse, her horses wouldn't willingly load so we spent another hour and a half struggling with two increasingly pissed-off horses. Basically, her trailer is too small and the horses just don't like confined spaces (been there, done that with Max).
After about an hour, we finally got them in but it took some heavy ropes, muscle power and many blows from a whip. Fortunately, Max loaded quite willingly and was content to munch his alfalfa and hang with his stable buddies in my friends trailer (it's a huge combination camper/horse trailer affair so it's pretty much like a limo for horses- lots of room). We finally get on the road convoy style and as a favor to another individual, I rode in her rig so if she got into trouble I'd be there to help (not that I'm a sure cure...).
Naturally the traffic is worse now because it's getting into rush hour and everything moved at a crawl until Sierra Highway.
Then, just as we're transitioning onto the 58 Freeway, we get a call informing us that the same lady's "way-too-small" horse trailer had blown out one of the tires and that they'd stopped in Mohave to buy a complete set of tires for the trailer (I had my doubts about the tires when we left the stable but was assured that everything was OK). Fortunately, it was only one and nothing major occurred.
Basically, the trailer has been sitting for almost eight months with no use and the tires' walls began to rot (you should cover them if the trailer is going to sit for a long time).
We finally arrived in Bear Valley by 6 PM but by this time, the temperature was dropping into the low 40s and it was getting dark. Also, all I had on was a light shirt so it was not fun sitting in the campsite freezing while waiting for Max and all my gear to show up (Max and the gear were back in Mojave where my friend had waited while the tires were changed).
Things finally get sorted out and we everyone's reunited but it isn't until late that we get camp organized. Much to Max's credit, he couldn't care less- I put his blanket on, threw him some alfalfa cubes and stuck him in a pen. I even saddled him up and rode him around the Equestrian Center (where we were camped)- what a boy, he couldn't care less.
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