Lake of Three Fires - Second Day~

 After spending a comfortable night in Margie's motorhome, we fed the mares & I took a short walk - enjoying the fresh air - smells & quiet of a perfect morning.  We had breakfast before saddling up.

Lake of Thee Fires, horse camp - 8:30 on another beautiful December morning~

Margie had been telling me about the unusual things that her horses like for treats.  I of course told her that Farah is very picky & will spit out most things she tries...

Farah trying Margie's banana!

Well!  I could Not believe it when I looked around to see Farah actually taking a bite from the offered banana!  Part of it ended up on the ground - but she didn't instantly spit it out as she usually does :-)

On our way~

The morning sunshine was beautiful!  The temperature was again So mild & there was no wind at all!  Just as we got onto the southern trails, Margie said;  "Look!  Deer!" I looked over into the woods to see a doe not ten feet away from us - frozen in place & staring at us.  Farah saw her at the time & in a flash 180'ed - then did it again!  Needless to say - my stick was the next thing she felt.  I like the 26" length better than my old 30".  It's handier & quicker to use!  I made her stand in place - even as Margie & Coco went up ahead - until she Stood - before I let her move on.  You'd think by now the deer wouldn't be an issue?  Not!

Beaver Lodge

We rode along the cornfield & followed the path along the ponds there.  We found signage that said;  "Open to the public for hunting."  Then - saw a hunting blind in the trees & decided that the best idea would be to turn back & return to the park.

Lodge surrounded by wilted water lilly's~

We hustled back onto the parks trail system, still happy to have seen some new country & nice views.

Fungus Among us!

Margie spotted the unusual looking fungus on our way past the ponds!  There was a second - both looked like animal dung.  I had to get off & check it out with my stick.  When I touched it, a fine stream of spoors were released from the top.

Pond near the Lake~

Views of the Lake were wide-open when compared with my first ride here in July.  The trails were littered with dry leaves, crunching under the hooves of our mares. 

Almost back to camp~

We'd ridden for just over three-hours, the days are getting so short now!  The sun is so low to the south that it seemed like late afternoon most of the day's ride.

Our rigs in the top corner of the park~

We'd done some trotting & racking too!  So interesting to put each mare into her natural gait & see how close in speed they were.  We found after a couple tries, that both could cruise along at about 8 to 10 mph. with Coco in a rack & Farah trotting!  It sounded strange - but sure was Fun!

End of the ride~

Margie wanted to get a photo of us - so here it is.  As we got close to camp, we ran into a group of riders heading out.  There were maybe five trailers parked for day rides, but no one settling in to camp overnight.  We had no complaints!  It was wonderful to have had the park to ourselves!

Sat. route - loop at the bottom out of the Park's boundary.

I think we would have both liked to stay another day - but we had work to do at Farah's barn, before the weather turns.  Sadly, that's what it's scheduled to do.  We badly need moisture, I'd sure prefer a good rain before the temperatures drop below freezing again.

Thank you Margie, for a wonderful riding weekend!