Paid Off

I *think* Amble is the foal lying down below the sun

Shes playing with the other foals

I sent the final payment in the amount of $4,700 to the breeder and I'm hoping she receives it soon, it's been about 10 -14 days already. They're in Canada & the cost of a tracking number was $18-24 and who even knows if it would work internationally?

I think this is pretty cute

Got the CanAm back from the shop, they said its not even broke in yet so we need to ride it more. They did fix the banging in the rear end.

So we went up to Mount Rainier onto the Naches Trail.

This place was beautiful. It's along the Pacific Crest Trail 

so there were several Through Hikers resting there

Anyone can camp in this cabin. 

They had a sat phone people could use to call loved ones.

It would be a great place to rest overnight with horses

This was along part of the Naches Trail also

I think we should call it Pigpen, after the Peanuts character

You can't even begin to see how steep it was or how big some of the holes & rocks were

This was on the way back to the parking lot, we didn't go up this end on our way out, just down it. It had places that were SCARY. 

But so much fun

 

Coming In At Sundown

 Amble is beautiful

She looks a bit bay colored here

I got new fly masks for the big horses, this barely fit Mack but the flies can't get in

This is the one I got for Joey but its too small for him & fits Wifi.

The one I got for her is COB size & I'll keep it for Amble

Coming In At Sundown

OK, heading out

I think this photo is gorgeous

First Payment

I've made the first payment on this beautiful girl,

Black Orchid Ambleside

Her dam, 

North Fork Sierra 

Sire: Clononeen Tullamore Dew

Dam: Clononeen Violet

Born: May 3, 2010

Registered: GHVS

PSSM1: n/n

Color: Homozygous Black & Homozygous Tobiano

​

North Fork Sierra is a beautiful Gypsy mare with a wonderful temperament.  Her stunning blue eyes and loving personality make her a favorite. Sierra stands at 14'2 hands and tends to produce foals much taller than herself.

Ambles sire,

Mac Guinness

Sire: The PO Stallion

Dam: Lainey Zoe

Born: September 14, 2006

Registered: GV03358P

PSSM1: n/n

Color: Homozygous Chestnut & Homozygous Tobiano

​

Mac Guinness stands at 16hh, with tremendous bone, hair and feather. 

He has rock solid conformation, amazing presence, and a beautiful head.

I've decided to make payments on Amble while she is at the breeders. 

Yesterday I paid $1,800 in the first of 4 payments, 3 of which will be $1,800

and the 4th will be whatever's due plus any incidentals.

She will probably be weaned & ready to go by November and the breeders can keep her for up to 

2 months after she is weaned. 

Bringing her home will all depend on the weather and Covid bullshit at the border.

Generation 2 Can Am

I just love this thing. 

We'd been talking about getting a Polaris General but the local dealerships had ZERO interest in selling to us so we went to Fife & walked in and bought this bad boy, 

a 2021 Can Am Commander. 

Then we bought a new flatbed for it with E-Track & tire nets to keep it attached to the trailer. Lan didn't want to use tie downs attached to the body as they come loose after a few bumps. These tire nets are easy to use & stay tight.

He also uses a heavy duty chain attached to the body for just-in-case.

Our first couple of trips out were to Tahuya, a local ORV area.

Then we drove to las Vegas for a week of fun in the sun.

First stop along the way was at Black Forest Mine in northern Nevada. It was snowing and chilly but the Commander kept us warm, along with our rain gear from work.

This is my favorite photo from the entire trip.

This one is pretty awesome too

I thought we might run into wild horses but we were both completely surprised that on the first trip into the mountains to see Black Forest Mine that there are more than 100 in that area.

This was inside a mine in the area but not Black Forest, that mine was closed off

Outside of Vegas we rode at Wilson Tank 

We went up here at night also and sat & watched the full lunar eclipse.

Wild Horse Cabin was on Lans list of must-sees

On the way home we went to this & spent most of the day there.

We went into a lot of mines this time. Previously, we had always been scared that they were unstable and would fall in on us, or have poisonous gasses inside. But YouTube is our friend! and we watched a lot of videos of other people going inside them.

We're not going up or down any vertical shafts, only stay in the horizontal shafts and we stay together, exploring one line at a time. There was one mine that we went about 1/2 mile under the earth with side lines, spent over an hour in there. 

Anyway, back to the Commander. 

We've got about 50-ish hours & 500 miles on it, MAYBE, and its already back to the shop for repairs. We haven't abused this thing, we've been taking it easy.

Front differential, steering, belt engagement & rear knocking noise. We HOPE its all covered by warranty, since its BRAND NEW.

 

This Happened Fast

We needed a new hay hauler

So we bought this 2021 Can Am Commander 1000R

Then we got a new trailer for it so we can haul it around behind the Escape

Of course we had to take it out to Tahuya & test it on the jeep 4x4 trails

This was an expensive purchase & now that our cash is gone, the electrical on the truck has messed up. There is a horse show this weekend, now we've got to borrow a trailer & haul with someone elses truck. We're still going to have a good show.

In 10 days we head to Nevada for our usual trip to Vegas. 

We'll be taking the commander instead of the Mountain bikes this trip.  

We're going to be doing a lot of dusty trails in it, exploring for old gold mines.  I'll have to make sure to take my good camera & extra batteries.

 

New Orleans

 We've never been to New Orleans but we'll be there tomorrow. Staying at a plantation in an old slave cabin. We'll go into the city after we get to the plantation.

This building on the plantation was used in the movie Interview With A Vampire.

They offer tours for $12 so I think that would be fun.

So many people have told us of so many places to eat, 

we're going to be way fatter by the time we get home.

The second day of our trip, we're heading toward the Florida panhandle 

to stay a few days with my ex-coworker, Wendi. She's the one not looking at the camera.

We will go with her & her husband, Rich, on an alligator boat trip. They're also taking us to beaches along the Gulf Coast and other food places. I want to try all the southwest food specialties.

I'll also try to hook up with Laura, a FaceBook friend of 10 years that I haven't previously met. 

I'd like to catch a sunset with her.

We're flying out tomorrow morning, standby since we got 'free' tickets on Alaska Airlines. Still, another expensive trip.

Our bags are packed, our ride to the airport is arranged, I'm excited. 

There's still so much to do!

Finish mopping

Clean out fridge

Take John Henry to Jeans house

BBQ the steak that's in the fridge

And so much more

What's Up?

 We haven't been doing much here on the farm, no planned updates, all the big ones are finished. Lan of course has a never ending list he works on. Today hes putting hog panels along the bottom of the front pasture so we can let Havva out there. We'd like her to be able to roam the entire farm.

I have been trying to make plans for a wall can organizer

For the pantry wall. 

This post was started a month ago and forgotten...

The can rack is up & almost finished. You know how you're taught to measure twice, cut once? Well he didn't do that right. Its 4x4 & theres a heater controller box in the way. So just cut a hole out of it. 

The cans fit in the one row fine, as long as its Campbells Soups, veggies and larger cans are too big.  There is a lot of leeway so its still good.

We sold the Nomad travel trailer 

We paid $4,000 last year, its 2014 & in decent condition. 17' long, queen fold out bed, bunk beds, bathroom with tub, 2 burner stove, A/C, microwave, electric awning. We took it on a few trips and enjoyed it. Had to put new tires on it the day before we sold it for $9,000.

Yes, we made $5,000.

We bought a Lance Camper

We paid $8,000 and it includes the metal canopy. 

2000, its 11.6 feet long, a bit of water damage in the front above the bed window.

They had already painted most of the inside white, yay not a lot of brown.

They used tin for back splash and put in new flooring.

This folds down into a bed & the upped is a twin bunk

I used picnic table vinyl to make new curtains, the gingham pattern is on both sides

I think there is an outside shower but no place to store the Blackstone griddle.

There is a stand up shower/bathroom. 

They already switched all the lights out to LED.

The mattress is a THICK queen size memory foam.

Now we just need to go camping.

Except, we already have a trip to New Orleans in 2.5 weeks and a trip to Las Vegas in May, then in June we'll be going camping for a long weekend.