Day 6

Awoke to hail beating against the trailer about 2:20 AM! The picnic table was covered with hail; almost looked like snow cover. Saw Rich out trying to get the hail off his awning. And thought of the horses in their outdoor stalls being pelted by marble sized hail. What did we get them into?

The sun was shining brightly when we got up. The hail from the awning still on the ground as we made a traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs. Started to tear down camp hoping that the truck part would be in by noon and we would be on our way by late afternoon. John noticed the trailer had a flat tire – what else could go wrong? Rich and Cheryl of Deerfield Lake Resort were kind enough to allow us to stay until we got the final truck prognosis.

John morning quest was to put epoxy on Windy’s shoe to where the hoof had chipped to help secure the shoe and reset Butter’s. He started by pulling them out of the wet corral and tying them to the hitching post and drying them off. John is becoming quite good at this farrier stuff. Both the horses were reshod and ready to go.

Ginger wasn’t herself this morning; she wasn’t eating her hay and just generally seemed a little (for lack of better word) “pissed off”. I think she was tired of being cold and wet every night and the hail was the final straw. Cheryl told me to let her graze over by their shed, so I brought her out and she quickly cleaned up the area. It put her back in a better state of mind, I think.



Kathy, Rich and I saddled up and headed for Hat Mountain. We were told this is the second highest peak to Harney! It was a gorgeous ride up through the pine and aspen trees. Also a lot of the area has been logged. The horses slowly climbed the 6800 feet to Hat Mountain. The sky was bluer than blue – the clouds made for awesome pictures.





When we reached the top, we took our obligatory pictures and took in the view from all directions. Paradise.


Upon return to camp, John was back, no part to be had. Load up and head out on a wing and a prayer. We departed Deerfield Lake Resort and started our climb up the first hill at 12 mph in 4WD low. And we made it. At one point, John told the kids to settle down; be quiet because we just “never know when the truck will blow!” Case was very quiet for a long while & then at one point told me he said a decade of the rosary. I asked why and he said he was scared of the truck exploding! He too the “blow” literally! Poor guy!

After driving for quite a while in yet another major thunderstorm, we arrived safe and sound at Ft. Robinson at about 10:30 PM MT on Thursday, June 20. Ginger proudly walked into Barn 106 and was bedded down in her stall that guaranteed her no rain, no hail and no cold. I could almost sense her satisfaction.

Day 5

After I wrote yesterday’s blog, John and the kids returned from fishing. When Case opened the trailer door, he got zapped with electricity! I thought he was exaggerating and just perhaps pinched himself, but shortly thereafter, McCain turned on the tack room light from the outside of the trailer and got zapped, too! What the heck!? To get us through the very cold night, we switched the lights to battery and plugged the space heater directly into the electrical site. Add trailer wiring to our list of woes.

We awoke to rain and hail beating on the trailer. Hoping the afternoon would clear up, we went into Hill City to take Hi-Ho to the repair shop, ate breakfast in town and picked up hay. A part needs to be ordered, so we brought it back. By noon, the sun had come up and we saddled and headed over to Deerfield Lake.

Today was by far the warmest day; probably in the low eighties. All the extra jackets and raingear stayed tied to our saddles. Windy’s repaired rear shoe held up for the entire ride even though this would have been one ride that we could probably have done barefoot for the most part. Unfortunately, right before the end of the ride, Butter lost a front shoe. We were making a climb, and we assume she overreached and pulled it off. We found the shoe as soon as it happened. Dog gone it!

As I mentioned the trails was pretty moderate terrain wise. The horses settled in nicely for what was to be a twelve-mile ride. Ginger had her uppity moments. I wish she and John could find a way to come to terms with those times. Both are pretty bull headed! We rode in some forest area and then along the lake for some magnificent views. The sky was an awesome blue with plenty of clouds.



We stopped high upon a peak to break for snack. There were boats below us that kept the horses’ attention. I think I got some really cool pictures of my herd looking toward the lake, head and ears held high. At one time, Windy saw a herd of cattle. She watched them for a while and then started trotting in their direction. I quickly caught Blue and Butter so she wouldn’t have “partners in crime”. When she realized she was on her own, she came trotting back up the hill.

We rode hills high above the lake and then down in the fields surrounding with plenty of water crossings. The pine trees provided a beautiful backdrop for the trail. We saw a lone elk eating in the sunshine. She noticed us, but was undisturbed.

One area of the trail was closed due to nesting season for eagles. We had to detour around. Took a picture of what I thought was an eagle in flight, but still not sure. We’re told they are plentiful in this area.


Rode back in after five hours. Horses still had plenty of energy to move quickly that last stretch into the campground. The owners of the campsite met us at the stable area, anxious to hear how our ride went. Once again, Blue garnered the most attention. Sheryl said we could most definitely leave him with her! He is a good boy and was a perfect partner for McCain today.

Groomed the horses & put them back in their stalls with hay and water. Returned to the trailer for Colorado Pork chops which were cooking in the crock-pot all day (hooked directly to the electrical post!)

Tomorrow we take the truck back to the shop for the part. Hoping to get a few hours ride while repairs are being done. Guess I’ll earn more Cabela’s points on the Cabela’s card as no doubt repairs won’t come cheap! Will probably be at Ft. Rob in late afternoon at best.

Day 4

The good, the bad and the ugly….

A mixed day. After eight hours on the trail yesterday, we were looking forward to a shorter ride to Mt. Rushmore today. To make a long story short, we had only planned to ride TO Mt. Rushmore, have one of our trucks waiting for us in the overflow parking lot & then head out to our next destination, Deerfield Lake. However, we found out the parking lot we planned to park in was closed, so we would have another 8-hour day. We decided to load up early and head to Deerfield to ride.

The good. Woke up to a gorgeous, sunny day. Warm temps, no humidity. Fed horses and then tore down camp. Drove over to “the heads”; took pictures where we have taken them the two times we have visited before. It will be fun to see how the kids have grown since the last time we were here.

The bad. As we were loading up horses, noticed Windy was losing a rear shoe. (Have I mentioned how much I hate shoeing horses?) Decided there were enough nails in it to hold until we get to the next camp. Headed out for our 30-minute drive.

The ugly. As we left Hill City, we started to climb some monster hills. The Hi-Ho’s temp gauge started creeping up, but would return to normal on the decent. The last hill – 2 miles from our destination – seemed to take forever. The temperature gauge hit an all-time high with smoke coming out of the hood. We could only pull over. Kathy & Rich said they would go unhook and come back for us. But there was no way we could unhook the trailer on the incline that we were on. I was ready to saddle Blue, Ginger & Butter and ride them in; figured with less weight, we had a better chance of getting in. John added water and the temps started to drop. Decided to try to make the top without overheating & if we did, we were home free. We were. Coasted into camp at about 1:00, not sure if we will ever be able to leave!

Settled the horses in and had lunch. Kathy, Rich, McCain and I decided to explore the area while John worked on the truck and Windy’s shoe. What a sport that husband of mine is! I held Windy while John did a repair job on her shoe. Then saddled Butter and McCain took Blue and we headed out to the trails around Deerfield Lake. Beautiful trails, lots of pine trees. The trails weren’t well marked; never did find the one we were looking for, but found another one and we weren’t picky. Very easy riding and you could ride a barefoot horse here pretty easy. The owner said there are elk, deer and mountain lion (oh, my!) in the region. The only wildlife we saw was whitetail deer. Kathy steered me around a snake, thank heavens! There was a running creek along the trail; the sound of nature at its best.

Butter was pretty full of herself! Surprised she had any energy at all after an eight-hour ride yesterday! Such a different ride than Windy and she definitely made me work for it.

About an hour out, the sky started to turn dark and there was thunder in the distance. A few raindrops started coming down and we decided we had better head back. The rain started coming a little steadier, so we moved into a trot and Kathy and Rich into a fox trot behind us. Before long, we were on a nice surfaced lake road and moved into a fast-extended trot, which Kathy told me later, they had to canter occasionally to keep up. McCain and I quickly opened and closed the three gates we had come through. At the last gate, Kathy and Rich told us to ride on ahead and they would catch up, so we kept our trot going all the way into camp. I really don’t think I have ever trotted that long, but it felt good. Butter has a trot you can sit no matter what speed. I noticed McCain was trying to post with Blue. Wasn’t doing a bad job at it, but did say he had a side ache. Would have liked to have moved into a lope, but wasn’t sure how far we had to go and knew they could keep pace at a trot. Rich’s GPS said we did over 5 miles, so we figured we trotted close to two of those 5.

Blue is getting a lot of attention this trip. Many people have commented about the “big black horse” and surprised to find he is 100% quarter horse! I love watching McCain and Blue, together again! What a team. I can’t believe I almost didn’t bring Blue. Of all of our horses, he is just made for stuff like this!

Made it back to our trailer and sat under the awning as it rained and then spit out pea sized hail. There seems to be a theme here. But as I sit here now, the sky couldn’t be bluer. The boys and John are fishing in Deerfield Lake and I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the vacation.

I am still in a sweatshirt and coat. I wish I had brought more sweatshirts. I am trying to remember if we were here in June or July last time. I’m thinking late June and it wasn’t this chilly. I’m not complaining… prefer these cooler temps to heat and humidity!

Tomorrow, we are planning a longer ride around the lake. There are about 75 miles of trail, so we can eat on the ride. If Windy’s shoe doesn’t hold, we will pull off the backs and call it good. I can take the milder trails at Ft. Rob or ride Blue if I need to.

The campground here, Deerfield Lake Resort, is nice. Small grassy campsites with full hookups. Once again, I am surprised we are using them for heat instead of A/C! This place is privately owned and small; the wife is a horse person. There are only 2 other horse people camping. the rest are RV or tent campers here for a family reunion. The owner was very helpful, working with John on the truck repairs and letting him use his garage.

Prognosis of Hi-Ho? Who knows. We have an appointment at a repair shop in the morning. John is hopeful that minor repairs will get us out of South Dakota. Once we hit the flatlands, he is sure we can make it home. Hi-Ho is only used for recreational purposes – pulling a trailer. He has to do his job and I can’t afford a replacement recreational vehicle. So another tank of gas & back on the road again! (Name that song!).