The First Week of August

 August arrived, which meant we had just three more weeks of summer vacation before the kids headed back to school.  Greyson and Nash joined me on my getaway to the cabin, and the weather was perfect.  I snuck out early to hit the trails and visit the elk in the mornings.

    

Nash spent an enormous amount of time fishing-off the dock, wading in the water, and also on a cruise around the lake.

And, of course, there was a boat ride around the lake every afternoon.

While we were having fun up at the lake, Alayna was preparing for a different kind of fun.  Aunt Ani had offered to have her out to her farm to stay for the week.  And just down the road, she was invited to a special kind of horse camp, with honored guest and international horse trainer, Bill Cameron.  So, Alayna packed her bags, trailered her horse, Penny, and moved in with Aunt Ani.  

Alayna's days were filled with all things horse.  She woke early to feed and groom Penny, and along with a handful of other girls, spent her days working with horses and learning so much from Jim.  

Jim also noticed that Penny's back legs weren't quite right, just as our farrier had mentioned.  He worked with Alayna to find a comfortable position for both her and Penny to ride.  They also worked on getting Penny into our small bumper pull trailer.  After many hours, it was decided that Penny was too big and also that Penny wouldn't load into this kind of trailer, probably due to her experience as a race horse loading into the racing chute.  I guess we needed to go trailer shopping again!

On Saturday afternoon, families were invited out to the farm for a little show of what the girls had learned that week.  After following a winding driveway through the woods, we were seemingly transported into another world.  Horse pastures, horse barns, and several different riding arenas were nestled in alongside a private lake and home.  We were free to roam the grounds, where we found Alayna hanging out with Penny, and also a brand new foal born just the day before.

And then it was time for the big show!  After a presentation by Bill Cameron, each girl was introduced individually to the small crowd.  Bill had been impressed with Alayna all week and had nothing but glowing words of encouragement for her.  She had truly had an amazing time learning from such an accomplished horseman and riding with some great new friends the past few days. 

After the show, it was time to party!  Catered food and drinks, along with a live band awaited us.  It was such a special night and we were proud to be a part of it.

On Sunday, it was back to running for me.  My friends had organized an all-girl 50 mile nighttime run at Holly Rec State Park in preparation for their upcoming 100 mile race.  I'm always up for adventures, so I decided I'd join in on the fun, and when I'd had enough of the running I'd test out some of my backpacking gear as I prepared for an upcoming trip.  We met at the campground, where Lisa had set up her camper as our base camp for the evening.  The plan was to alternate between trails and roads, both in and outside of the park.  Rain was predicted, but that wasn't going to stop us!  We headed out for the first five miles on the trails while we waited for the rest of the ladies to arrive.

And then the whole group was here!  This was going to be fun!

We quickly decided that the trails were getting too muddy and slippery to be safe for running, and opted for a few out and back sections within the park.  The rain was increasing in intensity and we were all thoroughly soaked.  Thankfully, it was quite a warm evening and despite being wet, were not cold at all. 

Once it was dark, we changed things up a bit.  We decided to take some longer loops on the backroads outside of the park.  I had never run on these roads before, and it was very dark and a little spooky.  I was thankful to be running with such a large group, and was pretty sure the chatter and laughter would keep away any sort of predator.  Sometime well after midnight, we decided to take a bit of a longer break to get warmed up.  I stopped at my van, where I stripped off all of my clothes and put on some warmer gear.  The rain had turned into more of a mist at this point, but after being so wet for so long, I was a bit chilled.  Once we were all changed into new clothes and socks and shoes, and had a few snacks in our bellies, we soaked in a little bit more warmth by the campfire before we headed back out into the night.

I really had only planned to do a 50k that night, but honestly, the first 31 miles had flown by and I was just enjoying myself.  Once I passed that distance, I decided I was in it until the finish.  Just before daybreak, I think the miles really started to wear on us.  It had been a long night of being so soaked and we were also tired after missing a night of sleep.  The group slowly pulled in different directions, as we all tried to find our best options of getting those 50 miles finished.  Some opted to hit the roads in the park again, some opted for loops closer to camp, some opted for another trip down the backroads.  It was a fight to the finish, but by 9am, we had all successfully completed what we had started.  Our overnight 50 mile training run was done.  My plan to test out my backpacking gear had been abandoned sometime in the night after enduring so much rain, and after quick goodbyes to those at camp, I got to my van, again stripped off all of my clothes, replaced them with fresh comfy clothes, and crawled to the back seat of the van where I promptly passed out for several hours.  

And then life just continued on.  Emerson's supplies for school continued to trickle in, including a super warm full length coat for her cold winter ahead.

Meanwhile, Owen was in North Carolina, preparing for his own future adventures, whatever they might be.

Alayna was invited back to the farm for one more ride with Bill and her new friends.

And summer life on the farm continued, too.  The garden was growing, the goats were doing their goat things, the chickens and ducks laid eggs in mystery places daily, and the cats seemed to rule to roost.