A Month on the Move: The Last Leg (and a few extras)

Back in July, leaving from the Black Hills in SD, we stopped in Great Falls, MT for a couple nights to visit family.  We stayed at The Paard Yard which was one of the nicest places we got to stay on our entire trip.  The couple who owns it are so nice, and I felt like my horses were not only happy, but also safe, which is a big deal if you're not with your rig 24/7 during a layover.  

 

The views are absolutely incredible, a good example of Western Montana.  Just a few minutes from the highway, but up on the hill away from everything, we were so happy staying there and the horses enjoyed the layover.

We explored Great Falls with the family, checking out the springs and the dam.

Then we were off to Bow, WA for a week, and my brother's wedding.  It was wonderful, and the week flew by too quickly.  

I also got to see my old friend Cailin at the wedding, I don't get to see her enough for sure.  Maybe now that I'm on the same side of the country, we will get more time to hang out.

The dogs enjoyed an afternoon at the river where they got to meet their four legged cousins.

Then we headed down to Oregon, and stayed at another nice spot in Turner, OR, M & R Stables

where we had one layover day, as the long hours in the trailer were hard on the horses.  Rob went out to meet a friend and ride his wheel, and the girls and I went shopping.  I found my new favorite purse ever, and I'm not even really a purse person.

Finally, we arrived to see the place we will be renting for who knows how many years.  

It took a few passes and a bit of an ulcer, but I got the big trailer backed in, and the horses unloaded.  They have pasture mates in the form of goats and one steer, named Duke.

One goat gave birth to two little kids the night we arrived, and we named them Fluff and Friday.  Rob is completely smitten.

The property also has a big chicken coop, so I was out of reasons why Rylie couldn't get chickens.  Time to start collecting quiche recipes. We now have 20 hens that should start laying in the next month or two.    

I spent a good chunk of time setting up a new house, and we have a first this move, a real fireplace.  Not propane, or a pellet stove, a real splitting-wood-all-winter fireplace.  There is a hot tub we are excited to get going, for those of you who are thinking of visiting.

The first ride we did was out at the Bodega Bay Equestrian Trailhead where we rode for several hours on very different looking dunes than we see back home in North Carolina.  Lots of rainbow colored succulents, and steep hills that had all our horses needing to stop for air.  The beach isn't good for riding faster than a walk unless you hit a low tide, as it's pretty deep and soft, too.  

I even got Rob out one day while the kids were in school.  

Summers out here are extremely dry, it's only rained once since we got here in July.  The whole landscape is about to be green again, though, as rain is arriving next week.  A few hot weeks scattered in a mild summer, and the temps out on the beach are always 10-20 degrees cooler.  The views are certainly dramatic, and the wildlife is abundant.

After all that travel, you'd think I'd be done for a while. But no, because we were a three vehicle household, remember? Back on a plane for over 3000 miles I went at the end of September.  I stayed in NC for week, before hitting the road to head West, AGAIN.  

Stopping in Tennessee to visit Christie again, and enjoyed seeing Lizz there who was home between tours.  We (Christie, Cameron, Maddy, Lizz, and Cheyenne) decided to carve pumpkins, and I showed them the RIGHT way to do it, per Erin's teaching, a roll of toilet paper with kerosene.   

Then it was back on the road, and I stopped in Charleston, AR to see family, and then Rapid City for a few hours sleep, then Great Falls, MT for the night and to see family again. I arrived in Sedro Woolley, WA for a day to drop the Subaru to my brother (we did a bit of musical vehicles in our family), and drove my mom's minivan down to California.  Another 4700 miles driven, no big deal.

We spent a week car shopping for my mom, and tried some great local restaurants, in addition to seeing some of the sights.

She bought a new car down in California, because AWD is much cheaper down here where you don't need it, compared to up in Washington where it's often necessary. So, back in the car we went, and we drove the 1000 miles back up to Washington with her new wheels.  We spent a day hanging with my brother and sister-in-law, and then back on a plane I went to California. 

The past few weeks I've logged more miles than usual (even for me), but it wasn't over, as I decided to sell my shop trailer after I sold our black flatbed truck (now we are down to TWO vehicles, for the next move).  I emptied the trailer into the attached garage in the new house when we got here, and then I finished the LQ area into a weekender. 

On Tuesday this week, I hauled up to Red Bluff and sold it to a couple, and then kept on driving to buy a three horse bumper pull out of Oregon.  I'm smitten with it, and excited to start hauling to some of the trail heads around here there are too tight for the big ol' Living Quarters.  Day riding here is plentiful, but places to camp with the horses (and forget dogs, not even in camp most places) anywhere near here are few and far between.   At least with the bumper pull, I'll be able to tow it with a U-Haul for the next move.  

The kids and the animals are adjusting very well, but I'm not sure how well I'm doing to be honest.  Starting over so many times gets exhausting, and I miss my friends terribly.  I miss our lives the way they were, and I'm finding it hard to find friends out here.  They aren't my people.