Death Valley Encounter Day 2

Overnight a storm blew in. And do I ever mean it blew in! The winds were very powerful. We didn't get any rain overnight, but the dratted wind lasted all day.

While setting our tent back up the night before, we discovered one of the tent poles is split. Well, that would explain why it didn't want to bed properly! I suppose after nearly seven years, the darned thing doesn't owe us a thing. Still, I hate discovering things needing fixed or replaced when there's nothing I can do about it.

Hoss's rode-in-a-strange-trailer ding!

Since we scratched for day 2, I got to take my time getting up and feeding Hoss. I was still up pretty early.

I noticed the vet was in camp checking on horses that had been pulled or treated the day before. So I got dressed and brought Hoss over to her. She felt the leg and watched him trot. She said there was no sign of the cramp, it was completely gone, and he was clear to ride. I wasn't even tempted. I'd decided to give him the day off, and I had no intention of changing my plans.

The wind was so bad I had to move the camp stove into the trailer so we could cook. At one point the wind had the trailer door pinned so tightly shut, my daughter couldn't get out!

We spent the day taking Hoss for little walks and laying in the tent to escape the wind. My shoulder was giving me trouble, so I took painkillers to try to beat it back. The result was that, because I didn't have anything to do, I slept a lot!

In the afternoon I saddled Hoss up and took him for a quick ride. He was his usual self, and the cramp made no reappearance. Once we were done, I took him to the vet to clear him for day 3. She watched him trot and gave him the all clear.