Bruneau Dunes Camping Trip

Day 1:

Most of the day Thursday was spent running around trying to get everything together for our trip. The learning curve for RV care isn't too bad, but it was a lot to remember. Having to learn it while we did it definitely slowed the process, too. All that filling, sanitizing, emptying, and refilling of the water tanks took a lot of time! I had wanted Wayne to install our Spring Ties on the trailer before we left, but we ran out of time. It ended up being a non-issue, as Bruneau had corrals and we were the only campers in the equestrian area for our whole trip.

Wayne's picture from our "real arabians in the desert" pictures we took while we giggled.

We finally got on the road about 3, and arrived at Bruneau after a nice 1.5 hour drive. It was sandier than I had expected, but there was a little bit of grass making an effort in the campground. We unloaded the horses and set out for a quick ride before dinner. The trails were all marked very well, and wearing boots was pretty optional. Some areas of the trails were rockier than others, but the rocks were wind-worn and mostly small. Both horses were feeling good after the trip, but everyone behaved themselves really well.

When we got back to camp, we set up the horses for the night and got our stuff ready. It took no time compared with tent camping, and we were making dinner (Johnsonville brats--living up to my german heritage) on our super delux stove within 15 minutes. We had parked the LQ so the awning was overlooking the corral to the horses. It was so nice to relax in the warm breeze on our "porch" sipping cold beer after our nice ride!

Day 2:

I hadn't slept very well the night before, but really didn't expect to considering. I got up in the middle of the night to check on the horses, and they had both dumped their water buckets. Although we brought water in our hay-rack water tank, Wayne hadn't known to flush this tank and so it tasted like plastic. Luckily, the campground had a few spigots, but they were about 100 yards away. Lugging water at 2am in the pitch dark with coyote yapping and howling in the near distance wasn't super fun, but I was happy I had when I returned and both horses took deep drinks from the buckets. I refilled both hay bags (Jasper had ripped the last remaining strap off his and stomped it in the middle of the pen--that was fun hunting) and went back to bed.

We awoke to a beautiful blue sky and a bright sun and enjoyed breakfast with the horses. Both horses had obviously settled well and were sunning themselves in true "dead pony" fashion on the warm sand. We decided to go for a quickish ride out with plans to return for a late afternoon lunch. We saddled up and headed out on another trail, which ended up being the trail we'd partially completed the night before except backwards. A lot of this trail was through very deep sand, so it was slow going for us. We stopped along the way to take pictures and wait for Bongo, who had gotten himself lost after chasing a rabbit into the bushes. After the deep sand we turned up a nice trail that took us to a hill that overlooked the dunes. About 3/4 of the way up we got off the horses to give them a break, and quickly appreciated why they'd been huffing and puffing up the trail. It was much steeper and the footing much deeper than it had appeared from the saddle. When we reached the top, we allowed the horses some time to graze (and us some time to catch our breaths). We remounted and finished the trail at a nice, brisk pace and got back to the trailer for some serious relaxing. I dug into a book and Wayne started through a horsey magazine we'd just received. The weather was perfect: about 70 degrees with a constant, gentle breeze to keep us from getting too warm on the sand.

Since we'd taken the afternoon relaxation more serious than we'd planned, we decided to call it a night for the horses. Cricket had been showing his fatigue towards the end of the earlier ride, and two days of riding 7-8 miles is fairly intense for him at this stage of his conditioning. I let Jasper out at dusk to graze some of the grass, as I knew he'd come when called and would stick close to Cricket. This, of course, led to a serious temper tantrum from Cricket who wanted to graze, too. We let him out after Jasper, and he exceeded my expectations by staying close.

Day 3:

I slept like a rock, probably because I voted Wayne the designated "middle-of-the-night-horse-checker" since I'd done it the previous night. We awoke to stormy, dark skies that looked as though they were going to threaten rain. Wayne made breakfast of eggs and sausage, and as we were eating, 6 trailers pulled in with multiple horses for a trail ride. The horses were very excited by all the activity, and Jasper kept whinnying and half-rearing while we were tacking up. When the group left, he was beside himself with worry. Cricket, on the other hand, stood by the trailer like he'd been doing this all his life. Once the trail riders were out of sight, we mounted and headed off on another trail.

Not far out on the trail (about .45 of a mile--ask me how I know), we decided to pick up a trot. All weekend we'd been working on playing leapfrog, and when I went to pass Cricket, he came unglued. He sort of scooted off the side of the trail and started spinning. Wayne came off in short order, and then the little spotted devil took off for the hills! I jumped off Jasper lest there be TWO runaway horses, and the three of us took off after him on foot. He ran 2.6 miles away (again, ask me how I know!), and only stopped because of a barb wire fence. Wayne caught up with him and remounted in time for him to attempt to pull the same stunt again. This time, Wayne dismounted himself. When he'd walked a ways back towards us, he remounted again, only to have Cricket take off at a canter with him. I saw him pitch forward and Cricket came to a partial halt. He got off again, and the two came walking towards me. When Wayne got close, I saw he had a cut and bleeding lip and a look of utter heartbreak on his face. I didn't say a thing.

When we got back to the trailer, I hugged him and asked him if he was okay. He said he was. We untacked the horses and loaded our stuff and left. It was such a crummy end to an otherwise really good trip. Wayne's decided he's going to give Cricket until early August, and if he can't ride him at a ride, he's going to sell him and get something more suited for him. I understand the way he feels, since it was hard for me to decide I needed to sell Cricket. I know he doesn't really believe it now, but I know he'll find another horse he loves just as much as Cricket that won't try to kill him on a regular basis. I'm crossing my fingers.

Things I learned on this trip:

1. Jasper needs a trim--his flares are JUST long enough to make putting his hoof boots on impossible.

2. Deep sand is not our friend--even walking through it seems exhausting (at least for humans).

3. Jasper is ready for camping at his first 25! He's been taking such good care of himself, he makes me so proud.

Things We Need for Future Camping With Horses

1. Bigger, less tippable water buckets.

2. Spare hay bags that can be swapped in the middle of the night (rather than groggily searching for torn-down ones in the dark)

3. Less hay--four bales is waaaaaaaay too much for two horses and three days.

4. Fly spray. No matter how cold it is where you start, it may be warm enough for knats where you camp.