Weekend at Brushy Creek

8/10/14 It was a weekend at Brushy Creek. I planned the weekend thinking of my Dad. He is going to have prostrate surgery this this week and I wanted to do something fun with him before. I know his recovery time won’t be fun and he will be limited on what he can do. He likes to trail ride, so Brushy Creek seemed the perfect place. I thought why not make it a weekend camping trip. Dad was on board for the idea and had the hard part of bringing the camper and setting it up. I loaded the truck to the max and took the kids Friday afternoon and met Dad and Alice. We set up camp in the new Equine campground and found a cozy little corenr with a nice shade tree. Jayden and I thought the hitching posts were the coolest part. The Horses hitching post was in a secluded area in amongst the trees. The weather all weekend was amazing, stayed around 78 and overcast. The sun was never an issue. We relaxed in lawn chairs, the kid rode their bikes, and we fixed supper over the fire. I brought the foil packs with hambuger, carrots, and potatoes, and Dad grilled for me. The boys made laps on their bikes with other kids until it was so dark I could not see them. The rest of  us played the board game “Destination USA” until it was too dark to see even with our flashlight. Dad and Alice went home for the night. The kids and I stayed in the camper. I don’t sleep well on the hard mattress. It just makes everything hurt too much.
Saturday morning Alice and Dad came with thier horses and Mark came with our horses. We were saddled and on the trails at 11:00. Lynn Elm also met up with us to ride. The first ride we took was short for the kids. Jayden rode Ace, Jacob rode Winnie, and I rode Tex. Mark stayed back with Luke. We keep thinking, a 4 horse trailer would be handy, then we would be able to haul all the horeses. It was a nice peaceful ride. The horses all did great and the trails were ok. Things were still a bit muddy so the horses had to kind of slip a little going up some steep hills. Jake did great and loved it. He was ready for more. After we took a lunch break, the group, excpet Jayden and I went back out. Jayden’s horse Ace got left behind and was not happy about it. He pulled and broke his halter and was lose for a little bit. He was pretty naughty prancing and hopping at the trailer. Mom came and spent the rest of the afternoon with us too. The group took a long 3 hour ride.
Mark left after the ride to go to his friend Ryan’s 40^th birthday party and returned in time to go to bed. The kids and I were bummed that he misses out on all the “camping” fun.  Lynn and Elaine and Karen and Orrie all were there during dinner. We grilled steaks, did smores, rode bikes until dark, rode the horse with Luke, played more games, and sat by the fire.We all slept in until 8 and were up for another day of riding before heading home.  Alice and Jayden opted to stay at camp this time, because someone had to stay with Luke.  Mark, Jake, and I took a ride down to the river. Jake really impressed me with his riding. He was never scared, rode Winnie well, and enjoyed it. All in all it was a good trip and another memory in the books.