Breaking camp

On my first full day in North Carolina, I went on a wonderful mountain trail ride with my friend, Rachel Fail, her daughters and their friends.

Everyone was a little wet and muddy when we returned to camp.

This was especially true for Rachel. She and her borrowed horse, a young cob named Danica, had parted company during a slip and side incident on the trail. No one was injured, but the mud was epic.

While Rachel changed clothes, the kids cleaned the horses' pen.

Then we dismantled the pen, secured everything inside the trailer's living quarters, rolled up the awning, loaded the dogs,

loaded the horses,

loaded ourselves and headed out.

It's a four and a half hour drive from Uwharrie to Rachel's home on Roanoke Island, and there was no time to waste!

We stopped mid-trip to check on the horses and eat a quick lunch.

After that, it was a race to get home before dark. We crossed not one...

but two long bridges over open water.

We arrived in Manteo just as the sun was setting. Phew! Perfect timing!

We unloaded and fed the horses, unloaded and fed ourselves and then made an early night of it. We had big plans for the next day, and everyone needed their rest.