Several members (Maria Morales, Joyce Papp, Jessica Mauer, Brandi Enfinger, Lora Kibler and John Pemerton) made it to Coldwater on Thursday, April 13th, but we (Becky Day, Liz Rich, Alice Shannon and my friend, Joanne Zang) decided to go on Friday, April 14th and return on Monday, April 17th. We arrived after 6 hours on the road, due to a blow out on our flatbed trailer that was hauling a golfcart. Little did we know, golf carts are not allowed at the park. Lesson! Friday we all got together for our potluck dinner and shared stories sitting around the fire. The next morning, we decided to ride out at 10am on the pink trail, which starts on the other side of the bridge, so we split up into two groups. One slow group of mostly quarter horses (Maria Morales, Joyce Papp, Jessica Mauer, Brandi Enfinger, and Brandi’s friend, Samantha Baggett) and one fast group with mostly walking horses (Liz Rich, Becky Day, Alice Shannon, Lora Kibler and John Pemerton). Alice tagged along behind our fast-walking horses with her quarter horse, Shine. The trails were very well marked and were a mixture of pines and hardwoods. We arrived back at camp after 1pm and decided to take a dip in the creek. Now I know why they call it Coldwater! Then shortly after 4pm the rain started followed by strong winds that knocked out power to our camp. I just knew I was going to lose my awning, but it survived. It was a little scary! Our power was out for at least 4 ½ -5 hours. When the rain finally tapered off, we were able to check to make sure everyone was OK. Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day and we took advantage of it. While other members were packing up to leave, we saddled up and the three of us (Becky Day, Liz Rich and Alice Shannon) decided to take the yellow trail. It is mostly pines but has several creek crossings which is refreshing for the horses. Overall, we had a wonderful time and the weather was great (except the 3-4 hours of rain Saturday evening). We will definitely be going back again.
Liz
