Overlake Farm in Bellevue Washington and a ride through Bridle Trails State Park

Overlake Farm is a boarding facility located right across the street from Bridle Trails State Park.

We arrived around lunch time and Dana, the owner, allowed us to put the horses in the round pen so they could stretch their legs a bit before they went into the paddock.

Overlake is a large boarding facility and the boarders I spoke with were very happy.

The horses are sharing a large paddock with plenty of room to move around.

They each get a shelter and Lennox is spending most of his time in the shade as it is still pretty hot here.

One of the boarders told me that Bridle Trails State Park has the most beautiful horse trails in the entire country. They are pretty, but they rank up with Silver Falls.  A lot of red cedar trees.  The trails are wide, mostly flat, and hard pack, not rocky. The trails are extensive and it is easy to get lost.

We were able to park our trailer on the farm property. No electric or water hook-ups, but we can refill our water tanks before we leave. Basically, we are boondocking inside the farm. But we're parked out of the way and we are safe.

There was a short shower early Friday morning while we were sleeping. The rain woke us up. No leaks in the trailer - hurrah! But given that we are basically living in an aluminum can, we heard the rain pretty well. It was a short shower, lasted less than 30 minutes, and the ground was barely wet when we got up to feed the horses. So glad our hay is stored in a hay pod on the roof of the trailer. That means it stays dry in the rain and, hopefully, won't get moldy. 

We hope to do another ride this morning and then we are off to our next stop.

Floating Down the Yakima River - Washington

Ari wanted to buy some sun glasses for our river float and asked me how he looked in them at the store. I burst out laughing  because with the mask and hat he looks like a Marvel super villain.

Ari took charge of the oars once we got into the water.

I got to sit in the back where I had a back rest and took charge of the cooler.

We saw two bald eagles - a youngster flying over our heads and a parent waiting back at the nest.

It's always thrilling to watch bald eagles in flight.

The float was relatively calm, just an easy 2 hour ride on the current. The scenery wasn't awesome, but it wasn't bad.

There wasn't a lot of shade in the middle of the river. The water was cold and there was a light breeze. It beat sitting in our trailer in the air conditioning.

When we got back to the place where we rented the raft, I found this baby water snake hidden under one of the oars. He was dead. I think one of the oars crushed him. Very sad.

Ari set up the float using Red's Fly Shop.  Mostly, they provide guides and equipment to fly fishing expeditions, but they are a nice place and I recommend them.

They have a gorgeous deck and dining area overlooking the river. They only serve dinner Thursdays-Sundays. The menu is upscale and pricey, but if we were staying an extra night, I would definitely try them out. They are located about 20 minutes from the RV park.

Tomorrow is July 30th. Our next stop is a horse motel in Bellevue for one night.

Yakima RV Park - Ellensburg, WA

We stopped at a rest stop on the way to the Yakima River RV Park and met Lily and Ava, two delightful little girls who adore horses. They each got a ride on Lennox. They fed the horses cookies and held their lead ropes as they ate grass.  The girls had a lovely time playing with the horses and the horses got a break from the long trailer ride.

The corrals at the RV park were not in good condition, so we asked permission to put up our corral and it was provided.

We rode this morning from the RV park into the adjacent BLM land. It is similar to the Oregon Badlands we rode in a few weeks back. No shade and not much in the way of vegetation.

We rode early - starting at 8:30 because the days have been hitting 100 degrees plus. 

This is our first time staying at an RV park with our horses. We have full hook-up so we have water, electric and can empty our gray and black water tanks.

Most of the people in the park are full-timers, but we are the only ones with horses.

This park is pretty low key as there is no laundromat, general store, and the river is a drive away.

Tomorrow morning we are going to do an inner tube ride down the Yakima River and I am looking forward to cooling off.

Battleground Horse Camp, A Detour to Rock Creek Horse Camp Then On to Yakima River RV Park

We ended up setting up our portable corral at the Battle Creek Campground. We had the campground all to ourselves and when the rangers came by they had no objections. Of course, the horses were happy because it gave them a lot more room to move around.

There is one loop trail around the Battleground Park and several smaller inner loops.

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The trails were pretty and easy to ride.

We were surrounded by wildflowers most of the ride.

Once again we were riding through a botanical garden.

As we were packing up to leave Battleground State Park, three lovely women equestrians rode through our camp and stopped to chat with us. They recommended a couple of local parks - Rock Creek Horse Camp and Mt Adams Horse Camp. Rock Creek was only 16 miles away.

Staying a night at Rock Creek Horse Camp meant we would spend the entire next day driving to the next destination, but we wanted to give it a go.

The horse camp is first come, first served - no reservations, but when we arrived there were at least four empty campsites and we snagged one that we thought would fit our trailer the easiest.

The horses were once again in log corrals, but they were a bit roomier and the horses appeared pretty comfortable.

There is one large loop trail called Tarbell Trail that circumvents the park and we decided to give it a try.

Part of the trail took us through open meadows.

This mountain could be seen in the distance. I am not sure which mountain it is.

The wildflowers were putting on a show for us.

Ari and Lennox riding through the wildflowers.

We set off on our ride around 4 in the afternoon figuring it would take a couple of hours. Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn on Sixth Sense Trail and ended up at Grouse Creek.

The section of trail up to Grouse Creek was extremely rocky. So rocky, Ari and I both dismounted and hiked it. Lennox got a stone bruise and was favoring his right rear foot, so Ari insisted on walking. When we hit Grouse Creek we knew we had made an error and turned back and re-traced our way.

Ari ended up hiking a good five miles before he felt he could get back in the saddle safely. He was really worried about laming Lennox.

At that point, we were back on Tarbell Trail and Lennox wasn't favoring his foot any more. 

We didn't get back to our campsite at Rock Creek until after 9 pm and it was starting to get dark. So our two hour ride actually went more than five hours.

I ride with a Garmin, but when the trails constantly zig zag it's really hard to get a good reading on what direction you need to go.

I had taken a picture of the trail map before we left, so we had a trail map and a Garmin on us, and still ended up seriously lost.

We fed the horses when we got back. They were troopers throughout. 

Ari was starving so even though it was late I cooked him up a burger. I made smoothies for both of us to help us rehydrate.

We both showered to get the sweat and stickiness off before we went to bed.

It was a beautiful ride, but we were both happy when it was over.

The campsite at Rock Creek was great. Water for the horses and a manure pile, but no garbage collection. No internet or cell service.  Camping there is FREE with a Discovery pass.

On the plus side, my Fitbit rejoiced at the amount of exercise I got when we got lost.

Onward to our Third State - Washington! Battleground State Park

We took one last ride on the beach before heading out to our next campsite.

The log corrals at Battleground State Park are slightly bigger than the ones we had at Nehalem, so the horses seem happy.  To get into the horse camp, you actually pass the entrance and follow the road around to the back of the park.

There is room for our trailer, but it took several tries before Ari was able to back it in and get it positioned so it will be easy for us to leave.

Someone left these lovely rocks for us on the picnic table at our site. Thanks, stranger!

We are the only ones staying at this campsite. There is water and it looks to be good quality, picnic tables, and a fire ring. There is a manure pile area, but no wheel barrow. We have a small container we use for manure when no wheel barrow is available, so that's OK.

There is a vault toilet, but Ari checked it out and has advised me that we want to stick with our toilet for the duration.

Tomorrow we check out the trails! 

A peek inside our Living Quarters Trailer

Some friends asked us to post some pictures so they can get an idea of what our living space is like. Hard to believe we have gone from a house with more than 2,000 square feet to a space that is a little under 200 square feet. Our living space is 8 feet wide by 20 feet deep.

 My kitchen includes a two burner stove top which runs on propane. Above the stove top I have a microwave/convection oven which I am still trying to figure out. I can run the microwave just fine, but the oven has been a challenge.

I have a double sink - which was a special request - because I find it easier to clean dishes. One side for soapy water and one side for rinsing.

Our bathroom has a single sink, a full-size shower and a toilet. The mirror cabinet is a little high for me. If I stand barefoot, I can barely see my forehead. 

The sleeping area holds a queen size bed and storage for our clothes.

This view is with me sitting on the bed looking at the bathroom. You can see we have a full size fridge and above the fridge is a large TV.  If you look closely, you can see that in order to flush the toilet you use a pedal near the floor - marine style.

We have a full dinette area where we eat and play on our laptops.

That's the big tour! We find it really cozy and at this point we prefer it to staying in a hotel because all our stuff is here. Plus, we don't need to worry about getting COVID-19 because we are literally sheltering in our home.

Nehalem Bay State Park - Oregon

Morning on Rockaway Beach

Ari & Lennox on the beach

Mercutio relaxing in his corral

Our campsite is at a slant, so we used these levels to help get the trailer more level. 

When we went into town yesterday, Ari put this lock on our trailer. It prevents thieves from hooking up your trailer and taking off with it.

The horses' new digs at Nehalem Bay State Park

I wanted to book a campsite on the beach at least once before we headed into Washington and the inner states, so here we are at Nehalem Bay State Park. The drive in was full of twists and turns, but once we got here we inhaled the sea air and relaxed.

The campground is pretty crowded, but the trails are empty and we have had the beach all to ourselves every time we have gone down there.

The horses continue to behave well.

This was the first time I had taken Mercy to the beach and I was a bit nervous, but he was fine. Beaches can be stressful on horses due to the noisy waves. We didn't take the horses into the water, but rode on the sand.

Lennox has been to Muir Beach and other beaches, so he was fine.

The trails are wide in most places and not rocky, mostly flat. It's an easy ride.

It's cold and breezy here, so quite different from our last stop. We are down to our last few days in Oregon before we cross the border into Washington state.

Silver Falls State Park - Oregon

The trails here are amazing. They are in excellent condition. Nice footing, not that narrow. It feels like you are riding through a botanical garden. Lots of wild flowers on either side of the trail.

Lots of shade on the trails.

These wild hollyhocks can be seen throughout the park and you can smell them as you ride past.

Ari and Lennox crossing a bridge

The foliage is so lush!

The temps here are in the high 80s in the middle of the day, so we ride right after breakfast. We got back from our ride around noon and ate lunch. Then, we went into town to do laundry and buy gas and groceries. 

It broke 100 degrees while we were in town. 

The horses were waiting in their corrals when we got back and hungry for dinner, so they got fed first thing.

We hope to do another ride in the morning.

This park has an RV dump, so before we leave we will make a stop to empty our black and gray water tanks. 

Tomorrow night we will be at Nehalem State Park.