Sunday, July 19, 2020

Big Meadows Horse Campground - Oregon

We left DeCourcey Ranch sadly because Christy and Dave were such excellent hosts and the horses may never experience better shelter, but our trailer is fixed and it is time to move on.
The trailer looks almost new. The awning has been fixed and the vent cover for the water heater has been replaced.
On Thursday, we replaced the brake controller in the truck. Pro-Line Fabrications made the repair.

At Pro-Line, these papers were on proud display. You know you are in a rural area when they are bragging about the Local 4-H club.
We spent part of Thursday at a local park as we needed to kill some time before our appointment at Pro-Line. We have figured out if we bring our large battery pack, set up our laptops at a picnic table in the park, and use our cell phones as mobile hot spots we can keep ourselves entertained for quite a while. We even had pizza delivered to our picnic table. 

Wednesday morning we rode along an irrigation canal from DeCourcey Ranch. It was pretty hot, but it was an easy ride.
We passed a wigwam on the ride. I have no idea the story behind the wigwam.


On Saturday, July 18th, we headed to Big Meadows Horse Camp in the Willamette Forest.  Locating the forest road into the campground was problematic because the sign had been knocked to the ground. We passed it once, doubled back and then stopped at each Forest Road, had me get out of the truck and hike in to see if we had the right one.

This camp site is first come, first served - no reservations. Ari was a little anxious if we would be able to snag a campsite. There were four empty campsites when we arrived.

The site had plenty of space for our trailer. Other campers advised us that the trails were in pretty bad shape. Most of the trails has trees down blocking the trail. The only trail that was open was the Big Meadows Trail Loop.

There is a single water pump to provide water for the entire camp. However, even with enthusiastic pumping Ari could only fill about a quarter of one horse's water pail. So, we gave up and used water from the water tank we keep in the back of the trailer. That tank is supposed to be used for the horses or to refill our water tank, if needed.

From a HUGE pasture to tiny log corrals - but the horses took it well.
Riding the Big Meadows Trail Loop in the Willamette Nat Forest

The trail takes you up to a water fall. Just past the water fall you have to cross a creek with a sharp drop into the water. 
Ari guiding his horse through the creek

Here I am standing in the same creek

No cell service at this campground, but since we only had one trail to ride we were OK just spending one night.

Mosquitoes were out in force at Big Meadows, so we used protective blankets on the horses overnight.



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