After spending almost three months in one place, it is a bit of an adjustment to be in a new place. We had settled into the place at San Tan Valley.
Both horses seem really happy and content in separate stalls.
There are two other LQs here with campers. One LQ on each side of us. One is a couple from Tennessee - they both ride. The other LQ is a couple with a foster daughter. The husband rides, but the wife and girl do not.
The guy who developed this horse camp passed away a few months ago, so the place is being run by his friend who helped with the construction. Dave seems like a nice enough fellow. So far, he is the only person around who is willing to ride with Ari and ride my horse.
We arrived on a Monday. On Tuesday, after trying to find someone to ride with him, Ari set off on his own with Lennox. They rode for a couple of hours down the wash. Here is Ari returning from the ride. He said it was an easy ride and Lennox did OK. Mercutio spent the entire time they were gone calling for Lennox and asking him to come back, so Lennox was in a real hurry to return to his buddy and get the ride over with.
On Wednesday, Ari was able to persuade Dave to ride Mercy and take him out on the trails. Dave is pretty busy with chores, so he charged Ari $20 for the ride. We didn't mind paying him since Ari prefers to ride with someone and Mercy needs the exercise. Plus, both horses do better when they are together.
On Wednesday, Ari and I went into the town of Florence. I wanted to see the downtown and go grocery shopping. We had lunch at the River Bottom Bar & Grill, a biker bar off the highway. I asked about the chili because a lot of places use pork as an extender and we don't eat pork. The server explained that it is Hormel canned chili. It does not reflect well on any eatery to serve canned chili or canned soup. Ari ordered a burger and fries. I ordered the chicken wings. The burger was actually very good as were the fries. My wings were decent, but pretty sure the BBQ sauce came from a jar.
No rattlesnakes joined us. We ate on the outside patio - where nobody was wearing masks and several of the patrons were smoking.
Joel on Mercy
Heading out to the trails
Thursday was our best day here so far. What made it a great day was Joel and Mari came out to see us. Ari was able to get a decent ride in with Joel and even took Mari out on Mercy for a short ride afterwards.
After the ride, one of the other campers, named Iowa Dave, reviewed our upcoming itinerary with me so he could recommend a couple of places we could stop and I could make some tweaks based on his recommendations. I always like to hear what other equestrians have to say about campgrounds. Word of mouth has been how I have found some of the best places to stay.
