What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.

Looks as though this will be a year of summer explorations into new territories! Kendall discovered a path to a literal GOLD MINE of riding and hiking trails just off our next door neighbor’s property! One of our other neighbors owns a wealth of property around here and had opened up a rather extensive dirt bike trail system for her now 17 yr old grandson (currently under house arrest awaiting trial for burning down another neighbor’s gift shop because their son owned him $5 – uh huh…). Though the trails haven’t been used for years by her grandson, it appears someone is using them regularly with wheeled vehicles and on foot. Trails veer off in DOZENS of directions with almost ENDLESS invitations for exploration, and much of the trail system is in wooded areas so they would make for FABULOUS hot weather trail riding! And not just for riding but hiking too!!!

Just to be on the safe side, I will ask around amongst the locals to be sure the trails don’t lead anywhere where hikers and/or equines would be unwelcome. I strongly suspect they will be OK for riding, even likely used by one of our other neighbors with horses. Generally speaking, country folks have no problems with considerate neighbors riding horses across such wild spaces, as long as we cause no damage to property, or litter, or other such crass thing as that. I think I’ll still ask around though, just in case someone uses any of those areas for target practice or something...wouldn’t hurt to be sure we’re wearing bright orange hunting vests either when we take off in that direction!

At any rate, I’m going to have to have a beer or something to settle myself down…I’m so STOKED and ready to go EXPLORING!!!!!