This morning, around 5:30 a.m. I heard Raudi pacing back and forth on her zipline. I looked out of the tent and sure enough, she was moving back and forth like a frenzied dog. I put my shoes on, unzipped the tent, and climbed out into the cool morning air. I left Ryder (looking mystified) in the tent.

I grabbed the animal feed bag half full of hay, and gave her what remained. I then took the fly spray container and dabbed some on her. Returned to tent. Crawled back into sleeping bag. Had not slept well. It had been raining. Usually the sound of rain puts me to sleep, but not this time because it was a hard, nylon pummeling rain.

I dozed, and then began dreaming I was riding Raudi. We were galloping along a street in a city. There were lights on both sides of us. I wasn’t scared, in fact I was determined to stay put. At one point I thought that my saddle was holding me in place. I ended up spending time with this fellow who was very nice – like horses.

Upon waking, I realized that I may have been concerned about the day’s early ride, which was to take me down Pete’s trail. It’s steep – sometimes it feels steeper than others. In fact, a few days ago I got off and walked the bottom section. I didn’t want to have to do this while riding with Vicki. I want her to think that I’m more confident than I actually am.

We all got up at 8 a.m. or thereabouts, and packed really fast. I hooked Raudi to her lead, which was still attached to the tree, then took the zipline down. Vicki and I tacked up, and then off we went, downhill. I put Raudi behind Hunar, and she stayed close behind him. I gave her lots of rein, looked at the horizon, and stayed firm in my seat. No getting off this time. This worked. In no time at all we were back on Jim’s Road. I hopped off Raudi and hooked up Ryder, who waited for me to do the honors. We then walked slowly home. Vickie tied Hunar to her trailer, and I put Raudi in the pen with Tinni and Hrimmi, who were both glad to see her. Was she glad to see them? I think so, but she refused to acknowledge this because this is just the way she is.

Pete had already cleaned the pen, so I didn’t have to do this. And he was already working on making breakfast. So ala Alice’s Restaurant, we sat down and had us a meal that couldn’t be beat.

Later on, I went for a longer ride on Raudi, doing the residential loop. I stopped midway to give Pete, who had been cutting wood, a hand piling it up, in preparation for loading it into the truck. During this time, Raudi remained tied to a tree. On the trip home, she did wonderfully, trotting and cantering with considerable enthusiasm, particularly on the stretch that I call Raudi’s Racetrack. This got me to thinking – it’s nice to be riding a horse that I like, and like to ride. I would hate to be riding an animal that I feel ambivalent about. Same holds true for camping. Can’t forge a relationship with an animal that you are butting heads with.

Next: 219. 8/13/14: Robin Williams, Rest in Peace