I am posting this for the author, Mary Coleman
Michigan on a Morgan
In 1987 Blazing Hawk (my
horses sire) had finished the Shore to Shore ride which starts you in
Lake
Huron and ends you in
Lake
Michigan. Yes 5 days of 50 miles
each day across the state. For some reason this is one ride I always wanted to
do. So when I bought Hawk I informed him it's in his genes to one day get me
across Michigan. August 10th,
2002
we were loaded and headed to Oscoda, Michigan.
Prelude: Dust Bowl Camp: We
didn't make it to this camp actually called
River
Road(renamed by me) till
9
p.m.
and it looked like everyone in the country had decided to traverse across the
state this year. We were a little cramped but set-up in a good selling spot even
though a layer of dust settled in every crevice of the trailer. Charles and me
decided to go scope out the next camp and to see where the vet checks were held.
YIKES now the eye opener I had heard that water was a problem but little did I
know that meant there was none! Midwesterners ideas of holds was you pull along
a dirt road you're on your own for water etc. This ain't even funny I'm on a
Morgan which require 9000 gallons more of H2O to make the pulse especially when
its hot! And it's hot; so much for traveling 600 miles northwest to escape the
drought and humidity of Pa.
One of my
favorite sayings is that even a blind squirrel finds a nut in the woods once in
a while. Luckily Cindy Simcox had
decided this was her year to attempt S to S. So we came up with a plan her
husband Rick was to haul both rigs to the next campsite, set-up the pens for the
horses each night and be ready for us when we arrive to get our completion.
Charles was to crew for us at the three holds each day on trail. This is when he
found out this ain't no vacation. I had both a 50 gallon and a 30 gallon drum
for water each would have to be refilled wherever. See Part
II
