Hard Labor Creek State Park

Picture taken this morning of me and Asia at Hard Labor Creek State Park.

It was the annual December visit to Hard Labor Creek State Park and I spent three days riding Asia on the trails. We had a glorious time. Here's the link to last year's visit, when I took India.
I've been meeting up with these women for at least ten years now. Some years I could only go up for Saturday's ride, but this year, like many others, I went for the entire weekend when we stay in the cabins and decorate for Christmas and eat wonderful meals, have a Secret Santa exchange (I came home this year with a lovely gift), and generally laugh our way through the weekend.

The weather was unseasonably warm on Friday and then downright comfortable Saturday and today we got some light rain and it was chillier, but we still rode and had a great time. Asia did so very well.

Saturday's ride is always our long one and here are the Garmin stats on it:
Horseback Riding at Hard Labor Creek State Park by kathleen0414 at Garmin Connect - Details

The last mile up the gravel road back to the stable I hopped off Asia and loosened her girth, ran up the stirrups, and clipped my hard hat to the saddle and ran along beside her as she trotted along. I figured that she'd done a fair amount of work and I'd eaten a lot of food at dinner the night before, plus enjoyed a wonderful Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA and some pumpkin and chocolate liqueurs. I'd packed in the calories, so time to expend a bit and move. You know, my Ariat paddock boots are pretty darn good for running. I was pleasantly surprised.

This is typical of the scenery all along the ride:


And this is the Pony Express Diner, where I stopped for a quick bite on the way up and fell in love. The cheeseburger was perfection. When I got there, only a few other diners were enjoying the food, but before I left, the place had filled up and with lots of law enforcement, which is always a recommendation to follow. I want to go back and soon. It's just north of Mansfield, Georgia on state highway 11.