Day #36

This morning we needed to drive into Apache Junction to do routine errands. It had been a week since I did laundry and Dr. Susan had asked us to start Pearl on a different grain that would help her stomach. This new diet can not include any sugars, so the molasses laced grains that we had been feeding her were out. We needed propane, also. It is hard to take the horses with us when we have to do these things. Parking is a real issue, plus Pearl needed to be able to move around. New friends of ours solved our problem.

We had met Al during our first couple weeks at Catalina State Park. He told us that when we came over to the Superstitions that he would ride with us and show us around. We heard a lot about his girlfriend, Anne during that time. She keeps her horses at his place.

The two of them have been coming over to our camp and checking on us since we arrived on Saturday. They insisted that we leave the horses at Al's place while we went to town.

Neither Al nor Anne were home but had left the gate unlocked and had given us information about where to put the horses. Al lives on the end of a long driveway off of the Peralta Trail Road. Because campers are always driving up to see if they can park and camp, they have two locked gates keeping people from driving right down to the house.

Al and Anne have been super helpful the whole episode with Pearl.

The vet was their recommendation, Ann brought down Senior Feed for us to try with Pearl, they gave us water to fill our tanks and let us use their round pen.

Al has two horses, Ford (who is a mustang) and Twister who we rode with at Catalina. Anne also has two horses, a golden the quarter horse and a little Paso Fino. They gave up The Paso Fino's pasture to let Pearl and Blaze run in it today. We are so thankful to have made their acquaintance.

Al's home is lovely and totally off the grid. He has solar for electricity and collects water off the roofs of his house and barn. There is an

underground storage tank that he can fill up the horse water tanks. He also has a deep well.

The landscaping and pipe fences are very attractive. He has a small barn and a shed. I took pictures today of their place.

To thank Anne and Al for all their help, I gave them the pastel cougar I had worked on earlier. They were really a blessing to us.

So until tomorrow, Pam