Camping & Trail Riding at Love Valley

Heeelllooo!! How’s your week going? I’ve been super busy with everything I’ve got going on and haven’t had time to post. 🙁

Did you know today is National Day of Encouragement? I need a lot of encouragement right now. My new barn owner is looking to sell the farm and I’ve been doing everything in my power to figure out a way to buy it. I’m really wanting the farm plus 8 acres that backs up to it. The 8 acres has a septic and well on it but no house. In order to purchase the farm and the 8 acres I have to get a land loan.  There in lies the problem. A land loan requires 20% down and I don’t have that much cash laying around. The best I could come up with was 10% and its possible to do a loan with that; however, the loan term drops by 10 years which increases the monthly payment. A LOT. So can’t do that either. I’ve looked at every possibility under the sun and keep coming up empty handed. It just sucks too. I want this place so bad. It truly is what I would consider my dream place minus the house right now but there is plenty of hope to build one in a few years. If only I could secure the property. 🙁 I keep praying for some type of miracle but I’m starting to lose hope. So if you have some words of encouragement (i.e know how to secure a land loan without 20% down and still have a low monthly payment) please share! I could use a boost of confidence.

On to other news. Labor Day weekend I went camping/riding at Love Valley. Love Valley is an old western town located near Statesville, NC and has been around for years. The town includes a blacksmith, a couple saloons, tack stores, restaurants, and more. This was my first time going there and it was really neat. Here’s some pictures I snapped while I was there.

These were taken early morning before most people were up. If I would have waited till later in the day you wouldn’t have been able to see anything. There were hundreds of people camping/riding this weekend and the town was packed. Horses were tied to the hitching posts on both sides while their riders enjoyed mingling, shopping, drinking, and eating.

We arrived late Friday night and set up camp. This was my first time camping with my new trailer and I LOVED it! Everything worked perfectly, my bed slept wonderfully, and the experience was awesome. I will say I wasn’t a fan of camping because of bad experiences I’ve had in the past but when your trailer has everything you need in it, it’s much better. All I’m missing is a potty and it’s easy to DIY my own to use in the back part…when there’s no bath house to use. 😉

We rode the Pinto Bean Trail on Saturday. Most of the trail was in the woods and pretty rocky. There were quite a few creek crossings and open areas to rest the horses.  While riding, one of the boys with us got into a nest of Yellow Jackets which was no good. Thank goodness for him being on a really good horse that didn’t buck or run off. Later I found out people were running into nests on many parts of the trail, so we got lucky we only got attacked by 1.

Poor Te was really sweaty and tired. I haven’t been riding him much in the past year so we took it really easy and only rode a few hours. The trail wasn’t too bad either for a horse that is out of shape.

Love Valley was a really neat place but I will say I wasn’t impressed with the trails. I’m use to places like Uwharrie and Mt Rogers that offer nice views and miles of trails that cross one another. The trail we rode was pretty boring and required some road riding to get to it. I don’t like road riding. I think it’s to dangerous and not worth the risk. However, I made an exception this time since it was back roads with hundreds of other riders. If we did see cars they had to go so slow from all the horses that it seemed safe. While I didn’t like the trails I did love the town. Most people I’ve talked to say they go to party and have fun. I get that now.

If you’re interested in Camping and Trail Riding at Love Valley, go here to see a list of places to stay. The Valley fills up fast during Easter and Labor Day so if you’re planning a trip during the holidays book well in advance.