It Takes A Team

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Wagonteamster

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4/2/10, St. Vrain, TX - Now that April Fool’s Day is over, we’re back to having really fantastic days. After topping off the water tank this morning, I hitched up Bob and Doc and started through Clovis.  Our first stop was for gasoline, then off to Jim’s Boot Shop (and feed store) for a few bales of alfalfa. 

On the west side of Clovis, I stopped to talk with a couple of car loads of people.  One of the guys had a great gift for me.  Just the other night, I was telling Clementine (as we chewed on our Chuck Steak, “You know Clem, we have fillet mignon taste, and a chuck steak budget”. Out of the blue, this guy today presents me with 6 beautiful fillet mignon steaks, wrapped in bacon. I tell you, the Big Guy was smiling on Clem and I today!

We stopped for lunch near the gate for Cannon Air Force Base.  There, I met a nice guy that talked with John McComsey, when he came through last summer. We had such a great time talking about horses and mules, I almost forgot to wolf down a sandwich.

West of Cannon AFB, the terrain changed from irrigated farm lands to range land. For the past week. we’ve been climbing a slow, but steady grade, and are currently at 4600 ft. elevation. We’re not seeing much in the way of cactus or mesquite trees, just lots of grass, with a few yucca plants here and there.

Driving has been easy, with big shoulders, no rumble strips, and shallow graded hills.  Bob and Doc drove well all day long.  We put in 20 miles today, before settling in the booming metropolis of St, Vrain.  That are only two houses here and a shack, which passes as a post office.

Tonight, I’m sort of the guests of the Taylors.  They’re supplying me with water and power, but I’m located across the street at a rest area.  I was talking to Jim about my need for more water containers, when he came up with a nice 30 gallon, plastic barrel with a nice drain valve.  Jim even helped me install a cradle for it in the back of the trailer.

After repacking the trailer (and relearning how to make everything fit) I had plenty of visitors tonight.  They included two groups of folks from Fort Sumner (which I’ll get to in two days), and Lucas, who brought me two nice bales of hay.  When I get to Fort Sumner, I’ve got a free meal waiting for me at the restaurant.  I’ve also got a place to stay, courtesy of a guy I met in Clovis this morning.

The team is tied to the wagon tonight, but very content with their bellies full of alfalfa.

Clem and I have bellies full of home stuffed German Sausage (thanks to the cotton farmers that we stayed with in Littlefield, TX.  This was the last of the sausage, so tomorrow night, we’ll have to suffice with fillet mignon!

Doc, maintaining his ‘kid-a-day’ policy.