The Wagonteamster Channel has it’s first video production - Journey To the Valley Of the Wild Horses

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10/21/12, Ridgecrest, CA (Coord. N. 35 deg, 36.517 min; W. 117 deg, 43.587 min).

I awoke to a splendid sunrise and the sun climbed to it’s zenith over a glorious day.

After breaking camp in my desert fastness, I trekked down the road with Bob and Doc hitched to the wagon.  I had my sights set on obtaining some grain and hay from Herb’s Ace Hardware store in the town of Inyokern.

It was nice to be traveling on a country road with almost no traffic and a lot of friendly people waving and stopping to chat.

The hills partially shrouded in mist as the sun rose above the mountains to the east.

Originally, I planned on stopping in Inyokern for grain, then heading due east for the City of Ridgecrest.  After talking with some of the locals, I opted instead to approach Ridgecrest from the southeast, leaving me with better camping opportunities in the desert outside of town.

As the sun poked over the eastern horizon, the mountains to the west were capped with clouds.

Inyokern is a very nice town, full of friendly people. On my eight mile journey down Brown Road, I talked with folks at least a dozen times. 

The folks at Herb’s Hardware were great and I topped off the trailer with hay and grain. After taking on my supplies, I filled up on water and had a great lunch out in the parking lot.

The Inyokern Business District.

After lunch, I continued south on Brown Road.  I saved myself several miles of travel by taking a shortcut, Bowman Road, east towards the southern part of Ridgecrest.  It was a tough pull down a sandy road that was rough with ‘washboarding’ but worth it for the the distance I saved.

Last February, when I planned out this trip, I arbitrarily assigned some dates to my trip map on where I should be in my travels at a particular time. Amazingly enough, I’ve managed to be within two weeks of these dates the whole time.  When I was planning the trip, I knew I had to be south of Bishop, CA by December 1, to miss the big snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  With Bishop now 127 miles behind me, I think I’m now safe from any inclement winter weather that would impede travel.

Tonight, I’m camped in the desert, just west of Ridgecrest.  Tomorrow morning, I only have a three mile drive to Walmart, where I have to pick up a few things.  After that, I have to swing by the grocery store before heading out of town.

A couple of young cowboys enjoying a moment on Bill.

This was another great day of travel.  Tonight, the wind is blowing strongly, but I have some good ground in which to put the stakes in for the electric fences.  Last night, the ground was softer and I was concerned the fences might be blown down in the middle of the night, so I tied the horses to the wagon and trailer all night. With firmer stakes, I feel more confident with the two separate enclosures.  At least I won’t have my A.D.D. horse, Bill, pulling on the wagon all night long.