It Takes A Team

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6/27 & 6/28/10

6/27/10, Durango, CO - This was a good day for travel, and I met some really nice people along the way. 

After breaking camp and saying goodbye to my hosts, Jesse and Kevin, the team and I started heading down the canyon. Our first stop was at the store in Hesperus, where we met some great people.  Hesperus also has the distinction of being the home of the late Western Author, Louis L’Amour.  His wife Kathy still resides there. If you’ve read Louis, you’ll probably remember that many of his books took place in the Southwest Colorado area.

In Hesperus, two young ladies were absolutely captivated by Doc. Doc regrets that he could only talk the one that was not wearing a skirt to sit on his back.

The road to Durango was pleasant, and mostly downhill. Since it was an easy pull for the team, I only had two hitched, and Doc got the day off.  I stopped for lunch at the head of Wildcat Canyon, where I spent the night on the way west.  The creek where I dipped water for the horses was mostly dry.

Since I didn’t have to go to the post office, I skirted the southern edge of the city and headed into the new business district, south of town.  It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon, and there were a lot of families out enjoying the sunshine and the Aminas River.

Coming down off the hill and headed for Durango.

A lot of people stopped to chat, interested to hear my story, but also because of the newspaper coverage I received 7 weeks ago. A pair of young ladies were really incredulous that I could actually do what I’m doing.  I left them with a piece of advice, “Do what you want to in this life; not what someone else thinks you should do.” In the future, I think their parents will come to regret the advice that I offered, but the girls may be happier for having received it.

Two young ladies, who may one day hitch up and go for it.

A few miles up the road, I was pulled over by Gay and Darrell. They have been following the blog for some time.  Returning from a fishing trip in Wyoming, they kept their eyes peeled for horse droppings until they found me.  It was a very successful fishing trip, and they left me with a nice package of Rainbow Trout (yum). It’s people like this couple, going way out of their way, that really help make this a wonderful trip!

Gay and Darrell Hall, from Huntsville, TX. Longtime followers of the blog, who tracked me down (Indian fashion) and left me a nice present.

After putting in a 21 mile day, I turned the team onto a nice piece of roadside grass. The right-of-way I was on, happened to be in front of a house and business, so I walked up and asked the occupant if he minded that I camped there.  Even though I was on State land, I try to follow this habit as a form of civility.  Chris readily said ‘no problem’, and even offered what assistance he could.

Not long after settling in, several neighbors and other folks stopped by to say ‘hi’; including Greg, Laurel, Kim and the guy that bought the beer.  An impromptu beer drinking and story telling session followed, and everybody had a great time.

6/28/10, West of Yellowjacket Hill, CO - Doc and Bob and a long day of pulling with several big hills to climb on the way.  For most of the day, I had some nice company and it was a pleasant change from my normal routine.

Before pulling out in the morning, Laurel stopped by with the ingredients for breakfast. After dining like kings, I asked her if she wanted to ride along for the day. She readily accepted, and I had some nice conversation until we reached the town of Bayfield.

After pulling the steep hill between Durango and Bayfield, I had a nice conversation with three parties of people who stopped to greet me. The Grandfather from the man (second from the left) drove 4 mules and a wagon across the country, 40 years ago.

All day long, I was stopping to chat with people.  Traffic is very thick on this section of road, but I got a lot of waves from people going by.

At lunch, I pulled over at a wide piece in the road that I had camped on, when traveling west, 7 weeks ago.  One of the first people to stop, was George Rysbek (sp?), a Colorado State Patrol Officer. George is a horse enthusiast himself, and we had a great time chatting about this and that. He was careful to report to Denver Dispatch that he was rendering an ‘Assist’; which is true, because he had some great advice to offer.

It’s amazing how lush the grass is where the boys grazed 7 weeks ago.  I think something in the air (or from their rear ends) made it grow so thick and green!

While George and I were talking, several car loads of ladies stopped to say ‘hi’ and offer any assistance that I might need.  Doc finally got his wish; and had a very pretty gal in a skirt climb onto his back.  I thought I heard him whisper, “No pictures please, this is a private moment!”  I had friends in common with several of these extremely nice women.

In the town of Bayfield, I said goodbye to my rider, Laurel, and carried on with my eastern travel.

A few miles further down the road, I found some nice grass on the side of the road, and settled in with the team.  Several neighbors stopped by to say ‘hi’ and offer whatever assistance they could.

At a gas station in Bayfield, the team had another first - being petted by girls on roller blades.

My guests tonight included, a guy from down the road, Marcy, a neighbor who rode over on her horse, and an Equine Vet, who offered whatever assistance I might need. 

In the past couple of days, I’ve met some really Good people who have gone out of their way to help and offer whatever help they could to assist me on my journey. I can only conclude that, there are Good People Everywhere!

Cruising down the road.  The hill in the background is Yellowjacket Hill.

Marcy, returning to her ranch after stopping over to chat.

I didn’t catch these trout; they were Wyoming trout, compliments of the Hall’s.