This is what Pete has been telling me for years. He figured out that this is why people read memoirs and travel literature. I didn’t want to believe him because this seemed to me to be overly simplistic. But it is, sad to say, quite true.

I was wondering if there would be any hardship on this trip. After all, the past few days in the Selway area were like being in Paradise. We had the trails to ourselves, beautiful places to camp, and all the amenities (water, outhouse, a nice grassy area in which to pitch our tent, and a place to highline our horses). We also had decent weather although it was a tad bit too warm.

I got lulled into a state of complacency. No, we didn’t have any traffic accidents, but this was our toughest travel day thus far. I presumed that we’d easily find a place to camp around 6 or 7 p.m. and that it, being a

rodeo grounds, would have clean pens, hot showers, a kitchen, and cool horse owners.

And so, after leaving the Selway area, we continued on, and later in the day sought a place to camp. We got to Boise, and began looking for the rodeo grounds. Finally, after what was a city-driving related nightmare, complete with many wrong turns, we came to the Boise Rodeo grounds. A woman on a tractor told us that we could not stay there because she had to lock the place up. She suggested that we next check out the Boise Fairgrounds, which we did. It took us a long time to find this place –finally, we arrived. A very large fellow who we caught up with in the livestock pavilion told us we could not stay and did not offer us any suggestions as to where we might go.

I grew very anxious after leaving because, again, we were caught in a traffic morass. And the horses in the aluminum box, I knew that this was not at all easy on them. I was also concerned because Raudi isn’t a big water drinker when travelling. She waits until the day’s end and then tanks up.

We got out of Boise and kept going. It began to get dark. We asked about the rodeo grounds in Mountain Home, and were directed down a quite highway. Finally, we came to a small town, stopped, and went into the Cowboy Hangout Bar. There were several cowboys there, some playing pool. We asked and were told that the Bruno Rodeo grounds was up road – we were to cross the cattle guard and turn left. This is what we did. We kept going and going and going – there was no rodeo grounds. We finally turned around, and at the turnoff by the cattle guard, we stopped and checked out a skookum stock pen, one made of wood and about eight feet high. It was a friggin fortress. It was late, but still we moved some wood and made it habitable for our horses. Pete and I agreed that putting the horses into the pen beat tying them to the trailer for the night.

I climbed into the truck bed. I could not see the horses because the spacing in between the wood boards did not allow for this. I kept telling myself the horses had water and hay, and because they were tired they would not move around much. Hardship sells. Well, I guess I made a few hundred dollars today.

Next: 153. J6/3/19: Kemmerer, Wyoming -- Rodeo Grounds