Some corrals have been okay, some not so okay. Tonight the horses are in a very okay corral. I went and looked up the meaning of Okay Corral. As I discovered on Wikipedia, the “gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a 30-second shootout between lawmen and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It is generally regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the wild west. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud, with Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and Town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policeman Morgan Earp, Special Policeman Wyatt Earp, and temporary policeman Dock

Holliday on the other side. Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Wes Fuller ran from the fight. Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed. Wyatt is often erroneously regarded as the central figure in the shootout, although his brother Virgil was Tombstone city marshal and deputy U.S. marshal that day and had far more experience as a sheriff, constable, marshal, and soldier in combat.”

So there you have it. I am sitting on my five gallon bucket, the one with the seat lid. Before me is a pine log corral – inside, there are handful of tall, tall pine trees. The latter provide shade and allow the horses to meander around some. The pen and trees are ideal for these three restless ponies who are now in peak condition. I suspect that either Raudi or Tyra or both are in season. They have been chasing one another around and nipping and squealing. Hrimmi has been focused on staying out of their way.

We arrived here at 3 p.m., early, figuring that we all needed to rest up. Plus we were unsure as to what was ahead in the way of accommodations. We did our wash, then strung up a line between the trailer windows and a cabin porch railing. The clothes have been on the line for nearly an hour now and are nearly dry.

I set up the tent. Tonight we’ll be semi-nomadic again.

Pete went to take a shower and discovered there was no hot water. I lost $4.00 in Canadian Loonies in the woman’s shower. The water was on fifteen seconds, enough time for me to soap up, and then it went off. I cursed loudly, what else can a person do?

We met interesting people today, with Pete and me being the center of attention. This morning, at the lodge in Hinton there was a map on the wall, which Pete and I stood and examined. Two very fit middle-aged woman joined us. The pair had just done an eight-day hike in the area we are interested in trekking – it runs along an old railroad bed. We talked for a long time about our respective journeys. I gave them one of my Tolting the Divide cards. I doubt I’ll hear from them – everyone has good intentions but at the distance communications never seem to materialize.

And this evening the horses were again the center of attention. A fellow with 5 children came over to our camp and asked if the kids could see the horses. The horses obliged, by coming over to the fence. He said he worked for the military and that he had just been reassigned to Elmendorf Airforce Base, which is outside of Anchorage. So he, the wife, and the kids were on the move. I gave the kids club crackers to give to the horses – there we had it, instant petting zoo. Ryder said hello then sacked out on the porch.

This visit was fortuitous – Raudi and Tyra at least momentarily stopped sniping at one another. I have a hard enough time dealing with them – I don’t know how I would fare dealing with five children.

The family left and the dog began barking. A chipmunk by the corral has caught her attention. Now there are, close by, two more. They must have decided that it’s time now to torture the dog.

A Postscript. Pete suggested that I attempt to take a shower in a building closer to our campsite. I put my Lonnie in the slot, turned it, and groaned as a small trickle of cold water came out of the shower head. This just wasn’t fair. I stopped the owner of the facility as he was passing by on his four wheeler. He reimbursed me for what I’d spent, in loonies, plus a couple more. He said that he did not believe that the shower wasn’t working. I showed him. He apologized, saying something about the majority of tourists not being all that bright. “Hrrmph,” I said.

Next: 221. 8/11/19: Where to Begin?