settling in, new blog

It's one month to the day since Sir Walter and I arrived back in
Tucson. A whole month. Hard for me to believe. Seems like just
yesterday we rode up the Rillito to Riverbend Stables.

The logistics of re-entry were more challenging than I had planned for, and
I spent the first 2 weeks camping out in the boarders' "bathroom
trailer" (Thank you Jan!) while searching the ads for cheap trucks,
rentals and jobs.

But with the help of friends and family (Thank you Becky!) (Thank you
Mom and Dad!), I soon had a loaner car to use and in short order
landed truck, rental and soon-to-start job. *Whew!*

So much for practical concerns... the emotional and mental re-entry is
another matter entirely. Too big a subject for this short post.

Which brings me to...
New blog?

I am considering retiring this blog and starting another one for life
after the rides, or between rides, whatever. I'd post a link to it
somewhere on this one. Havent decided for sure, so if any of you
reading have thoughts on the matter your comments are welcomed...

Also, I suspect the ride will find its way into some sort of written
and/or visual creation down the line. If you'd like to be on a mailing
list for occasional updates, please send me your email by clicking the
"CONTACT" tab at the top of this web page and following the
directions. Be sure and put "MULE MAILING LIST" in the subject line, so I know it's not spam. Thanks!
And do check back often, as I intend to get a computer sometime within
the next few paychecks and will begin posting again soon.

Be well and enjoy the change of season, my friends.

Postscript... how we made it home alive

Rode Walter mule from Mississippi to Duncan, Oklahoma, where he got injured in fence wreck. Spent 7 weeks in Duncan while Walter recovered. Rode Walter from Oklahoma to New Mexico. Walter mule still showing signs of hip strain, decided he needed to get home and rest, not to ride him over the mountains. Kyle trailered us from Clovis NM to midstate... rode Walter a little further... hauled with racehorses from Albuquerque to north end of Phoenix... rode another day... Randy and Tony gifted us with the blessing of a trailer haul to Tucson, dropped us off a couple miles from the stable... and Sir Walter and I rode into town as I had imagined we would, slowly savoring our lone quiet walk up the dry Rillito riverbed, climbing the access ramp to the road, and riding up the drive to Riverbend Stables. 

 

Home.

 

Walter is in better shape now than the day we started. It was one of my goals. I'm proud of that.

[Postscript: Walter's hip strain healed up completely.]

Thank you to all who followed the ride for your support. I know there were times when y'all wrote wonderful comments on the blog and I could not reply, as I can't do comments from my phone.

But I want you to know that every word of support and encouragement from each one of you, whether comments on the blog, emails or phone calls, gave me a HUGE lift in spirits and morale - you have no idea how much it meant! Just knowing there were people out there who were sure we could do this.

When out on a Long Ride, if a rider gets lonely and discouraged they can stop thinking straight and make stupid mistakes, life-threatening stupid. Love and encouragement saves lives.

All of you helped keep me and Walter alive.

May all of you be showered with blessings, and may you enjoy many happy trails!

- Katie Cooper, Long Rider
(with a bray from Sir Walter the Red)

We made it to Tucson!

We're home.

Mississippi to Arizona!

Tonight... just want to say

THANK YOU to EVERYONE

One love, one life, blessings and beauty abound.

My love to you all!

And brave Sir Walter sends his regards.




Sir Walter the Red surveys his new realm

Almost home

Toni and Randy picked us up this afternoon and brought us to their
spread in Queen Valley, where we are their guests for the night.
Having a great time with new friends, freshening up, enjoying
wonderful hospitality & good company. Walter happy to be with horses.

Too tired to write more. g'nite all...

Next morning... went on beautiful ride in the Superstition Mountains

Toni and Randy, trail angels!

 

backtracking

Got great news! Toni, a member of AZBTR (who has never met me) is
going to haul us past the Phoenix metroplex Saturday, to her place in
West Queen Valley, south of town.

Last night was a pleasant stay at the racing barn, me in the tack room and
Walter in a ritzy pen with shavings. Trainer Juan's wife brought me
hot soup with the thinnest, best tortillas ever.

Today, rode off to get another 12-15 miles closer to Toni's spread, and find another
place to stay tonight. This is a very wealthy area near Scottsdale. The main road
we rode along is lined with huge million-dollar equestrian estates, elegant high-end boarding stables and training barns. All of them are behind locked automatic gates that open only to
vehicles. What side roads I tried out lead either to locked back entrances or to non-horse-property suburban houses, thier landscaped front yards planted with carefully chosen cacti.

We rode past all the fancy estates to the outskirts, where groomed grounds
gave way to empty desert and dirt roads leading to the occasional California-style house. No horse properties though, oddly. Then nothing, just desert hills as far as the eye could see.

We turned back.

We had travelled maybe 8 miles. We backtracked about 6 more miles before I
finally spotted a house with empty pens and what looked like an open side entrance. As I struggled with the wire ranch gate next to a cattle guard, a man stopped his car to offer help and ask who I was. Ron then called the neighbors - who weren't home - and got us permission to stay.

Tonight we are grateful guests of Dana and Trish, who own a pawn shop and have
6 dogs, 2 cats and no horses. That's right, they sold their last two horses three days ago.
Shower and cold milk (which I've craved, my body must need it), aaah!

Walter was pacing frantically alone in his pen, calling to the neighbor's horse. So
I pitched my tent in the pen next to his to keep him company. It
worked. He's quiet now, calmly munching hay pellets.

Early next morning...

Hellloooo Arizona

After six and a half impatient stress-filled days trapped in Bernardo
with no way out but riding Interstate 25 for 30 extremely dangerous
miles, riding the desolate road to Magdalena for 40 waterless
miles, or finding someone to haul us, we finally escaped. I paid a
racehorse hauler Vance had contacted to stash Sir Walter in back
behind the thoroughbreds and haul us to the owner's barn in Fountain
Hills, northeast of Phoenix.

Back in Arizona at last!

It felt very strange to trailer here, about 500 miles, eight hours in the
truck. Started out bad weather - wind gusts to 50mph, dust, then rain
off and on for a few hours. The beauty of the landscape was
breathtaking. Being accustomed to 3 miles an hour, the changes felt
like the speeded up time-lapse of an instructional science film. The
billboards, neon casino signs, trash and advertising and loud vehicles
farting exhaust felt like an assault.

But we made it. Arizona!

Next challenge: how to get around the Phoenix metroplex? Stay tuned!

the weekend

Our hosts in Bernardo, Vance and Alice M., run a thoroughbred breeding
operation. They have been going all out calling their racing contacts
to find us a haul to Arizona. It's looking pretty optimistic for next
week. Please think good thoughts and keep your fingers crossed for us!

In the meantime, I am spending the weekend in Albuquerque with my
Goddaughter Chloe and her boyfriend Jake. They are both wonderful
company - only wish I could have planned more time!

Chloe, not sure she wants her picture taken...

It was Balloon Festival weekend! This launch at 8am

Brrrrr

The weather has turned.

This morning I woke shivering in the predawn darkness, my little
shelter in the gooseneck of a horse trailer rocking in the blasting
wind. Cold as it was, I was grateful not to be in the tent with gusts
blowing in the sides.

Walter is starting to fur up. He seems to be adapting better to this
dry climate.

Tonight he's resting contentedly despite being in an open pen, feeling
safe and calm in the company of the surrounding herd.

And I'm snug in my little platform cave, having learned from last
night: wearing 2 layers, socks and gloves, with the wool horse blanket
draped over my sleeping bag. It's quite comfortable.

Don't know what gifts the morning will bring. Still in Bernardo.
Hoping to be home soon...

crossed the Rio Grande

In Bernardo tonight, low signal. (Bernardo isn't really a town - it's a place on the map where Hwy 60 and I-25 meet.) Vance M. stopped his truck this morning to ask where I was travelling to? Then offered to put us up about another 12 miles on, across the river and under the interstate, down a dirt road to his place with "lots of empty pens."

Crossing the Rio Grande was another one of those moments that had way more impact than I expected. The river under the bridge was running high from recent floods. Drivers passed us just before, giving us emphatic thumbs-up out their windows. Then there seemed to be a window of stillness as we crossed. No traffic, no sound but rushing water and the staccato beat of hooves on concrete. Walter was all business: trotting briskly with head up, ears forward.

And then it was done. We had reached the other side.

I tied Walter to a fence and tossed my canvas bucket over the rail, letting it fill and hauling it back up by the parachute string I have attached. My mule drank from the waters of the Rio Grande.

Tonight, guests of Vance and Alice M. at their breeding farm. Walter in pen, me out of the wind in horse trailer. Don't know if riding out tomorrow or waiting on possible haul. Didn't pass any N/S roads I could see besides I-25 on the way in. Don't see any side roads on the map either. Hmmm.

Walter wondering: "How will we get to Arizona?"

Sunset over Bernardo

Long haul & short ride

Once again I am humbled and blown away by the generosity shown us.

Johnny's friend Kyle S. has been keeping a roping horse and huge LQ
trailer at the house. Kyle lives 170 miles west. This morning Kyle
took his horse in the LQ and offered me and Walter a ride. Kyle being
good company, we got to talking... Kyle gets on the phone with
someone, and I hear him say "...we'll be stopping at the ranch to
switch trailers, and then I'm taking the mule lady to Bernardo..."
another 50 miles west! In one day, he got us past the truly desolate
dry stretch and to a couple miles east of the the Rio Grande.

Kyle dropped us off at the intersection of Hwy 60 and Hwy 308, a little 2-laner with barely any traffic that runs south, on the opposite side of the river from I-25.

heading down 380

Walter thinks he's on another planet

No Walter, we're not in Louisiana anymore...

From there we rode south on 308 about 8 miles to La Joya, where we are
tonight. I love these tiny New Mexican villages. It's good to be back
in the Southwest. And mountains! Mountains on the horizon! I know where
I am again!

First glimpse of the Rio Grande valley

La Joya post office

The only intersection in town. 380 dead-ends here.

Turns out 308 ends at this village. All roads south end at this village.
The Rio Grande is flooded and can't be forded. We'll have to ride all the way back to 60 tomorrow,
to where we got dropped off today, and cross near Bernardo. Ah, well.
It's only one day.

Tonight we are staying with Vince and Teresa, at the first horse pens I saw when we rode into town. Vince - with no prior horse experience - rescued an unhandled pregnant mare last year. She blessed him with an appaloosa baby with the most beautiful spotted blanket I've ever seen. Vince named the colt "Luna" because he was born at night under the full moon.

Teresa and Vince with mother and baby

Have to say it felt really, really good to be back on the road today on Sir
Walter. Walter seemed glad to be out too.

All tacked up & nowhere to go

Had Walter all saddled this morning and was about to lift the packs on
when I got a call - if I could wait just one more day, a haul to
Tucson.

I waited. This evening, the trailer ride fell through. But! Johnny
scored us a ride to Willard, 170 miles west of here. To put it in
perspective, that's almost 3 week's riding including rest days. Walter
and I are most grateful.

Yes, indeed we are.

letting go

One of the lessons of this Long Ride has been learning when to let go.
There are times when the harder I try to make a certain thing happen,
the more fervently I desire a particular outcome, the further out of
reach it gets. And then I finally give up and acknowledge that it just
ain't happening. I have to let go or I'll go mad. It's generally after
that point that things start to get interesting.

I intended, after reaching Clovis, to take a few days off to arrange a
trailer ride over the empty stretches and mountains. It never occurred
to me that there might be no trailer to be found.

It's now been 10 days and many searches and phone calls later.
Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Johnny and Sondra are back from Albuquerque, the weather is turning
and we need to leave NOW. I rode us into this dilemma, I'll have to
ride us out of it. And that's exactly what I'll be doing tomorrow.
Back to the open road...

grooming for mule and human

Walter's shoes aren't wearing out because they have diamond-hard
Drilltek welded on. But that doesn't keep his hooves from growing. So
yesterday, Walter got his mule pedicure.

Tony N, (the farrier father of Mindy, who adjusted Walter) came out
and pulled the shoes off, trimmed Walter's feet, and nailed the shoes
back on. Walter's hooves look great and seem more even now.

And Saturday, I got my own grooming upkeep - a haircut & styling at
Crazy Beautiful Hair Salon (love that name!) donated by hairstylist
Kirsty Forrest, Sondra's grandaughter. Kirsty gave me a great cut and
styled it so pretty I tried to think of places I could go to show it
off. It was Saturday night, after all!

This mule & human maintenance being done now in preparation for the
last bit of riding into Tucson and reentry into "normal" life.

Ummm.... normal. Right. LOL

1,000 miles

As of Clovis, I have ridden a thousand miles on this journey. Today I
was informed that I am now a full member of the Long Riders' Guild.

Everything I wrote about being inducted as an Associate goes double
for becoming a full member.
I'll simply add, thank you to everyone, especially my little red mule.
You all rock!

I could not have done it without so much help, human, mule and divine.

One love.

Made it to Clovis!

Walter mule and I have ridden from Mississippi to New Mexico.

We are guests of Johnny and Sondra F. for the next few days. Too much
to write about and too tired tonight, will post over the weekend.

Will say Walter saw his first ostrich today and hopefully his last...

And I celebrated tonight by dancing with cowboys to live music at a
local bar - Johnny and Sondra invited me out - they sure can cut a
rug, they showed those younger folks how it's done!

Sondra and Johnny F.

Walter's back

Sir Walter the Red is back to his old self! The happy healthy sound
mule I had three months ago, before his fence wreck. He was impatient
to leave this morning and stepped out in a beautiful ground-eating
stride that he kept up for hours, head bobbing, ears flopping. He was
playful and funny and arrived at this spread almost 17 miles later
none the worse for wear. As soon as he was turned out he ran along the
fence with the horses, tossing his head and bucking at them before
dropping for a vigorous roll.

I am astonished at what a difference the chiropractic adjustments
made. I hoped it would help, but never dreamed I'd see such an instant
transformation. Wow.

Tonight host of Linda P. in Farwell, alone in just~sold house while
Walter is penned outside. Enjoyed the solitude and books - read a
whole book in one sitting which is why I am posting this at midnight.
Late is okay...short day tomorrow.

Walter gets adjusted

Good day but long. Animal chiro clinic this afternoon, Walter got
another adjustment, to femur, and walked straight. He's way more
flexible now too. Mindy made a believer out of me!

Whole family drove me on tomorrow's route & then to Clovis to find us
a host, which they did. We are all set next two stops. Such a relief.

This has been a wonderful stay.

more rain!

Had destination today: The BACK in Bovina, TX. The BACK is a clinic for animal skeletal adjustment run by Mindy Neal, AVCA Certified in animal chiropractic.

Almost made it - 3 miles from town on hwy 86 - when
the downpour began. After a mile thunder & lightning broke from the
sky and we waited it out in a driveway using a little tree as a
pitiful attempt at a windbreak. Did we ever get soaked! A man drove up
in a pickup. He was the Mindy's father, farrier Tony Neal, looking
for us.

Tony left, we rode off into more rain, it began to clear and he came
back. He led us through town driving on the wrong side of the street.
We chatted through the driver's-side window, Walter picking his way through the puddles.

At the BACK, Mindy wasn't there but she had offered to put us up for the night
plus a rest day, and to see Walter for an adjustment the next day.
Tony got Walter settled, and then he and his wife Dottie invited me to
thier home next door to dry out my gear, soak in the Jacuzzi to warm
up, have a hot dinner while my packs and clothes were washed and dried,
and spend the night. Ohhhhh.... an offer I could not refuse!



Walter in the round pen.. "Hey! Where ya goin'?"

At dinner, Mindy joined us and after some father-daughter consultation on Walter's case decided
to work on him tonight in case he needed another treatment tomorrow.

We all traipsed next door. Dottie kept records, Mindy evaluated, and
father and daughter worked as a team, adjusting Walter front to back,
top to bottom. It was fascinating. Walter's reactions were fascinating
too, all over the map.

Walter gets adjusted

Tomorrow Mindy sees Walter again. I'll try write more then, about the clinic and family
and braiding and dogs and...

and I'm falling asleep...

that's it for tonight!

rain!

After leaving Monte and Sue B.'s place, Walter & I headed back up a
mile to the highway. There would be no alternative to 86 today. But
the shoulder was good riding, traffic was light and we had a lovely,
cool, overcast sky.

By midafternoon the clouds had gathered into a looming dark mass above
us. We found shelter at a farm with horses and pens just in time. The
farmer, Gary H., led us to the pens with covered run-ins. The rain
began as I unpacked Walter. By the time I fed him it was pouring
steadily, and continued in ebbs and flows for a couple of hours. Gary
said it was the first rain they'd had since July.

Later Gary brought melons from the farm garden. Ryan and April, the
farmhand and his fiance who live in the little house next door,
invited me over for supper. I contributed a melon.

Tonight I am looking out across Walter's pen at a classicly beautiful
Western sunset, deepening dusk. A lone star hangs in the sky at the
edge of the red and orange streaks. Crickets singing. Walter
munching. My tent in the pen here next to his. Cornfields all around
us. Sigh of contentment. It doesn't get much better than this.

bolting down the highway

Camped at farm off Hwy 62 not much signal short post.

Highlight of day was walking by goat herd, guard dogs spring up out of
nowhere scaring us both, Walter spins and bolts down the highway at a
dead run. Facing 75 mph traffic.

Found out I can ride his gallop! One-rein stop hopeless, all I could
do was "aim the bullet" which I  did,
keeping him on the asphalt shoulder and guiding him onto the grass,
where he slowed after a bit and I got him turned and stopped.

And then rode him by the goats and dogs at a walk. Walter stopped to
pee. I told him I just about beat him to it 10 minutes ago...

Mile after mile of lonely dirt road

Mile after mile after mile of lonely dirt road, stretching out in a
straight line across the flat Texas plain from Nazareth to Dimmit.
Solitude. Wind. The steady clop clop of Walter's hooves, his head
bobbing to his swinging foxtrotter walk.

Everything has a pattern, a rhythm. The lines of crops, the wheat
bending in the wind, the shades of green and yellow and brown, the
flocks of migrating swallows perched on phone lines, flocks that rise and
swirl around us as we ride by.

We made it all the way to Dimmit, to a mile or so north of Dimmit
actually, where we are guests of Dimmit Veterinary Clinic and all of
our needs being wonderfully tended to by
the very generous and thoughtful Dr. Amber Reiman. In the morning, she
will take care of Walter's next 30-day Health Certificate (needed to
cross into New Mexico).

Walter appreciates the good footing of the dirt roads we've been on,
but he doesn't care for the landscape. His head hangs with boredom
after a while, and every so often he suddenly speeds up, even breaking
into a trot, ears at attention, looking this way and that at the
endless acres of flat land empty of livestock. Then he'll let
out a long, loud, mournful bray, slow to a walk and, I swear, sigh,
and go back to his steady clop-clop, ears flopping.
I think all this emptiness is just too foreign to my little Louisiana
mule, used to the bayous and piney woods. Wait 'til he sees eastern New
Mexico! But he might love the dense Sonoran Desert.

Rain and welcome

It rained tonight!

Believe me, in this parched land even the shortest shower is welcome.
And lucky for me I was not pitching my tent in the rain as darkness
fell.

We had ridden 15 miles to a liquor store I'd been told about, to ask
the owner if we could camp in the rodeo arena out back. He wasn't
there. After an hour he still wasn't there. It was getting late. A
wonderful good Samaritan (and foster mom to 18 kids!) brought me a hot
dinner. As I talked with her and grazed Walter in the bar ditch by
the store, a truck pulling a horse trailer stopped by us. A big-
smiling man rolled down the window, leaned across the seat and said in a rush:

"Hi, I'm Ty, Marcus called from the bank and said he heard you were
here. You need a place to stay tonight?"

And so the rural grapevine saved us once again. So here we are tonight
at the new (as of 3 weeks ago!) home of cowboy Ty, cowgirl-now
sales-rep wife Shaye, 4-yr-old son Colton, and any of assorted friends
or family who happen to drop in. Which it's clear they do on a regular
basis - it's that kind of warm home, full of welcome and laughter.
After a dinner entirely from the garden and family herd, I'm under
covers secure in the knowledge that Walter is in a big pen with lots
of hay.

Shaye and Colton

lazy day

Day off for Walter. He spent it pacing a little, but mostly eating and
sleeping when he wasn't visiting with the three geldings over the
fence.

I spent the day mostly indoors watching movies with Marilyn, who is retired from the post office - felt kinda guilty about not being more productive but I think my arts-starved brain enjoyed
the diversion. Husband Butch showed me some dramatic pics he took with his smartphone of the process of recovering an old pump from a deep well. It was very interesting to hear about how that's done.

Tomorrow will be back camping. Should be nice cool riding, overcast predicted.

Tulia TX

Good old-fashioned dirt roads all the way to Tulia. Once he got done
saying goodbye to last night's stablemates, Walter stepped out
smartly.

Ready to go

Perfect weather: overcast, breezy, a little sun now & then, never got
above 80. Such peaceful riding, my mind quieted and I became entranced
by the sound of hoofbeats, a lone bird singing, insects droning in
stereo, the wind...
our first music.

 

 

 

 

Tonight, at home of Butch and Marilyn L., quarter horse breeders. They
have graciously offered to put us up an extra day if Walter needs it.
Will decide in the morning.

Out where the West begins

Yesterday coming through the part of Palo Duro Canyon called the
Caprock, I was struck by how much it looks like parts of northern New
Mexico, and had a surge of coming-home feeling. Big sky... red dirt...
mesquite and scrub pine... deep gullies, canyons and rolling hills...
only thing missing was mountains.

past the canyon, past Silverton, it gets flat 

Across from the H.'s. This highway has become a ghost road since they recently closed a big meat-packing plant. 

Abandoned store. Once a booming corner.

Mule parking is okay

Last night at Clint and Aubrey H.'s, camped out in the cattle pen,
blessedly free of security lights, no nearby cities, the night sky
glittered with billions of stars. The Milky Way splashed across the
heavens in all it's glory.

Walter wanted to see the stars from my vantage point, too. I had to
rope off my tent area after he walked over and stuck his head inside.



Walter tried to crawl into my tent in this corner...

The H.'s, a teacher and game warden and son Zane, were wonderful
folks, Clint even delivering hay at 10 pm. Another good ending to a
driveway night.

We rode 10 miles that day, plus another 2 on detours looking for
shelter. This morning Sir Walter was fine - no soreness or complaints
- and eager to get back on the road.

It turned out to be a much farther ride than anticipated. At 10 miles I stopped by a bridge and
stripped the packs and tack off Walter to give his back a breather.

We watched, and luckily saw none

A service truck pulled up and two young men got out and approached,
introducing themselves as Allen and Adam.

"And you must be Katie!"

Imagine my surprise! Turns out once again, I was following Sea's
route. Allen knows Jay S. ... who helped Sea last year ... Jay follows
Sea's blog where he read about me and unbeknownst to me had been
following my blog ... Allen called Jay and said "Guess what, I just
passed that Long Rider lady Sea on the highway"... Jay told him no, it
was a different Long Rider - me ... they drove back and stopped to ask
if I needed anything ... I said yes, a pen for Walter for the night.
Allen calls Jay,.. Jays calls friends... after a few miles through
fields we end up at friendly and welcoming home of Marcus and Jamie S.
Enjoyed evening of good conversation about all sorts of things. And
now with Walter safely tucked in, I'm off to bed as well.

Jamie S.

back in the Lone Star State

Kelly H hauled us over the Caprock to east of Silverton. Beautiful canyon.
Walter did well on the flat. Camped in pen tonite no electric no phone
charge so more tomorrow.



Walter tried to crawl into my tent in this corner...

It's all up to Walter now

Mr. H.'s stable manager and racehorse trainer, Jamie R., had a look at Walter. After watching Walter move he immediately pinpointed the problem, having me run my fingers along the small swollen area on his upper hip that I had missed, and showing me the slight dip to the right with each step. Jamie said it was an injury to the ligament, and should heal completely with time - lots of time. Like maybe six months or more of pasture boarding time when we get home, letting Mother Nature do her work.

Until then, he said, riding Walter won't make the injury any worse. There's no risk of causing permanent damage. It just won't start healing until Walter stops working. So my question was - what about pain? Can I keep him comfortable?

There was no easy answer. Jamie's informed opinion was that if I kept as much weight as possible off Walter's loins and didn't ride him on any steep grades, and kept the mileage per day down, my strong little mule might do fine. But that I should carry some bute powder (equine pain meds) and if he didn't do fine, give him some every morning and give him aloe vera juice to prevent ulcers.

Well... with all due respect (and Jamie definitely earned my respect), if it turns out Walter can't be ridden without causing him pain, I won't ride him. I'll find someone to haul us home from wherever we are. As of right now, there's no way to tell until we get back on the road. I do know he's been doing fine on the days when good Samaritans hauled the packs ahead for us. He even made 17 miles one packless day, with no sign of any soreness. So it's definitely the weight of the rear saddlebags on the injured ligament that's the problem.

Here's the current plan:

Kelly H. generously offered to haul us over the Caprock to Silverton, TX, and I accepted. The Caprock is a hundred-mile-long steep and beautiful canyon between here and Silverton, part of which is a state park. With his injury, there's no way Walter could climb that rise right now.

Once in Silverton, it's flat all the way to Clovis, NM, about 115 miles as the crow flies. After that, there's a steady upgrade and then mountains. We'll end our ride in Clovis.

If anybody reading this knows of someone who could haul us from Clovis to Tucson around the end of September, please contact me: phone 520 403 four 0 four 2. Or email pentimental (at) yahoo (dot) com. Thank you!


In the meantime, I've managed to dump another 8 pounds of stuff. There are some things I got rid of only knowing this last push is for a few weeks at most. Including - the ultimate sacrifice - my stove and sterno.

Never mind giving up hot meals... no stove = *gasp*... no coffee!!

Well, no hot coffee. I'm keeping my bag of instant and the tin cup. I'll just pour powder into room-temp water every morning. Only a few weeks... only a few weeks...

And the H.'s bought foam padding to try under the saddlebags. I loaded Walter with his lighter, padded packs this afternoon and rode him about a quarter mile. He seemed to do fine; no protests or lagging. Hips felt okay. We'll just have to see how it goes tomorrow. Please wish us luck on this final leg of the journey, and as always, thank you for following the ride!

Yours truly, Long Rider

Everyone who follows this blog - I have a belated announcement:

I'm very honored to say I've been inducted into the Long Riders' Guild.

Full membership requires a ride of at least 1000 continuous miles. After Walter had his barbed-wire wreck, when it looked like his injury might mean the end of this year's ride, the Guild stunned me with an invitation to become an associate member. Associate membership is, on rare occasions, offered to those who have ridden at least 500 continuous miles, who have upheld the standards of the Guild, and whose rides were ended short of 1000 due to circumstances beyond their control.

I accepted the honor with both pride in our accomplishment (the honor is Walter's as well) and the humility of knowing we are in the company of many much more daring adventurers whose feats I can only admire, or perhaps aspire to someday.

I was waiting until we were listed on the LRG website before announcing it here. I was just listed under "Associate Members." Our ride is also listed under "Current Exhibitions."

Meaning... "It ain't over til the fat lady sings"...

Sept. 5, today, north of Hollis OK

Highway 62 has a good shoulder, but highway riding is loud and disturbing, so once we got to Gould I cut south a mile to get back on the small dirt roads. I knew it'd be another scorcher day among the flat fields without shade or much water, but I figured if it got too bad we could just cut back to the highway where there were stops. It was only 8 miles as the crow flies to our next stop, a pen owned by Kris' brother, which Kris had called ahead and arranged (Thank you again, Kris!!)

I had learned from the past few days to stop at least every two hours at any property that looked like it might have water, and offer Walter a drink. Also, if he wanted to go slow, to go slow.

He did want to go slow. We plodded along. We stopped at a farmhouse and got water from a nice young man. Walter tanked up. We plodded another couple miles. I felt Walter struggling to get his hips comfortable. I got off and walked a mile or so. The sun was blazing. A man drove up in a cloud of dust, stopped his flatbed truck and asked us what in the world we were doing out there? Was my mule okay? Didn't I know it was too hot to be walking? Then he offered to turn on his well spigot, hidden in the ground next to a dry cattle tank a few feet from where we were standing. If the gentleman had not driven by at the exact moment we were by his tank, we would have unknowingly passed by the last source of water for the next five miles. Walter stood quietly in grateful bliss as I hosed him down after he had his drink.

We made it to Hollis, but it turned out the pen south of town was not situated for a two-day stay. I felt bad because Mr. H's hand, Lynn, had cleaned out and refilled a huge cattle tank, but after Mr. H. arrived and generously offered to put us up at his ranch house and pens north of town, Lynn not only volunteered to haul us there but even loaned me his extra car for the duration of my stay!

When we got to Kelly and Lori H.'s huge spread about 5 miles north of Hollis, Walter was tucked into bed for the afternoon/evening in a spacious comfy pen with shade, alfalfa and horses the next pen over. I was given a bedroom in the spacious comfy ranchhouse with indoor toilet, shower and laundry, all of which I have learned to greatly appreciate from time to time. We will be here for the next two days, for a much-needed rest after travelling in the heat. I'll have someone who knows more than I do look (again!) at Walter's hip while we're here.

thoroughbred stalls



Where's Walter? Can you see him?



Aha! Cunning red-on red camouflage

And now after a cheerful dinner with 3 generations of extended family, after one more post I'm off to bed.

KD, the ranch dog

Sept. 4, east of Gould OK

A "driveway night." Walter is still having issues with his right hip since the barbed wire wreck. I've had him seen by two vets, both of whom I paid to watch me lead him around, say they could see nothing wrong and suggest "maybe he just needs rest." He's not lame, and they may not see anything wrong, but he keeps his weight off that leg whenever he's standing, holds it out at an unnatural angle when he pees, and I can feel it "off" when I ride. Now today, fully packed, he again began seriously lagging at about 8 miles, constantly stopping and cocking his hip to rest it. So at 9 miles, before we even reached Gould, I rode a mile north to the more populated highway and turned up the driveway of the first ranch property I saw.

Fortune was with us. The owner, Harry C., was about to leave on a 10-day trip. Before he left, he set Walter up in a nice big pen full of Bermuda grass, showed me where the water and electric were and said to set my tent up anywhere. Then he drove off, trusting me on his place. I camped next to Walter in a grassy area, both of us content.

The next morning a friend of his, Marvin, delivered hot coffee and sausage biscuits - what a nice way to start the day! Apparently Mr. C. told Marvin we were there. Then it was off for another hot day on shadeless county roads, but not far to Hollis.

Sept. 3, west of Duke OK

 17 long miles, made possible once again by Kris and Joe, who dropped the packs off ahead for us. We crossed the Red River again, and were met on the other side by a reporter from the Altus paper and gave an impromptu interview while getting water from some nice folks.

 Walter had the run of two beautifully fenced acre pastures right on Hwy 62 this night, courtesy of Jerry M., a friend of Kris and Joe. His hand Dennis came looking for us while we were still on the back roads, bringing cold water which was much appreciated in the heat. And then drove by about every half hour to see if we were okay - made me feel very safe on those desolate stretches!

I was kindly offered space under any of the three barns, where there would be a water hose and electricity. However, a plague of huge black crickets had hit the region two days ago; they suddenly hatched the day I rode to Altus, covering the walls of any building. This is what the inside of the barn looked like:

And the pasture was so lovely and inviting... nobody around, I could leave my tent uncovered and sleep under the stars... even with the rumble of nighttime highway traffic, it was one of the most peaceful nights I've spent on the road. Walter stayed close most of the night and every time I woke up, I'd hear him grazing. Such a comforting sound...