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Trip Dispatch #14, Wednesday, June 1. Monte Vista to Off Ranch: Again, the kindness of strangers

We were woken at dusk by the sound of large vehicle outside the tent. I threw back the tent flap and, saw a well-lit, slow-moving vehicle lurching its way across the nearby field. It was a surreal scene. Pete, thinking that the truck was dispersing potentially bad chemicals, suggested we get up and move the tent. I said that we should instead put our head under the pillows, which we did. Later, before going to work, Rachel said that the chemicals, herbicides, were harmless to humans. I suspect that she was right, or she and Jeff would by now be goners.

We ate lunch off the road, by a creek. On the far side of the fence were two white

Raudi didn't know what to think of these llamas
Raudi didn't know what to think of these llamas

lamas with black eye patches. Raudi, head held high the entire time, was beside herself. The other two horses weren’t at all bothered by the seemingly strange creatures.

Storm clouds blew in after lunch. As luck would (again) have it, we were directed by a motorist to the Off Ranch. A ranch employee said that we should talk with owner (“the Boss”) Corey Off, and went to find him for us. Corey is a congenial fellow, who in the midst of an approaching rainstorm took the time to deliberate as to where we might stay. I mean, he really thought hard about this. I finally tied up the horses and waited for him to come up with something, all the while thinking that at any moment, we’d all be caught in a downpour. Corey finally suggested that we camp in a nearby pasture. Such a difference in attitude between the Offs and the Eagle Ranch rancher. As we headed in that direction, the storm passed. We set up camp under a blue sky.

Next: Dispatch #15: A Full Day