And so here we are, sitting in the truck, Pete is reading Catch 22, and I am writing in one of my innumerable journals. Outside, it’s raining. It rained as we pulled into this gravel pit and began setting up the tent.

The three mares are tied to the trailer. Pete says that they’d be too warm if we put their raincoats on them. It’s a toss-up. No rain, instead we’d have to deal with fire smoke.

Some would say that this is not an idyllic vacation. But then say, if there was a horse hotel nearby with a room for us, and a corral for the horses, we would have gone for it. There are no such places in Alaska.

We did a week’s worth of packing in less than half a day. Pete focused on the things he does, packing sleeping gear, putting food in the coolers, and getting his personal gear together. Me, I’m not sure what it is I do in preparing for a vacation. I can say that on the part of us both there was single minded intensity of focus.

I did not work on Shelf Life because I didn’t have the time. I may still work some tonight.

We pulled out of the driveway at 2:00 p.m. We had planned on leaving at noon, horses in tow, but this proved to be unrealistic. We first stopped at the Hillside Gas Station and got gas. Then Pete pulled over across the way from Bill and Charlene’s place and I went up to the door and told Charlene that Bill needed to stock the newspaper box in the Alpine Historic Center. Charlene did ask me if I wanted to meet her dad, who is now living with them. She seemed happy about this. I said that I needed to get going. I didn’t even say that we had the horses in tow.

We bypassed stopping at the Chickaloon Post Office, which I’d been told needed more books.

Pete had for some time been clinging to the idea that we should ride up the hill across from the Alascom Wayside – last year we rode the lower road. We met Mary from New Jersey in the parking lot, as we were tacking up. She was driving an RV and pulling a trailer that contained her motorcycle. She told me that she rides cows, so I suggested that she ride Hrimmi. The pair got along just fine.

The initial part of the trail was extremely steep. Pete remained seated on Tyra, and I remained seated on Raudi, but Mary walked Hrimmi a ways because she wasn’t too keen on doing this climb.

Raudi was surprisingly forward. The ATV trail was muddy, rutted, and puddled in places. However, there was an incredible view at the top of the rise, of green rolling tundra. Raudi and I reached a seasonal compromise. I let her graze just so long as she moved along.

We came to a boggy area, turned around, and headed back in the direction of the parking lot. I estimate that we rode approximately three miles each way.

We ate dinner with Mary, in her RV. I forgot to mention, she owns a Jersey steer named Moo and rides him in parades, on trails, and in horse shows. She added that he’s a celebrity where she’s from. His riding successor is a Holstein, who she thinks will be lighter on his feet than Moo.

I would like to have a riding cow. It’s still raining. I will work on the next chapter of Shelf Life. No picnic tables here. It’s raining. Being in the truck suits me just fine.

Next: 192. 7/16/25: Horses, Horses, Horses