Ghost Riders in the Sky

Tuesday, August 31

The wind had stopped and I was awakened at 1:00 A.M. by barking dogs and the baaing of sheep. I have become accustomed to yelping coyotes but dogs in fields at night with sheep was something new and it was something I did not wish to hear for several reasons - the biggest one being I didn’t know in whose field I had camped! I chose to ignore it but awoke again at 2:00 with the sounds much closer. Listening carefully, it sounded as if the sheep were being guarded or herded by dogs. I was a bit uncomfortable at the thought of a moonlit sheep drive with me directly in its path. Was it possible I had made camp in some gigantic sheep pasturage? Not knowing what to do I did the next best thing - I went back to sleep. In the morning there was not a trace.

I wanted to arrive in Douglas around noon and consequently I was on the road at 5:45 A.M. It started out as another typical day counting antelope and the like until I ran into what looked like two Wyoming “dudes” on horses. Though they looked the part - they were actually from France and were riding horses from Kentucky to Oregon. I asked them, "Why did you start in Kentucky? They replied, “That's where we bought the horses!” Duh! We talked a while before heading off in opposite directions.

I had about four miles yet to go when a news vehicle drove up and a reporter asked to interview me for the evening news. She was a reporter from a Casper television station and we talked for quite some time about my walk.

One more instance of note: I was quite hungry when I got to Douglas and stopped to eat before checking into a motel. During lunch I could not help but notice one of the patrons was wearing a very large pistol on his waist. I found this intriguing and when he got up to leave I beckoned him over. I explained that I was walking across the United States supporting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and as such, I supported the 2nd Amendment. But having said that, I asked, “Why are you wearing a gun in a restaurant?” He became defensive saying he always wore his gun in public and walked away.

I was not challenging his legal right to wear a gun - I wanted to know why he chooses to do so.