The Anatomy of a Cattle Drive
I promised a more informative post. Well, here ya go 🙂 The foreman was the boss of the herd, though not necessarily its owner. He was in charge of expenses and pay, and was responsible should anything happen to the herd. He also had to scout out the trail ahead, test fords and figure out the best places to swim a river, and locate good grazing for the midday break and the bedding grounds at night. The foreman woke the cook up in the morning to prepare breakfast, and was one of the last to hit his bed come night. The segundo was the second in command. (For those of you who grew up watching...
Read MoreDays 2 and 3–Dallas, Texas.
Well, technically, we’re not in Dallas, for which I am greatly thankful, since the few times I’ve driven through the Dallas-Fort Worth area I have been terrified. I don’t like big cities, and I really don’t like lots of traffic. For that matter, I don’t particularly like going fast. Horseback is a nice speed for me. But I digress. We left Nashville early yesterday morning and made it into Arkansas with little difficulty and no more rainy weather. And while Arkansas is mostly under construction, we were able to keep a steady pace to the southwest. We paused...
Read MoreFirst Day on the Trail
We’re safely in Nashville, TN. We left home around 9 a.m., and didn’t arrive until nearly 9 p.m. local time. Hit road destruction even before we left the county, then in numerous locations along I-81 and I-40. To add to our delays, we ran into severe weather in Tennessee. However, I was expecting something like that; it always pours buckets when I drive through Tennessee. Yup, that storm would have stampeded the best-behaved of herds. But overall it was a good trip. Plus, we made a new friend today, a fellow traveler along this trail westward. Howdy, Molly’s mom! 🙂 Did you...
Read MoreT-Minus 10 Hours
It’s the night before we hit the trail, and I can’t focus at all on packing or planning or anything I’m supposed to be doing. I think all is in readiness. Grub and equipment are packed, mules were checked out last week by the farrier, loading the wagon in the morning. Lists have been made and checked and rechecked. All looks to be in order. So why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?
Read MoreA Slow Road Trip Home…
Greetings! I know–it’s been forever since I’ve posted anything here (in all honesty, I’ve never really gotten in the habit of posting to this particular blog). However, that is about to change. A week from today, I will be headed out for a 5,000+ mile road trip to the West. This is mainly a research trip for the next book in the continuing story of the Anderson and Black families, but there will be some friends seen and fun places visited too. Just like last time (the big Wyoming/Colorado research trip for A Great Wide Nowhere), it’ll be us three girls. My...
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