Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

Twelve years I've been here and weird stuff happens all the time. So much so, that it doesn't seem weird anymore. Now when it happens Linny and I just look at each other and smile. I don't know about here but I'm thinking "I can hardly wait to see what happens next."

Jax and I didn't go hiking Saturday or Sunday morning. There was just too much outdoor maintenance and repair that I'd been avoiding to slack anymore so I had to get a bunch of that out of the way before the heat came. So on Monday morning we did a long one. Hiking out by the road to where we could see the Pot Ash plant and then hiking back along the river cliffs.

Lot of smoke in the air so fire somewhere. Even when they have the big ones out west the smoke hits us about two to three days later. Maybe it's that. I don't pay attention to the news to know.

On Saturday evening a guest emailed to say they were leaving town around 7pm. Good, I'll look for them on top of Hurrah around 8pm. Around 8pm I look up on Hurrah and see two vehicles. Good, they made it. They should be here in about 20 minutes or so. I go back to feeding critters, watering, and working on the garage. At 9pm I go inside and the phone rings. It's the guests. They say they got to the top of Hurrah Pass and met some people coming up who said there was nothing down here so they turned around and went back to town. That's the 4th or 5th time that has happened in the last couple months. I tell him whoever they talked to was obviously wrong. He says they'll drive back out if I can meet them at the Kane Creek Canyon and Hurrah Pass intersection and then follow us back.

Linny, Jax, and I drive half an hour over and down Hurrah Pass and meet them at the intersection. While the guy and I are talking there's a meltdown in the car. I can hear crying and the like. He says "Sorry." Gets in the car and drives back to town. Linny, Jax, and I all look at each other and drive half an hour back to the lodge.

Michelle calls and says she wants to come see her dog and she's leaving Sunday morning at 3:30am? I say great. Kobae is out of food and you'll save me a drive to town here's a grocery list for Kobae. On Sunday morning there's an email from our guests wanting to know if I can meet them on top of Hurrah Pass at noon? Ok, sure, whatever. I call Michelle to make sure she got Kobae food and she says she's leaving right now. I say "It's 10am, you said you were leaving at 3:30am." She says "That was the wishful thinking me, this is the reality me."

Linny takes a side by side and I take the truck since neither of us knows what's going to happen better to have more vehicles probably. When we get to the top guests are waiting and so are eight jeeps packed to the hilt saying they're going down Lockhart Basin. I talk to them and tell them when they get to the first obstacle where they have to get out and walk it to pick a line to then walk another eight hundred feet so they can see what's coming. I didn't go with them and I don't know if they made it. Guests put their kids in the side by side with Linny and followed me back down. What nice people.

Michelle shows up with a girlfriend in her pretty new Jeep, drops off Kobae food and says she's leaving to go show her friend around. Two minutes later Michelle's jeep comes back up the driveway. I'm picking up fox scat around the yard to make sure they haven't eaten one of the skunks or ringtails and I ignore the Jeep. It turns around and starts back down the driveway. That's weird. I look up and it's not Michelle or here girlfriend. Same make, same model, same year, but it's a different Jeep. I ask if I can help them and they tell me about a broke down side by side with five people in it way out in Jackson Hole and they need help and can I give them directions to Chicken Corner.

I call Linny who's working next door on the walkie and tell her I need the truck back right now. There's a nasty storm coming and I need to do a rescue in Jackson Hole before it gets to them. I get canteens, walkies, head lamps, and Linny pulls up five minutes later and half hour later Jax and I are loading them in the truck for the journey back to Base Camp. I hit the bottom of the truck hard on something and it's making a terrible noise so there's a price for rescuing so many people eventually. I called the rental company before I left and I send their stranded people down to the beach until the rental company people show up. While it's a not fun experience for the stranded people they have so much fun at the beach each time they don't seem to even mind it. They're all smiles when the rental companies get here.

Few more vehicles come up the drive way asking for directions and or to use the rest room and darkness begins to descend. The foxes are gathering and I can hear the raccoons under the porch. There's a skunk head sticking out of the hole and a ringtail waiting in the rafters above me.