Fireside Festivities Later on we gather around the campfire. A dusty cowboy settles into a camp chair with guitar in hand and belts out a lively Western ballad. The campers surrounding the flames are thrilled and the empty seats fill quickly. We soon find out that there is another entertainer in our midst-Leon, a city slicker, steps in to play his colorful rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes." After this success, Leon's next gig is lecturing a few cowboys and guests on religion and culture... all in all, an entertaining show.
Steeped in smoke and vibrant humor, most of the crowd retires to the tents. Impressed by the Montana night sky, one of the ladies decides to move her cot out under the stars. Fading in and out of sleep, she hears an animal's labored breathing and heavy footsteps. Feeling alone and vulnerable in this vast wilderness, she screams out, "It's coming! Something's coming for me!" She fumbles for her flashlight and points it in the direction of the sound. Instead of a snarling, fur-covered predator, she finds the sleepy-eyed figure of a cowhand sitting up in his bag. He sighs and utters an explanation: "them's mules."
Another Day's Ride Saturday morning brings sunshine and the promise of more adventure. After breakfast and coffee, we mount our steeds and hit the trail. Our goal is a high ridge, several miles distant, that divides the Gallatin Range into two distinct watersheds. Riding along, I look down and notice mounds of volcanic rock. It looks like a cement truck deposited a slurry of concrete and aggregate. Later we discover petrified wood chunks, some as large as an engine block. Eventually our parade of riders arrives at an overlook. We tie the horses in a stand of trees and proceed on foot up a steep, rocky goat trail until cresting a frozen avalanche of boulders. From this perch, we enjoy an unobstructed view of the Spanish Peaks and the entire Madison Range. After a long, silent pause, all of us marveling at nature's splendor, we continue on horseback up to the divide. Paradise Valley and the Absaroka Range have now come into view. From here, it's easy to see how all the water on the east side of the divide flows to the Yellowstone River, while that on the west side tumbles down to the Gallatin.
TO BE CONTINUED
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