Day 77 Mile 1271-1286

My timing is perfect! I seem to come to towns right when big things are happening. Cody on the Fourth of July and now I find out that The Legend of Rawhide Festival is going on here in Lusk tonight... You might almost think that I was planning this trip:-) I came into town and inquired the rates at the hotel with the swimming pool and fast internet advertised... It was a bit too much for my blood but I can use the pool and shower for 3 bucks... can’t shake a stick at that. The gal in the lobby was downright friendly and very happy to have me in their town for the Legend of Rawhide. She told me I could camp next door at the BQ Corral. The BQ Corral is an old fashioned drive up broaster chicken and burger place and they have a few camp/RV sites out back behind their house. I head on back there and set up tent. I take the rain fly from my tent and prop it up between the fence, the picnic table, and my walking stick to try and make some shade in the early afternoon. Under my shade I lay down to read my book Sacred Sage Spirit Medicine by Silver Wolf, which my mom bought for me from the gift-shop at the Buffalo Bill Damn back in Cody. My camp neighbor was John Lohr who was an original member of the Legend of Rawhide cast from when it first opened back in 1950. He has lived in Lusk all his life and just in the last few years lost his wife. He sold the house and bought an RV which he now lives in here at the BQ Corral. After finishing my book I head out to check out the town. Market Time! I buy two nectarines, two plums, a peach, an avocado, a cucumber, a tomato, some rye bread, some coleslaw, green tea, and orange juice and I go to the park to have lunch and watch children play while their families picnic. I spring for the 2 bucks to go and peruse the local museum... Triceratops, two headed calf, an old Model-T Ford, and some interesting bits of hospital history and social commentary on little boys and girls. Now its parade time and after that Pool time. I get my towel and shampoo ready and go sit on the Hotel’s corner to watch the parade go by. I use my towel as a cushion. First comes the Calvary and the flags, followed by the wagon trains. Then, several dozen crazed white men with wigs and body paint galloped after the wagon train yelping and riding in circles... they were supposed to be the Indians. Maybe a little too stereotypical but they did there best and put on a good show (but the red haired kid should have been more careful to tuck his red locks up under the wig:-) Classic cars putted on down main street and then the fire trucks. In 15 minutes the last siren had passed me on the parade route and I was off the deep end! Right in to the pool which got up to 9 feet deep. I swam and showered before heading over to watch the Legend of Rawhide. There was a charity auction and a speech by the Wyoming Rodeo Queen prior to the presentation of colors while “I’m Proud to be an American” played. The show was narrated by a small cast up above the arena while the hundred plus person cast acted out the action down in the arena. Basically, the story is about a wagon train heading west and one lone doof in the wagon train is Indian crazy and goes out in the middle of the night and shoots the Chief’s daughter in the back. When the Indian warriors come looking for answers to what happened, the doof (named Clyde) stay quite about what he did and the whole wagon train is now at risk. If he would have given himself up the wagon train would have been sparred, but at nightfall they get attacked and only when he sees that the girls he loves has been injured does he go out and give him self up to the Indians who then Skin him alive. Aside from the gruesome plot-line, the show include lots of humor and antics depicting life in the old West, with the drunk hiding from his wife, to the men all hiding out at night to play poker without letting the women get wise, to the wagon full of prostitutes heading out to San Francisco while all the other women just hissed at them all the way west and hit their men for looking. After the show, there was a barn dance and wow can these Luskites dance. Young good looking dance couples were going at 4x speed and yeeha... lookout! I visited with Germane from Denver who had come up for the Legend with her mom who grew up here in Lusk. I then met JP and Lisa who invited me to go out dinosaur hunting tomorrow and I said sure... why not... So at 11:30 at night I headed back to camp and packed up all my stuff and jumped in the suburban with JP and Lisa and headed off into the night towards North-Eastern Wyoming for a Dino Hunt! I set up tent on the lawn of their friend’s house and its so quite and the stars so bright and clear... milky milky way