Sept. 3, west of Duke OK

 17 long miles, made possible once again by Kris and Joe, who dropped the packs off ahead for us. We crossed the Red River again, and were met on the other side by a reporter from the Altus paper and gave an impromptu interview while getting water from some nice folks.

 Walter had the run of two beautifully fenced acre pastures right on Hwy 62 this night, courtesy of Jerry M., a friend of Kris and Joe. His hand Dennis came looking for us while we were still on the back roads, bringing cold water which was much appreciated in the heat. And then drove by about every half hour to see if we were okay - made me feel very safe on those desolate stretches!

I was kindly offered space under any of the three barns, where there would be a water hose and electricity. However, a plague of huge black crickets had hit the region two days ago; they suddenly hatched the day I rode to Altus, covering the walls of any building. This is what the inside of the barn looked like:

And the pasture was so lovely and inviting... nobody around, I could leave my tent uncovered and sleep under the stars... even with the rumble of nighttime highway traffic, it was one of the most peaceful nights I've spent on the road. Walter stayed close most of the night and every time I woke up, I'd hear him grazing. Such a comforting sound...