Wow--what a difference a day makes! The temperature dropped like crazy today, from the mid-nineties yesterday to the low sixties. The horses liked it and I didn't mind much either; it just felt odd to wear a jacket. Again the trail didn't offer much in the way of views, but there were lots of interesting things if you looked closely, like the bird nest in this cactus.

Overall, we did 26 miles today and saw three diamondback rattlesnakes. One of them was very impressive, rearing way up off the ground and putting on quite a display, although he never actually tried to strike (not that I was going to push the issue, of course!)

The wind was also relentless most of the day and did not let up in the evening like it usually does. We camped in a big cow pen for the night, where there was a good stock tank with water for the horses, and naturally the horses had to roll and sleep literally right next to my tent; they could not possibly have used the rest of the enormous pen. That kicked up lots of dirt with the wind, and I and my sleeping bag were covered in dirt till I got the rainfly out and put it on over the vents on the top of the tent. But then the wind was so fierce that it ripped the rainfly!. A tough night for sleeping all the way around.

#rattlesnakealongthetrail #2017AZT