GOEN RODEOEN 2

joe had left southern aeizona with plenty of time for the trip north.. if all went well he would even be there a couple days early to rest his horses and get ready. he found the trip along the san pedro river north to be worse than he expected/ the country was dry with the only stock water in the skimpy san pedro. cattle for miles along the river were useeing it for water. and they kept the grass ate down at the same time.his good horses were suffering for a good feed, but all he could do was push o as fast as he dared. when the san pedro met the gila river and then the combined streams turned west joe found a good crossing and moved to the north side of the gila. after a couple of days he found a good park along the river bank. he set up camp and decided to stay a few days and let his horses fill up. the second day a rider came into camp. after joe explained his reason for camping there the rider agreed to not say a word to his boss. at this point joe hadnt seen any sighn of cattle on this side of the river. but the next morning he packed up and set out for the western trail. he knew at some point he would need to turn north and cross the salt river. prescott was still two weeks of hard travel away and the fourth of july was almost a month away. the days were hot in the salt river valley. he no longer pushed his horses. he would start early before it got to hot. then he would shade up until late afternoon and start travelling again. he saw few people and none wanted to visit. he moved his line of travel to the south bank of the salt river. the feed for his horses there was some what better. as he neared the farming community of tempe he started seeing feilds of irrigated crops , produce, hay and such. he stopped one afternoon at a farm at the side of the road and inquired about buying some fresh produce and possibly putting his horses up for the night. the farmer was accomodating and showed him a corrall with a full hay rack for his horses and a barn beded in fresh sweet smelling hay to sleep on. all this plus a supper meal would cost one doller. he gladly paid it, this was the best night he had since he started north. the next morning he reluctantly left and started north again.he cut north of phoenix and worked his way across the deset until he found the bradshaw trail leading into prescott. there seemed to be a lot of travel along the trail by the amount of tracks. water was scarce.. but by following the trail he could water his horses where the stage horses watered along the way. occasionally he would come across a automobile . but they were rare. this reail was rough and steep in places.twice he rode along with other cowboys headed to the rodeo also. it was good to have some company. everyone who he encountered made comments on his pack horse. four white stockings and a blaze face. joe explained that the four white feet didnt hold a shoe well in the rough country thats why he used the horse as a pack animal.. what he didnt mention was the fancy soprrel was his steer roping horse.. he hoped he would be the difference between his lack of ability and the ful time rodeo contestants. he marched on toward prescott.