Haloranch

This was our first experience with the ATC and it was fabulous! We drove to Pocatello the first night. That's 11 hours from Calgary. Long, but doable because on the first day you're keen to get going and cover as much distance as you can. Our hostess Kathleen is a retired teacher and quite charming, though possibly lonely because she had a lot to say. That was no problem because one of the things she said was that Ming's had great Chinese food and we had already decided that was what we wanted to eat. Since the ATC "gratuity" for your host is a paltry $20 per couple per night, we invited her to join us as our guest and had a lovely dinner followed by an even more pleasant evening lubricated with a little wine before heading off to an early bed. After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, she sent us on our way with apples, pears and a bag full of tomatoes from her garden. She even wanted to include sandwiches. So, for the cost of a dinner and twenty ...

We overnighted at the Double A Ranch in Calgary before heading south for Mesa. In the middle of the night, around 3:00 a.m. I heard a car start up. It's the wee hours of Wednesday morning and I'm pondering the few reasons why someone would get into their car at that time. It could only have been a tryst.