And so it begins

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South Pass City Gold Rush Days

I got into the SPC office at 8:00 and soon after, Gator and I were taking ice over to the Miners' Exchange Saloon and icing down the sarsaparilla we had put in ice chests yesterday. I then moved on to a few final detail tasks and then went to the Smith Sherlock Company Store. Connie and I opened the store at 10:00 and we had traffic almost immediately.

People came through pretty consistently, but there was never a huge rush or a large number of visitors in the store, so it was possible to talk with people and go into some detail about aspects of the display that interested them. There were even a few minutes in which we had no visitors.

In mid-morning, we were robbed by desperadoes. They took off with the loot they had previously given us, fired a few shots, and were chased out of town while engaged in a shoot out with the local cavalry. Quite the show.

The gang also robbed the Miners' Exchange Saloon later in the and were again chased out of town.

It was warm today and we occasionally had people come in just to get out of the sun. About 1:00 a woman in her 60's, or so, came into the store red face and panting and plopped down in the rocking chair near the front of the store. A younger woman, in her 30s, followed her in, gave her a bottle of water, and walked out without a word. About 20 minutes later, the woman had evidently recovered enough to ask, "How late do you stay open?" I'm wondering, "Smith Sherlock Company Store and Adult Day Care?"

An hour and a half later, while we were busy, our visitor left. Connie says it is the same woman she had to help off the bridge and drive out to the parking lot last week.

We made it though the day without much more drama. All in all, it was not a bad day.

Each year, the Snowden family, who own a property just outside the historic site, host a barbecue (pulled pork) for event volunteers. In the past, I have been too drained to attend- I would go home, sit outside the trailer, and have a couple of drinks. I made it up to the dinner this year and had a good time.

A couple of drinks, some reading, and off to sleep. 


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