Somewhere Out in the West
We'll Build a Sweet Little Nest
by
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"It was the night before Quiet Mountain was approved by the county commissioners," she repeated. "The hot breath of the no-growthers could be felt upon our necks. It should have been a worrisome dream," she remembered, "but instead I dreamed John and I were on a vacation, camping out in a broad canyon where there were Indian ruins in the cliffs, a small stream, horseback trails and riding, and walking also. "On the other side of the cliffs was a large dome of a mountain. The dome was smooth granite with no trees. The dome formed and rounded upward tree high but higher up cleared itself of trees which commenced again to the left of the dome at the top. "We, John and I, were to go up this dome. A line of people were lined up to go up the dome. I wondered how on earth we were going to accomplish it. As I perplexed this problem I saw a bunch of horses to the right at the stream side, drinking water, their long necks stretched from shoulder high right down to the water. They were all taking very long drinks, once every now and then flicking off a fly with their tails. "When the horses finished drinking, they formed themselves into a single file and walked along the stream towards us and the others waiting to go up the granite dome. There was no apparent leader in the horses and no one supervising them. They came to where the people were lined up and walked into the worn path in front of the people. It was a single path a foot to eighteen inches deep from wear. And when each horse stopped, the scarp above the worn path made it easy to get atop the horse, and one by one we got on the horses' backs. The horses went directly to the dome and when the dome steepened the horses began to lay against it and we instinctively lay against the horse, leaving nothing up from the horse as to hinder its crawl. We laid against the horse so as to become on with the horse. A part of their legs, their hind quarters, their long necks up against the dome. Their skins became shiny and damp with sweat. I could see my sorrel horse's muscles crawl like snake skin. "We came to a small indentation in the dome and there was a deformed sprig of a tree, old, but still trying to establish itself. The tree gave me comfort to be there and last so long. I felt I could hang onto it if no help came. I felt I could not go either up or down the dome without the help of the horses. The sorrel horse I was riding made movements to indicate he wanted me to get off which I did. And I reached for the deformed sprig. About that time a small gray mare approached and took the sorrel's place and I crawled upon the back of the small gray mare and we continued up the dome united in horse skin. "When we got to the top of the dome there was a barbed wire fence and it was built close to the ground. There seemed to be no present reason, nor no use for the fence as you could walk around either end of it. But it was unquestionably there. Further, I was the only one who had to get under the fence. There seemed to be no reason yet unquestionably this was required of me. The gray mare stretched out on the ground and showed me how to make myself small enough to snake under intact a six inch clearing of the fence. I got down to commence the feat and the other climbers were also coaching me, and encouraging me. I finally made it, carefully pulling my legs out last and careful of my skin. As I was gathering myself to stand up I saw John walking away from me to my left toward the forest of trees. I tried to call him back. I couldn't get a sound to come. I was shocked and I was reaching toward him, my face contorted in a cry that couldn't come out. As I was watching John disappear into the trees I became aware that my little gray mare was also leaving, following the other horses to the right to a path down the mountain beyond the granite dome. I knew the horses were going down to bring up another group of people. I wanted to tell the horse we could stay and explore the ridge but it was useless to talk to the predestined horse. And the people were leaving, following their own destinies. "I knew I would soon be alone. But as I fully stood up, a shaggy haired hippy, neither too old nor too young, was walking up from the other side of the mountain. As he approached he held out his hand to me. I took it and we began walking to the right on the ridge of the mountain. We could see far into the distances and see ridge after ridge. I did not need to tell him how hard the climb was for I knew he also had climbed. We walked on exploring and there was no fear."
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About the Book
Somewhere Out In The West
In this background developer Judith Sandstrom meets documentary film producer Robert Markham. Both have lost in this battle and share the same experiences.
In the end the battle of the West is settled by a new and surprising twist of the government.
About the Author
In 1969, newcomers to Southwest Colorado, Leota Korns and her husband, Richard, put money down on beautiful mountain property only one and a half miles from the city’s limits. Their land is surrounded by thousands of acres of national forest and so near to the city. Can you imagine? Twenty-five miles to the north are the mountains of the Continental Divide, extending around to the east and north on up the Continent. To the south and west lies the desert with over 300 square miles of Indian Ruins and always a distant range of mountains. Growth has come and will come and so will the opposition. Out of this ongoing experience with a lawyer always a must, she has written this novel.