Seeking Solitude

Month 9 Day 2

(Shore Leave Day 3)

1711 Hours

Smitty

The shuttle landed with a slight bump, and Caroline stirred in the seat next to him, but left her head on his shoulder. “Are we there already?”

He gave a slight squeeze to her hand. “It was a 2 hour flight.”

“Yes, okay, I’ll wake up,” she agreed, and stretched. “I didn’t think a spaceman would want to visit a dude ranch. Isn’t traveling through space enough adventure for you?”

“These days, travel in a spaceship is hardly any different than using this shuttle.” Yes, it’s somewhat more dangerous. But we don’t think about that. Much.

She pushed herself upright and looked around. The shuttle had been less than half full, and the other passengers were beginning to move around, despite the lack of an ‘all clear’ from the pilot. Several were pulling luggage from the bins. Teal eyes looked at him, and Caroline smiled. “I hope you don’t expect me to have any experience with horses.”

That startled him. “They have horses?”

“Well, that depends on your definition of a horse. Earth horses didn’t take very well here, but they might have a few, to make it look like a ‘real’ ranch. The early colonists took to using a native animal, a qwella, as a replacement. I’ve never been on either kind, so the only comparison I can make is that a qwella has 6 legs.”

A man in a flight suit emerged from the cockpit and raised his voice to be heard over the general hubbub of the excited arrivals. “Welcome to Undilla Dude Ranch, folks. I’ll open the door in a moment, once the dust settles, and point you to the lodge. This is a busy time for the ranch, but once you’ve touched in and found your room, you can enjoy a hearty meal in the dining room, and then look over what we have to offer, make your plans for tomorrow. Mountain climbing, desert trekking, canoeing and soaking in a natural hot spring; we’ve got all that and more. When you’re ready to leave, this shuttle leaves for Ulseess City every day at 6 AM and noon.”

Smitty guessed that was what served as an ‘all clear’. He got up and retrieved their small bags.

The landing pad was hot and dry, dusty despite being paved. It was large for a shuttle pad, surrounded on all sides by native trees and bushes, except for a paved path that led them to a large building. When they stepped inside, the interior was a good ten degrees lower than outside. Smitty wasn’t sure if the difference was from the thick walls or included some air conditioning. Who cares? It feels good.

A large map was displayed on one wall, and another wall held posters of various activities available to visitors. He left Caroline to browse through the offerings while he checked in. The desk clerk told him the dining room would open ‘shortly’ for the evening meal. Smitty collected their room keys and sent their bags off with a porter, then found Caroline. “Find anything interesting to do tomorrow?”

“Oh, I haven’t gotten to tomorrow yet,” she stated. “Verla was telling me about the evening campfire tales.”

“What’s that about?” he asked the ranch employee.

“If you go out the back door of the lobby, there’s a path - lighted once it gets dark - that goes into the trees. About 15 feet in, you come to a clearing where benches surround the campfire we light every evening. Various speakers tell their versions of an adventure of the original colonists as they spread over this planet. Between stories, refreshments are served. It’s quite entertaining. The sun goes down at 8:12 this evening, so the stories will begin around 8:40.”

That seems harmless. Possibly boring. “How long do the stories last?”

“Each individual story is up to 20 minutes long. The entertainment will end around midnight. But of course, you aren’t required to stay any longer than you want.”

He gave a short nod. “That sounds good. Now, what should we do tomorrow?”

The choices seemed endless. Smitty finally stated he was not interested in doing anything with horses, qwellas or other large animals, in order to pare the list down to sort through. Then he dismissed the ideas of mountain climbing and an all-day hike. “I’m a spaceman,” he explained. “I walk on deck plates, not uneven terrain. I can’t risk a twisted knee or ankle because I step on a rock wrong.”

“We have some personal vehicles you could use on any of our trails. We’d be happy to provide a guide through any type of terrain you’d like to see. Or perhaps take ‘The Grand Tour’, a roughly circular set of paths through mountains, forest, grassland and desert, so you see pretty much everything we have to offer. It’s our longest hike, frequently taking 3 days, but by vehicle, you could finish it in one.”

Any one of those is something I don’t see often. “That’s tempting. I don’t get to see much scenery. How long a day are we talking about?”

“Let’s move to the map, and I can show you what paths you’d travel,” the woman told him, and led them in that direction. “We had a group of hikers leave on that trail this morning, so if you left tomorrow morning, you’d probably pass them about half-way around the circle,” she added.

“Not at the pace they’re moving,” another employee stated.

The woman turned to him. “Are they having a tough trip?”

“Look at the map,” the man suggested.

The woman stepped close to it and studied the upper half.

“What are the lights?” Caroline asked.

“Each of our guides carries a locator, so he can signal for help if something happens. Hmm, they don’t seem to be stuck in the mountains. That’s the most challenging section. I don’t remember if they were doing the forest or the desert next.”

“What are these other lights? Here and here?” Caroline asked, pointing to a light on an inner circle around the ranch headquarters, and another located closer to the ranchhouse, at a place where many paths seem to end. Or begin.

“Other guides,” the woman answered, and pointed to the light on the circular path. “That’s probably Stef, taking a group on a botany hike. That group will eventually wind up at the Hot Spot.” She moved her finger to the other light. “The Hot Spot is a natural spring, the water temperature tolerable but quite warm. It’s actually located at the base of a short cliff, and the hot water from that spring travels about 20 feet before it joins the water from a nearby waterfall. So there’s 3 pools in close proximity that visitors can enjoy; the Hot Spot, a tepid pool where the waters mix, and a chilly pool at the bottom of the waterfall. There are a number of safety guards there, and at least one guide. Most of the tours stop there for a time before coming back to the ranchhouse.” Her attention returned to the outer pathway. “Oh! I found them! I think. There’s a tour here, on the boundary between the desert and the grasslands. They must have taken the desert after the mountains. They’ve made good time, to be half done already, but no doubt they’ll stop soon for supper and settle into bedrolls for the night.”

“You mean, they’ll sleep outside?” Caroline asked.

“Yes. Some people look forward to it.”

“Not me,” Smitty stated, after seeing a touch of panic in Caroline’s eyes. “I much prefer a comfortable bed and walls around me. If I want to see stars, I’ll look out a viewport.”

“Yes, of course,” the female employee agreed at once. “How boring would the universe be if everybody felt the same way about everything?”

“Tell me more about these 3 pools you mentioned,” Caroline suggested. “Are we allowed to swim in them?”

While Caroline listened, Smitty found himself staring at the light that indicated the group on the long hike that took 3 days. Time and time again, he pulled his eyes away, only to find himself staring at it once again. If I read that map right, a trip around that outer trail and back to base is about 100 miles. They’ve made it out to that trail and halfway around it, so... 50 miles? Hard to imagine. They must be exhausted. They must have stopped by now. He looked again and realized they not only had not stopped, that light had now definitely moved away from the desert/grassland border... into the desert!

Metal clanged against metal in a rolling drum of noise. Someone called out, “Come and get it!”

“Get what?” Caroline asked.

“That means the dining room is open,” Verla told her, and handed her 2 or 3 slips of paper. “You needn’t make a decision immediately. You can study the possibilities this evening and make the arrangements in the morning.”

“Maybe we will try that Grand Tour,” Smitty heard himself say, and tried not to stare at that light on the map. “By personal vehicle.”

“In that case, I suggest an early start. 9 am at the latest. Otherwise, you might not have time to enjoy the scenery.”

“I understand,” he responded, and wondered if the light was still moving, deeper into the desert. Something about that light... left him unsettled. With a forced smile at the woman employee, he took Caroline’s arm and led her toward the dining hall.