THE DAY THE RENDEVOUS TWISTER BLEW - Diana Walter
Went campin’ with some horse folk at the Wyoming Rendezvous
Had settled in a meadow with a Sunlight Basin view
All around were trailers, gear and hay
With the horses safely sheltered - the portable way
We had gathered neath a canopy with the Teton backcountry crew
And were telling tall tales of the trail and drinking a beer or two.
When along came a cloud, seemed kind of small at first
That dumped rain and thundered loud while we hunkered dry from the outburst
Suddenly it all went to hell as Kathy cried out “wind “
we watched from the mountain gully as a twister did descend
It whipped an awning from a camper and sent it into a truck
breaking windows, mirror, lights Then picked our canopy up
Soon most canvases In camp flew up and up and up
Then crashed back down to the ground, a pile of twisted junk
The wind thundered throwing coolers, chips and cables
Then picked up two camp chairs with Paula in between and rolled her under a table
It pulled Ron’s cap right off his head and tossed it high away
Al’ s straw hat and a brown felt one disappeared into the gale
Then the twister whipped towards Janet’s tent with 100 pounds inside
And threw it plum out of camp and clean out of sight
Don lost his tent completely, it smashed it like a fly
Pat and Diana looked on dismayed at the mess it left behind.
In the aftermath as we reviewed the damage of the twisters dirty deed
one hero stood out in the carnage, a trusty mustang steed
Harpel’s horse Arrow Had been on a high line tied
when a canopy flew toward him and wrapped around the line
And as the twister gave its worst Arrow stood still, brave and true
His mustang blood faced the fury Like the best mounted horses do.
As we gathered for supper that evenin and shared our disaster stories
It soon became apparent how grateful we should be that none of them were gory
For though the furies did their best to give us a wild ride
Every cowboy and cowgirl rode the wind as it bucked and twisted high
So if your ever out ridin’ on Windy Mountain Trail and find a hat or two
Then you’ll know tail of that fateful day the Rendezvous Twister Blew