Eugencia and Pepe Gonsalvos run a nice little cantina that caters to the locals down near the bottom of Arizona. Usually the place is filled with sheep herders, some pistoleros up from the border taking a break for a while, a working girl named Lumia occasionally sets up in a spare room next to the bar, a couple of the gringos born and raised down at the bottom of the canyon, more or less all the folks that know where La Barra del Caballo Mal, or Bad Horse bar, is. If you hear someone say “I’m headed for the Bad Horse” you should go along even if you have to rent one of their half-broke ‘stangs they keep in the corral down at the foot of the trail. It’ll be good for your education. Something to tell the Grandkids about.

Eugencia was a raving beauty when she was younger, a real heart breaker. She’s still got a beautiful soul but you should know that she carries a knife and cannot abide rudeness. Pepe’s name makes him sound like he’s fast but that would be wrong. Pepe is about the size of a mid-sized tractor and he’s in perpetual low gear. When there’s trouble Pepe simply lumbers over and picks the offender up and drops him over the edge. Things quiet down after that.

One time a tourist flushed with excitement at being at the Bad Horse and hanging out with real men finished a whole gourd of mescal and put his hands on Eugencia. Not only did that upset Eugencia who marked up the offenders face with that knife of hers, but Pepe took particular pleasure in dragging the hapless soul over to the edge and flinging him out into the rest of his short life by his foot. Unfortunately that got the attention of the Sheriff who decided that a reckless act like that could not go unpunished. Pepe’s doing 8 up in Maricopa county with Sheriff Joe at Tent city for Second Degree Manslaughter. He’s got 3 to go and he’s anxious to go home. But he’s not sorry about tossing that dumbass tourist.

Eugencia ran things for a while but it was hard without Pepe. The state decided that the entire canyon where the Bad Horse is located is up for urban renewal and sent a paving crew to improve the road, or actually  to make a road, as the goat trail to get up there is not a road. It’s hardly a trail. Goats have fallen off of it. As usual when you have a half-assed project things get done in a half-assed manner. The Paving crew was out of Phoenix and were unused to some of the high spots and switchbacks and consequently the paver went over the side on one of the really tight turns. The driver got out in time but as luck would have it the flagman was too close and it took him over too.

Some one up in the highway department realized that they hadn’t done an adequate survey and feasibility study and called the crew back until they could get to it. So far no ones heard from anybody so the project just sits there. Shovels, picks, even lunch boxes just laying all around. The waste of taxpayers money is just disgusting.

Eugencia realizing that she couldn’t run it without Pepe has put up a sign at the bottom of the trail. “Closed For The Season” it says. Everybody knows that it means until Pepe gets out, so in the meantime they’ve found a new place to hangout down near the highway. There’s a lot more trouble down there. Lots of knife fights, a shooting or two. The girls are meaner and a lot more expensive. Part of that is due to the truckers who just write the costs off on their expense sheet. So the local boys tend to have issues with the truckers and the tourists who think they’re in a place like the Bad Horse. They’re not. Not even close.