July 15th, 2009

 

24.7 Miles

Where do I start?  Last night after I updated the web site, I had a couple of very nice older ladies want to visit because they saw the article in the Columbus newspaper and they drove down from St. Edward (?), a total of 50 miles round trip to see the handcart and meet me.  It was about 10:30 before they departed and I was tired.  Then after that, I was sleeping in the city park in Fullerton and apparently that is where all of the local teenagers congregate until around 1 AM and so I thought that now I would be able to go to sleep, but the park was about ¼ mile from a feeding yard for cows and all I heard all night was a lot of mooing noisy cows.  Aren’t cows supposed to go to sleep at night?

So this morning came too early.  I ended up walking my longest day today at nearly 25 miles!  Everything that is on my body hurts and partially because I ended up pulling 8 miles in the deepest sand and gravel that I have been in to date.  It was miserable…  and there were small rolling hills for most of the day.  I ended up pulling for 12 hours and as soon as I finish this, I am going to sleep,

which by the way, my tent is still wet from the storm two nights ago and of course, wet canvas has its own flavor of stink.  After that I was getting back.The food situation was good today.  I found Choke Cherries along the road and filled a cup with those and Mulberries.  I ate my allotted 12 oz of bread today for the first time in a long time.  I also had an apple that I had been saving, 1oz of jerky a couple of cups of milk, so today was a decent day for food.

Also, today I got a farmers shower.  I saw one of the many huge sprinkler pivots that have been watering the corn for the last month and one of them was shooting water out on the gravel road so I waited for this blast of water to drench me and…. Man…. was it C O L D…  I’ve jumped in mountain lakes that weren’t that cold.  So I enjoyed myself by standing in this enormous sprinkler.  Oh.. and Bessie loves the water and had a blast chasing after the king of sprinkler heads…

I have to retire.  I am so maxxed, it’s hard to even think….