Thursday, Sept. 23
Last night it rained and did not quit. In the morning I lay in my sleeping bag hoping it might perhaps stop but as it did not, my normal routine now became a wet adventure. A friend once said that setting up and taking down a camp in the rain is an art - for me it is just wet! I rather “artlessly” packed my stuff, donned my gear, and headed down the wet highway. The good news was that today I would finally get to Kearney and a motel in which to dry.
I stopped at the cafe in Elm Creek - another agricultural town with massive silos and grain elevators. There is a certain smell it produces and I’m sure to someone working there it simply smells like money. Anyway, it was good to have a regular breakfast. My caloric intake is increasing along with the increasing population. Each new community already seems less distant from the last and I’m sure this will continue as I continue east. Cafes and small stores were hard to find walking through the American West. In a weird way I already miss it.
Later in the day, the sun came out in full glory and you could watch the water vapors evaporate into the air. It reminded me of Florida after a heavy summer rain making the air thick with moisture and humidity.
Nearing Kearney I passed a historical sign about a very large ranch that had once been located there. It was named “1733 Ranch” because it was 1,733 miles from both San Francisco and Boston which means I’m now over halfway finished.
Soon after I got a surprise phone call from Glen Mellott - my friend and cousin. He was driving from Arizona to Ohio and wanted to surprise me. We met in Kearney and had a great time talking and catching up. Seeing an old friend is uplifting, yet it is always followed by a sadness as my solitude becomes more real.
I will stay in Kearney another day for the regular - chores and bringing my blog up to date.
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