Day 66 - Thursday, July 29
The Lucky Spa Day never seems to be a “rest day” when its all said and done. All the running around and emotional swings left me working things out until 8pm and then having trouble falling asleep probably because I slept in that morning. I woke up at 3:15am but I felt like going back to sleep. Instead I took the first step and got moving…
Without Lucky the road seems lonely, especially in the dark morning. Today I left the dirt roads lined by corn and soy for the Lincoln Highway or Route 30. This 2 lane road will be my home for 125 miles and it is a tester. Although there is a shoulder, it is nerve racking due to all the trucks, the passing and people on their phones while driving. On top of that there are literally no trees anywhere so I am totally exposed. Thankfully Lucky skipped today; with the traffic and heat it would not have been fun for him.
Walking between Elm Creek and Josselyn I came across a retired Pastor named John. He was walking 16 miles per day and a similar setup as us except he was with his wife in an older 30 foot Class C. I asked about his reason for doing the crossing from Miami Beach to Seattle and he told me he was praying for Americans…a pleasant fellow who clearly believes in his mission - at least one of us understood it!
Interesting trend going on as we travel west:
Marysville KS - elev 1,161’
Steele City NE - elev 1,273’
Alexandria NE - elev 1,414’
Davenport NE - elev 1,654’
Glenvil NE - elev 1,841’
Kenesaw NE - elev 2,051’
Kearney NE - elev 2,152’
Lexington NE - elev 2,392’
Every day, the 30-35 miles grades up around 200 feet like it was planned!
We ended the day at the beginning of Lexington and boon-docked behind a Cenex Gas Station. It is not the prettiest place we have stayed but it has 2 things going for it: I can wake up and leave at 4am without Chris having to drive me to the spot as he did this morning and secondly, we went to Taqueria Max, a simple family run business. We were helped by a young woman at the cashier who took our order and then ran the order back to the kitchen. The bell rings and she runs the food out to the 6 tables in the restaurant that also has a tv on a Spanish station. The $2 tacos were excellent - the best tortilla Chris or I have ever had. No salsa, no chips, just a bunch of meats to choose for a few traditional Mexican dishes like tacos, gorditas, burrito, etc. Chris, always the food adventurer had taco’s with beef cheek, tongue, tripe and then did another round.
One more day of heat advisory tomorrow and there should be respite thereafter.
All for today - thank you for your ongoing support.
Cheers,
David.