Day 117, July 29, 2012

      

 I heard a door open next to me. I opened my eyes and saw one of the ladies who worked at the information center come out. She saw me and said hello. That instantly made me feel more comfortable. I said good morning. She walked around the building and looked to be going through the opening checklist and checking things. I rested my eyes again for a while.
         When I woke up I realized again I was in a new time zone. So I had gained an hour. So it was 7:30am. I got up slow and was really tired. I went inside to use their wifi and rest a little. I hung out there until 8:30. Then I filled up my waters there and hit the road.
          I walked about 3 miles on the interstate when I came to an exit where I could take the old route 66 from there that was a frontage to the freeway. I hopped on that road and started rolling. It was all uphill but I was grinding it out.
          There were hardly any cars on there but after a while a black car passed by. 5 minutes later they pulled up behind me and had turned around. A couple got out and asked if I was ok. They were from England and traveling around America on vacation. They talked to me for a while and then offered me two cold pepsis. They were on their way to Chicago. They were so nice and it was awesome that they wanted to come back and check on me!
         I continued. It was warming up and I had about 15 miles to go. I got on a roll and set a good pace. The walk was just open desert. Nothing at all around and very bare land. It was rolling hills and mostly an incline.
          I busted out 20 miles fast! I was happy with the pace. The last couple miles was tough as the heat really picked up and I could feel the heat in my skin. It feels like it warms all of you up and then when you're warm it just drains your energy from there.
          When I finally came to the village of San Jon NM, there was hardly anything there. Just a gas station with an Indian Resturant inside. I hid my cart behind the place by a shed. I went in and got a fountain drink and sat in a booth. It felt good to sit. I was still hot and there was a layer of dirt on my entire body.
       As I sat there recovering a bit the Indian guy who worked there walked up and gave me a plate. He said to help myself to the buffet. He was so nice and it blew me away! I was all smiles and I went and made a moderate plate full of Indian food. It was really good! Spicy and full of flavors! I sat there and that had lifted me up a little.
         About 30 minutes later a guy met me there. It was a guy who works for a company called parts unlimited (motorcycle parts). He had actually met me just east of dallas as I passed through there. He was a part of a crew who had heard about my journey and were keeping tabs on me. They travel for business a lot and have stopped to help me many times now. So awesome! He stayed and we talked about the journey a little. He follows it and he had a lot of thoughts too. That was very cool. After about 20 minutes or so he hit the road. Before he left he gave me $20 and shook my hand. He said he may pass me again at some point and stop in. I was very thankful for him stopping.  After he left I went to the Indian guy and offered to pay for the buffet with the $20, but he refused it. I said thank you to him again.
           I sat there until about 9. When I went out to my cart my front tire was flat. I put slime in it then pumped it up. As it became full it exploded! Loud! The tire came off the rim and I could see that the sidewall on the tire was falling apart. Wires stuck out of it and was likely pressing on the tube. So I changed the tire and tube with spares I had packed away.
         When I was all fixed and about ready to leave and find a homeless spot to camp, a big trucker came up on his way into the gas station and asked if I was homeless. I said yes. Then he asked where I was staying the night. I said I was gonna look around and find a spot. Then he offered for me to sleep in his truck cab with him. It was pretty forward and I had a weird vibe. I wouldn't do that even if it was a good vibe anyways. I told him no. He asked if I was sure and that there was plenty of room. I said I was sure. Then he said ok. Have a good night. It was weird.
          I walked down the road and searched for a place to stay. All that was around was a grass area and a fence down the street. It was a dead end road too and so I thought it would be good and no cars would come by. When I walked up to the fence I saw that it was a cemetery on the other side. Pretty creepy but since I'm in survival mode so deep now, that kind of thing has become less creepy and effective to steer me away from a good place to sleep. So I made my bed next to the fence there off the road maybe 30 feet. It was soft short grass and a good spot. If it wasn't there, it was sleeping in tall weeds where more animals were likely to be. So I laid down and fell asleep quickly. I can't explain how tired I have been getting from walking all day in heat. I was beat.