Day 85

 

Woke up early but I went back to sleep for another hour or so. I could barely even walk over to the bathroom and I knew my feet needed some more rest. Around 8 I peeked out and saw Tom packing up. I wanted to catch him before he took off so I got up and went over to talk to him some.

He is cycling from Orlando to Oregon because he wanted to. His kids are grown now and he had an empty nest and decided to give this thing a whirl. He is loving his experience as much as I am enjoying mine. We told stories about how amazing people were and we both had crazy dog attack stories. He was a very nice guy and I was glad that our paths crossed. He was taking the day off and I contemplated doing it myself and hanging out with him but I chose to keep pushing. Even though domino and I both need a break. We’ll take one soon though. Tom left for breakfast and I said goodbye so that I could start packing up and getting ready to head out.

I called the local paper and told them I was in town and we set up to meet at a restaurant over breakfast. I headed there and everything from my waist down was in agony. I had originally planned for an 19 mile day but I looked at my map and there was another stop 13 miles away and I thought that I may do that instead.

Anyways, I got to the restaurant and their breakfast was soooooo good. The editor of the paper came to do the interview and take a picture. He was awesome and was genuinely interested in my story. Not just for the sake of the paper but he just enjoyed talking to me. It didn’t feel like an interview at all. It felt like I was telling a story to a friend over breakfast. That was nice. He picked up the tab for me and told me he’d send a copy of the paper to my mom’s address.

I headed back towards the main drag on Hermann. It’s a total tourist river town that is all B&Bs and wineries. I went to the welcome center to thank the woman that I had spoken with over the phone yesterday. She helped me out a lot with good information. I popped in and she wasn’t there but another sweet woman was there and listened to my story and even gave a donation to show her support.

Hermann was a lovely town and just beautiful. I enjoyed walking back through it. Even though it hurt and it was already getting hot. As I was crossing back over the Missouri River a car swung to the side of the road ahead and a guy popped out and started taking pictures. Not much alarms me anymore so I just went with it. I got closer and he was nice. He had long hair in a ponytail and a beard. Both white from wisdom. He reminded me so much of my friend Joel who helped me make the awesome video on my website. The man told me about a Facebook group that he has and wanted to share my message. He saw me on the news a few days before so he knew what I was walking for. Cool guy.

Not long after that, I was still thinking about Mike, the guy who took the pictures, and I swear on everything that I saw a meteor fall from the sky. I heard it first and then saw something that was probably between the size of a bowling ball and a yoga ball and it had a trail of fire shooting back about 50 feet long. It was zooming. Just before it hit the ground the trail stopped and I didn’t hear anything land. It seemed like it just evaporated. If it landed it had to have been only about 200 yards away.

I hurried over there and didn’t see any signs of it landing. I figured that it wasn’t really a meteor but probably just a big ole frozen hunk of poopie. I don’t know and I never will but I definitely saw SOMETHING fall from the sky and it was pretty awesome.

I had only gone about 2 miles and it was hot and I was moving like a slug. I came across a gas station and figured I’d get some caffeine in me before I got on the trail. I had to pee too. I went in and walked to the bathroom and just as I was going in, another guy was coming out. If there was a contest for the guy who has the world’s stinkiest poop this guy would get all the bets. He would’ve won the damn contest too. I walked in and nearly passed out. I used my shirt as a gas mask and relieved myself as quickly as possible. When I left there was another guy waiting to go in. I was going to say that it wasn’t me but I was still holding my breath. I grabbed some energy drinks and fresh air and got the heck outta there.

All of this happened and I wasn’t even back on the trail yet. I finally get back on the Katy Trail and it was noon already. Talk about a slow start. The first 2 hours didn’t go much faster. It was hot as hell and hardly any shade. Every time that there was shade me and Domino would stop to cool down and get some water. At one stop I decided to be somewhat efficient and call ahead to some of the campsites to try and figure out the next couple of nights. Everyone a spoke with was very helpful. It cheered me up a little.

I was still sluggish and hot but I had a moment of “this is so cool” to myself. I mean it really is. I’m walking across the freaking country!  It still blows my mind every day. I perked up a little but was still moving slowly from one shady spot to the next.

Hours later I get to a campground named Steamboat Junction. I was debating staying here as today was just not my day for walking. They had a little hut with a refrigerator filled with snacks and cold beverages that were on the honor system. Always honor the honor system. I grabbed a cold Gatorade and put some money in the money slot and sat in the shade and it had to be one of the best drinks I’ve ever had in my life.

I plugged my phone in and was going to do some Facebooking but didn’t have internet service there. It made me consider walking the extra 5 miles to the next campground. I wasn’t able to reach anyone on the phone there so I was still a little iffy about it.

Just then a guy comes walking up. He was in his cycle gear and I told him that I didn’t work here and it’s all self-serve. He grabbed a Gatorade too and started asking questions about my walk after seeing Lieutenant Dan. Other cyclists that he had encountered had told him about me as the guy walking across the country for overdose. That’s what I want! For people to talk and to talk about overdose.

Anyways, we talked about me and then I asked about his ride. Oh my gosh. This guy and his wife started in the same place I did on bikes and get this….. they brought their 9 year old daughter!!!! I love this guy and I love that he did that with his family. He told me his daughter made it all the way to St Louis and she was going to take a break with her grandparents for a while. I had to know more. He told me he was headed for the next stop and I asked if he had info on the campground. He assured me that it was all good and that he’d save a spot for me.

Boom. Decision made. I pushed the next 5 miles just so that I could talk to him and his wife all evening. It wasn’t easy. But it started to get shady. That helped a ton! I saw a huge buck. A male deer that is. It was the first time I’d seen a deer with antlers. It still had the velvet on it and were probably still growing. He bounced off happily and I kept doing my thing.

There was a slope for the last 3 miles and it got fairly steep. I was crossing a bridge and looked up and a groundhog came running right at me. I was startled by it because it came out of nowhere. At the last second it darted off the bridge into the water. The weirdest thing.. Domino saw none of this by the way. Sometimes I call her Dumb-ino. This was one of those times.

I get to the campground in Portland and there were a couple of guys that I met back in marthasville there too. Looked like it was going to be a fun night. We all hung out and set up camp and ate at the gross and dirty restaurant next door. The river is on the other side of the trail and it’s beautiful!

I hung out with Rob and Sarah and we talked about their ride and we swapped stories. I was in awe of their trip as they were of mine. They picked up my bill for food and for the campground. They told me they were impressed that I was walking and they were glad to have met me. I was just as glad to have met them.

The other guys were super cool. 2 guys that are now retired and just met like 6 months ago and since then have been on numerous bike rides together. Just a fun thing they do to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Roy and Alan. They are cycling the entire Katy Trail out and back. Having a great time and it’s showing.

We all hung around together and Domino got some loving and playtime in. Such a cool group to be a part of. The whole day was one that I’ll never forget!