Day 209
I fixed my tent with American flag duct tape before packing it up. I thought to myself that I might be a redneck if I patched a hole caused by playing with fire in my tent with American flag duct tape. It came out well though. It will definitely get me to where I need to go. Had a bit of a slow start but things were going smoothly. I had a good shoulder to walk on, good weather, and less traffic than I’ve been seeing. I saw a coyote about to cross the road and then retreat back into the sage brush when he saw me. I must look pretty scary… bwa ha haaaaaa!! (my scary laugh)
I pulled over to the side of the road for a quick break. I van pulled over to the side to say hello. Vans are definitely the thing out here. Everyone has one and seems to either live out of it or vacation out of it. It’s quite a good idea and they jazz them up nicely. This one was nice and pretty large. A guy around my age with similar style but longer hair rolled down the window and asked if I wanted some weed. Haha. I actually thought about it but I knew I was going to turn it down. I did politely. Not my thing. He is a weed farmer in Colorado and is making a very good living doing so. I discussed my walk and my cause. He hoped that he didn’t offend me and he didn’t. I have no problem with marijuana. Especially in the states where it is legal. I don’t like it personally and I don’t like when people use too much of it, but I have friends who work very hard and make a decent living who like to smoke a couple of hits at the end of the day before watching TV and then going to bed. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that at all. As long as you can handle it, then do your thing. The main reason I quit usuing it was because it is illegal and not worth the trouble. After I quit for a long time, I tried it again and just didn’t like it anymore. End of story.
I did tell him how bad the overdose rate is in our country and he told me that all he messes with is marijuana which has zero overdose deaths. As far as I know, he is correct about that. Very nice guy. He gave me some cookies. I waited until he left to eat them. I was a little suspicious if they weed in them haha. I took one small bite of one and then waited until the next break to eat the rest. I was having a great day and I didn’t want to ruin it with a weed high. Thankfully, they were just really good cookies and nothing more.
I was smooth sailin. Having a great walking day. I was rolling downhill and a small pickup truck pulled over to talk to me. Matt, a former marine, got out and was very nice. He gave me some information on what I was walking into and some water. He also gave me his number and said that I’d be welcome in his home when I got to the town that he lives in. I should be there in a couple of weeks. Great guy. Glad he stopped.
My goal was already accomplished for the day but I wanted to go more. Tomorrow I will be facing the hardest mountain that I will cross in Nevada. I wanted to get as close as possible to it so that I could just crank up on energy in the morning and nail it. I got as far as I could before the sun went down and found a great spot. Watched the sunset while making a big dinner and then heard total silence. It is an incredible sensation. Especially for a city dweller.