Brett Bramble Walks

I woke up at 5 am. Packed up and said goodbye to Angela. It would’ve been great to have been able to spend a few more days together but we both had to keep going. I was on the road by 630. The sun was just coming up. I took a picture of the rest stop that I will remember forever. 
I chose to take the dirt roads again. I had about a 24 mile day ahead of me. 24 miles isn’t that hard for me anymore but it takes a long time to do. The issue that I was facing was to try to beat the heat. It gets soooooo hot in the afternoons so I wanted to get there asap. I went about 9 miles to Pierceville. It’s a small town with a huge grain elevator. 
I went by the elevator and a couple of workers came over to say hey and shake my hand. A woman came out of the office with a couple of cold waters. They all helped with directions for the roads ahead. I thanked them all and went ahead to a shady spot to eat some trail mix and take a break off of my feet. 
The next stretch was pretty cool. The scenery is beginning to look more and more like “the west”. I saw a lot of jack rabbits and a snake or two. I came up to a spot in the road that was soaking wet and muddy. I had to go through it. It was really hard but I made it. Mud was all over my shoes and Lieutenant Dan. 
I walked and soon after saw another muddy puddle. And another and another. The last one was a basically a lake. There was no way to get through it. I had to go off the road, through snake infested brush, to the railroad tracks to get around it. Railroad tracks are really annoying with a 12″ front swivel wheel. It was misery. But I had to figure it out. 
I got through and the road got better after that. I was beat though. I pushed on until I found a place to rest. A stack of concrete slabs stacked up next to the railroad tracks. I plopped down and hugged close to the concrete to get into the small sliver of shade that it provided. I realized that the rest of the day was going to be rough. 
It was hot as hell at this point. I rigged up my umbrella and was able to get some shade. I hadn’t used it in a while because it has been too windy to. It was broken on two of the spokes. So I was walking with a half broken umbrella going down dirt roads. I looked completely insane. I probably am at this point. 
The road turned to asphalt and I was very thankful to have a solid surface to roll on. There were a few more cars at this point. I didn’t care at all about what people thought of me. The half broken umbrella was saving my life. I came to an intersection to where I had to get back on hwy 50. I took the umbrella down because the big trucks would blow it away. I couldn’t close it because of the broken spokes. I tossed it into a dumpster and went onto 50.
I was cooking. Literally being baked by the sun. I finally came to a gas station with a subway. I went in to cool down and eat a sandwich. I checked in with Robin as I was just coming into town. Robin was going to let me stay at her house for the night. She was the woman who came to bring Angela and I pizza last night. 
I had 2.2 miles to go to her house. About 45 minutes. I figured I could tough through that. So I did. I took back roads through neighborhoods. A couple of nice people stopped and talked to me. I felt like I looked like a mess. I was drenched in sweat and was roasting in the sun. 
I finally make it to Mecca. Mitch, Robin’s husband, was outside waiting on me. He brought me in and showed me around. I got some ice water and cooled down while talking to him. I was so thankful to have this home opened to me. Mitch and Robin are amazing. They took me out to dinner, I was able to do laundry, we had great conversation all night. I went to bed around 11 and fell right asleep. 

So I woke up in a hotel that was built in 1886. That was a cool way to start the day. I tried to be quiet as I left but every step creaked. I heard Kathy yell, “good morning!” I stopped and said goodbye to her. Signed the famous guest book and went on my way. I only had 11 miles to go today so I was feeling easy breezy. 
I found a gravel road that runs parallel to 50 with a railroad between the two. I loved not being 6 feet away from semi trucks all day. I was cruising down the gravel road and enjoying the birds and the snakes and the cows and no people or vehicles. It went by quickly and easily. I had some quality time with my thoughts that I was thankful for. 
I get to the rest area that I had planned to stop at. The reason that I had planned to stop here is because Angela was going to be meeting me there. Angela is walking from California to Maryland for veterans with PTSD. We had heard about each other before both of us even started. We have stayed in touch and found out that we were finally going to cross paths. 
She was already there when I arrived. I was a little awkward at first. She had quite a bit of enthusiasm and wasn’t afraid to show it. It took me a few to settle in. But once I relaxed we had such a great time. We were able to tell stories and talk about how we were impacting so many people and how those people have impacted us. We talked about other stuff too. It didn’t take long before we felt like we’d known each other for years. 
She called a woman named Robin who lives in Garden city, the town where Angela was last night and where I’ll be tomorrow night. She asked if Robin could bring us pizza and Dr Pepper to celebrate. Robin did. Oh but she brought so much more. Robin is on a hero mission of her own. Simply to just do nice deeds for people. One at a time. In hopes that they will pass it on to someone else. The whole pay it forward concept but just a little different. She told me that I can stay with her tomorrow night so I am very excited to talk to her about all of that. 
Angela and I stayed up way too late because why not and played cards through the sunset and never stopped talking. I think she did most of it though lol. I do wish our paths would allow us to travel together for a while. But for this time it’s just one night. We’ll say our goodbyes tomorrow but I know without a doubt that I’ll see her again. 
We set up our tents in a hidden spot behind the rest stop. Robin told us to watch out for ‘the gays’. Hahaha.. bless her heart. It was a great day. I’ve been excited about this happening since before I even started this walk. Great day, great moment, great memory!

So yesterday I stayed in Dodge City because a bad storm was projected to hit in the afternoon and I didn’t want to risk getting hit by it. It’s a good thing I stayed because it ended being 70+ mph winds with hail and even a couple of tornados. 
So today I was all rested up and as I was packing up to leave, the TV was on AMC and a show was on about Dodge City and Wyatt Earp. So here I am in dodge city, watching a show about dodge city. Kind of funny. 
I started walking around 7:30 am. Today was only scheduled to be an 18 mile day. Easy. No stress, plenty of time, easy day. That’s just what it ended up being. I enjoyed the views of the prairies. I feel like I’m definitely in “the west” now. Snakes are becoming to be an issue. I saw a few of them on the side of the road. They were too fast for me to see if they were venomous or not but I know that I need to keep a lookout either way. They usually run off before I even see them though. Well, they don’t run but you know what I mean. 
I saw a sign that said “Sante Fe Trail Tracks.” Supposedly you can see the remains of the original Sante Fe Trail that was used by wagons and horses before the railroads came along in the 1880s. I didn’t see any tracks but I could see how it probably looked. Beautiful rolling hills of grass and wildflowers were all I could see for miles. I took a moment to imagine what it must’ve been like back then. The loud hum of semis passing by on hwy 50 made that difficult…
Back on the road and in the zone. Still feeling great and not worried about much at all. A man pulls over in a pickup truck and asked if I needed a ride. I said, “no thank you, I’m walking.”
I then went on to tell him why because he looked at me like I was nuts. When he heard that I was doing it to raise awareness in honor of my sister he commended me and complimented my courage. 
Shortly after, another pickup truck with two Hispanic women pull over and ask if I’m ok and if I needed a ride. I told them quickly that I was walking across America. They both looked at me like they understood but I knew they didn’t. I spoke in Spanish and then they got it. Our conversation was cut short because of traffic whizzing by. They needed to get out of the way. I let them know that I was ok and that I appreciated them stopping. 
Early in the afternoon, I get to the town of Cimarron. This is where I planned on stopping for the night. I could’ve gone farther but I have the next 2 days planned out for a big surprise coming tomorrow. 
One block before I get to Main Street, a truck pulls up and a gorgeous woman around my age says that she got me some water. A gallon of cold water. That is the BEST thing that anyone could give me at this point in my walk. Of course, I was basically done for the day but I took it anyways. Water is life. Anyways, I spoke quickly with her about why I was walking and she was glad to see that i was someone doing something positive. She got a picture and helped me raise awareness by posting it on her social media. Nice people were on my side all day today. It was refreshing. 
A couple of blocks later, I get to an old hotel that was referred to me by Cynthia, a woman who hiked across America last year. I walk in and yelled, “Kathy are you up there?” as  instructed. 

I heard Kathy getting up and I met her at the stairs and told her about the walk and asked to stay for the night. She said that there would be no charge as long as I took care of making the bed up. She instructed me on everything I needed to know and then we talked for a long time about the drug epidemic in our country. 
The hotel was beautiful! It’s old and worn in. There must be so many stories on these walls. There is dust older than me on the windows. Solid wood floors and furniture in each room. Toilets that you flush by pulling on a chain. Clawfoot tubs converted into showers. Really awesome. Kathy made it so much cooler. 
I went across the street to grab a milkshake from the Pharmacy/ soda fountain where Oprah had drank a milkshake at the bar there. Exciting stuff! They were closed 🙁  bummer. I’ll have to come back another time for that one..
I grabbed dinner and headed back. I’m very very excited about tomorrow. Stay tuned, you’ll see why!!!

Wow. It’s day 124. That’s crazy! Anyways…

I woke up suddenly and immediately knew that a storm was coming. It must have been the smell and the way the wind was blowing. I unzipped my tent to look out and it looked like rain was coming. I turned my phone on and checked the weather. Yep.
 All I had to do was get up and move my tent under the picnic pavillion. I had to unstated it from the grass and the high winds made it hard to keep sturdy. There was no way to stake it down on the concrete of the picnic area but I placed heavy items in the corners to help. I laid there for another 3 hours waiting out the storm. I didn’t mind though. The high temperature for today was supposed to be 82. That’s manageable. 
When the storm passed I packed up and headed to the grocery store for breakfast. Small town livin right there.. the cashier told me that I should stop by the newspaper building and tell them my story. I couldn’t believe that this small town of Spearsville had a newspaper. I went in and they said they’d do the story. Boom. Awareness being spread and I hadn’t even taken a forward step yet. 
The wind was blowing well over 20 mph behind the storm. They were coming from the south though so at least I wasn’t against it. Traffic was heavy already too. I didn’t want to start my walking day in a bad mood so I put on my secret weapon. Aquemini by Outkast. My favorite album. I listened to the entire album. 
Literally RIGHT when the last song stopped playing, a car pulls up to me and a pretty, excited woman gets out and gives me a bag full of awesome snacks and other goodies. She told me that she has seen me a few times and found me on the Internet. Whitney lives in Stafford where I stayed a few days ago. 

When she left, I was going through my phone to check all my notifications and I looked up and a state trooper was walking towards me haha. He pulled over and I didn’t even hear him. He was making sure I didn’t have a baby out there. Once he figured out what I was doing he was cool and was making sure I was ok. We talked for a few minutes about the walk and cause and then we both got back to our jobs. 
Four excruciating hours later, I finally rolled up the a huge dodge city sign. I took a bunch of pictures. I was very excited to get here. I’ve always loved the wild west and I was hoping to see what it was like back in those days. 
Well, before I even got into the main part of town, I caught a flat tire. I stopped to fix it and then kept going. I came to a point where I had to make a detour because there was no shoulder and no sidewalk. I went one block over and walked on a hilly dirt road and was kind of pissed about it. 
As I was cursing to myself and pushing my heavy stroller through sand up a hill, I heard someone say HEY! 
I stopped mid-hill to talk to them. I told them about everything and they were both recovering meth addicts. I wanted to stay and talk longer but I also wanted to just get into Dodge! The told me about a shortcut to get to the sidewalks so that I didn’t have to walk on the dirt road. 
Well, have you ever heard that saying, “never trust a meth head?” I must’ve forgotten. I ended up on the main road and almost got hit twice. I only had about a half mile to go until sidewalks so I went back and forth between lanes. It is DODGE city after all. Might as well dodge a car or two. 
So far dodge city sucked. It wasn’t cool like I thought. It was just another overpopulated town. I thought it would still have a little more wild west stuff but not really. I went into the visitor’s center when I finally got downtown. I asked about stuff to do. She said that I still had time to catch the show at the Boot Hill museum. 
So I did that. It came with dinner, a gun fight show, and a saloon show. It was actually a lot of fun. Everything was done up and made for entertainment only but it was still fun. The saloon show was really good and not rushed. I enjoyed it. After the show, the performer’s had heard about my walk and were asking about it. I made sure to tell them about the cause. One of the girls reminded me of my sister. I didn’t tell her that though. That would’ve probably been awkward. 
I broke outta there and walked on as the sun was setting. I contemplated just finding a place to throw my tent up but I really wanted a shower and four walls. I needed to do laundry too. Found a $50 motel room and went for it. I think I’ve seen everything this town has to offer. Tomorrow it’ll be time to get the hell out of Dodge!!!

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I didn’t get started walking until 9:30 am. Which is not really good considering the high today was 98 with high humidity. I contemplated taking the day off from the second I woke up. I figured I’d just fight through it. Whatever. 
I got to the small town of Offerle. It was about 8 miles into the day. It was noon ish so I stopped in their gas station/corner store/restaurant and ate a huge salad and drank some sweet tea. I was feeling ok up until that point. After the big meal I didn’t feel like moving. I thought about staying in that town. I even thought about hitching a ride into dodge city. That totally would’ve been cheating but the thought crossed my mind. 
In fact, that thought lingered for hours. I had to use cognitive therapy techniques to try to change my thoughts before I did something that I’d regret. I was trying to talk myself up. It was just getting hotter and hotter and traffic was a freaking nightmare. Everything was working against me. I think it was just me though. I just wasn’t in it from the get go today. 
Late in the afternoon, I stopped at a grain elevator to rest in the shade and I called the city hall of the town that I was planning on staying in. They were cool with me camping in their park so that was a relief. At least I knew where I would be sleeping tonight. If I made it of course. 
Some guys pulled up and I freaking asked them if they were headed towards dodge city. They weren’t and I’m glad because I probably would’ve jumped right in if they let me. I talked myself up again and set out for the last 6 mile stretch. Big mistake. I should’ve waited right there for a few hours until the sun started to go down. 
Walking in southwest Kansas in the late afternoon is asking for trouble. Rush hour was in full gear and the semi’s were non-stop. The heat was melting me and I was just angry. At the world, at every vehicle, at Lieutenant Dan, at myself. I couldn’t take it anymore. I got off of hwy 50 to get on dirt roads. It added about 3/4 a mile but I didn’t care. 
Well THAT was a huge mistake. The gravel turned to sand and by the time I was too far to turn back I had to push through what was basically the desert and I was blazing hot. I couldn’t stop anywhere to cool down because there was nowhere with shade. Nowhere. For miles. And you can see that far in Kansas. 
I tried to set up my umbrella for shade but my patience was too thin to deal with the bungees. I just sucked it up and figured all I can do is just go. So I did. I miserably eeked through but I was getting closer and closer. I started to think about how happy I would be when I got there. Trying to focus on something positive. 
There were about a million windmills around. The town is known for them. They have a restaurant called the windmill. When I finally got into town that’s where I headed first. Immediately my world was changed. The A/C and the enchiladas healed me. I left full and headed for the park. 
I found a great spot and rested in the shade and caught up on my blog while the sun set with the windmills in view. A good friend who I have known for a while and was struggling with addiction messaged me out of the blue and said that I was motivating him to stay clean. He’s 3 months strong now. All the shit I went through today was worth it just for that. So happy! 

So today was rough but ended up being not so bad. I came close to cheating and that’s something I’ll have to remember. I think I became a little bit stronger today. So in hindsight everything worked out for the best. 

Hope tomorrow will be a little easier though haha

I slept well and woke up with the sun. I packed up and got ready for a very exciting day. From doing research, I knew about a sign that marks the halfway point of America between New York and San Francisco. It’s not exactly my halfway point but it’s close enough and it’s a cool landmark so for me it’s like my unofficial halfway marker. 
First things first, I saw a silo and I had to climb it. I got up to the top and did some morning reflecting and got down pretty quickly. It was a little more dangerous up there than I thought it would be. It was a good start to the day. I was feeling good. It was actually cool enough to wear a jacket when I started. I had good music playing and was just in a great mood. 
I made it to Lewis where I had a package waiting for me at the post office. It was a solar powered charger that a wonderful TAM mom bought for me. Thanks Dawn!!! I opened it like a present and played with it before I left the building. I noticed the flag was flying half staff. I assumed it was for the police officers in Dallas. 
Went across the street to a store called The Corner Store and grabbed a sandwich and some green tea. I got mentally prepared for the rest of the day and set out for it. 
I did 2 interviews over the phone while walking. One was for the radio back in Delaware where I started. He was doing a follow-up. The second interview was for drugrehabs.com or something. I need to check that. I’ll post when it comes out. After talking to them I called my dad, my brother, and my grandfather. I also talked to my other brother later in the day. It was cool to catch up. Especially since this was my big halfway point day!
It took a while but I finally made it into Kinsley. The town with the sign. The sign is on the far end of town so I had to go through town first. I was trying to play it cool like I wasn’t all that excited about it. I went to eat at a little country cooking restaurant and filled up on dinner. Even though it was pretty early. Like 2 pm. I ate and then went to pay and they told me it was on the house. They had seen my signs on my stroller and thought it was a good cause. I tipped the waitress and thanked everyone. 
Walked through town. The town that I’d looked at on googlemaps a million times. Dreaming of this sign. Hoping I made it. Fantasizing about seeing it in person. I got really close and started to get chills. I had no idea that I would actually be this excited. It all hit me out of nowhere. I was still trying to contain my excitement though. At least until I was actually there. 
I get to the area and was looking all around and couldn’t see it. I started to wonder if it was all a huge joke. Then there it was! Oh. My. God. There is was!!!!!!!
I stopped dead in my tracks. I took my own personal time with the sign. First by staring at it in awe for a few minutes and then going up closer and closer until I finally touched it. People were definitely around but I didn’t care. I hugged the crap out of the pole and didn’t let go. I couldn’t let go. I wanted to hold on to that feeling forever. I finally had enough of being weird. I’m sure people were like wtf. 
I went to go get Lieutenant Dan and take pictures. I took a million. I sat down under it and thought about domino. I sent her a message through the air that I’m sure she’ll get soon. Letting her know that I made it and I missed her. Then I had a moment with Brittany. I grabbed my keychain photo of her and held it and did that whole thing. Even the good kind of grieving is tough but it still felt good to have done something to make her proud. 
I finally got up and moved on. There was a little museum next to it and I hoped that they had souvenirs. They did. I grabbed some stuff and walked around the free museum. I was exhausted after all that. There was a motel in the same parking lot. Even though the museum lady said she’d let me stay at her house, I chose to go to the hotel. I wanted to sleep. After 31 miles yesterday and a lot of excitement today I needed rest. 
I got checked in and couldn’t wind down. It was relaxing but I didn’t rest much. Great day but a rough night’s sleep…. 

So yesterday I couldn’t get out of bed. I overdid it on Saturday with the 30 miles. That was ok though. Julie, a TAM mom, and her husband Jeff wanted to come meet me and have lunch. I got to hang out with them for a while and it was great. We all could relate to the cause and we all were fans of Mexican food! I really enjoyed the company. I relaxed for a few hours and then Julie, the hotel manager, asked if I wanted to join her and her husband for dinner. So I did. Julie was awesome and so was her husband. We told stories of travel and life and had some awesome dinner that Julie made. I could’ve hung out all night but I wanted to get to bed early to get an early start the next day. 
…the next day…
I was on the road around 5 am. It was still dark.  I was planning on going about 20 miles to Mackville. Julie had called some people to try to find a place for me to sleep. It was kind of a weird day. I was cruising. The wind was blowing 20+ mph from the south. It felt good though. I didn’t even break a sweat. I was in Macksville before 2 pm. 
I stopped at the restaurant and had a great meal. I told them that I was originally planning on staying in town but there was so much time left in the day and the wind was keeping it cool. They told me about a roadside park about 11 miles ahead. I figured I’d go for it. Not like I had anything else to do..
The town of Belpre was 8 miles ahead. I struggled to get there. The afternoon brought the heat that I thought I would be spared from with the wind. I was wrong. There was a shelter that I was definitely not supposed to be under but I went for it anyways. I figured I could stay there for the night and leave early in the morning. It was very unlikely that anyone would see me. 
I laid there for about an hour maybe 2 and just couldn’t relax. It was too hot and about 30 feet from the train tracks. I said eff it. I packed up quickly and looked at the time and at the map. I’d arrive at that roadside park just as the sun would be going down. I hurried up and got back out.
 

It was much cooler outside of that shelter. I guess it held heat in and blocked the wind so the temperature was higher in it. It felt nice on the road in the evening sun. JUST  before I got to the park, a sheriff pulled over to see what was up. I told him where I was planning on setting my tent up and he seemed ok with it. He asked if I wanted a ride there. No way. This will have been my longest day. 31 miles total. It made up for the day off yesterday. 
I got to the roadside drive-off and it had a picnic table under a pavilion and that’s it. That’s all I needed though. I set my tent up next to it and put Lieutenant Dan under the shelter. As I was setting up, the sheriff came back with 2 cold bottles of water. He wanted to make sure I wouldn’t go dying on him overnight haha. He was cool as hell. 
I went right to sleep and slept well. 

So, as fun as it was, sleeping under that bridge turned out to suck. I thought I’d be able to sleep through the noises but I was wrong. The train and big trucks kept me up all night. At one point, in the pitch dark, I had the idea to make ear plugs. I didn’t know what I was going to make them from and I could barely think as I was delirious and half asleep. I felt around tent for anything that may work. Bandana. Boom. I found my shorts and grabbed my pocket knife. The last thing that I should be playing with in the dark half asleep under a bridge in the middle of nowhere. I cut two perfectly square 2×2 pieces (yeah right) and rolled them up and shoved them into my ears. I tied the rest of my bandana like Tupac with the knot in the front. I pulled it down over my ears to keep the bandana balls held in my ears. 

I’m not sure if it worked or not. I woke up at sunrise and was laughing at myself when it hit me that I had the bandana thing going on. I didn’t care about the lack of sleep. I forced myself to get up and moving. It’s too hot out here to bullshit in the mornings. I packed up and ate pop tarts and granola bars. I rolled Lieutenant Dan back out from under the bridge and figured out a way to get it over the guard rail. Knowing that i could go over guard rails would have been valuable months ago. There have been many times where a guard rail stood between me and utopia. I guess I never needed it bad enough. 

I was rolling by 7 am. My plan was to go about 22 miles to Sylvia and call Janis to see if I can stay at her B&B. I found a classic rock station on the radio and was karaokeing all morning. In the middle of an air guitar solo, a pickup truck pulls up. Husband wife and daughter.  The daughter was sitting in the middle. She looks just like my step-sister Caitlin. Don’t know what my step-sister looks like? Well that’s too bad because they could’ve been identical twins. 

They offered me a cold soft drink. Never in my life have I been so excited about a can of soda. They also gave me some money. Nice family. When people like this pull over for me it’s so uplifting. They all had huge smiles on their faces and were just as happy to meet me as I was to meet them. 

There was a lot of huge trucks with “wide load” signs passing by today. They were transporting pieces of those huge windmills. I never realized how big those things were until I could see pieces of them being driven down the road. I saw a couple of the propellers and it was amazing. 
A sheriff pulled over to see if I was ok. Nothing more, just wanted to know if I needed anything. He never even got out of his vehicle. Had a friendly smile on his face for the entire short conversation. Good to know that they know about me if I needed anything. I made sure to look up the phone number and write it down in my notebook. Just in case something happened and I didn’t have Internet or something. 

At about the 20 mile mark, I was about to die. Not really but I was fading fast. I needed to eat. I have plenty of high protein snacks but I could see a gas station way up ahead and I figured I’d rather have something from there. It was called “Oasis”. 
I had imagined it being full of travelers and cool A/C with great hot dogs, pizza, or other gas station hot food. As I got closer and closer, I couldn’t have been more wrong. It looked closed. That would’ve been devastating. I walked the 500 feet to the door and thankfully it was opened. There was no hot food. 

I grabbed a burrito from the freezer and zapped it in the microwave. Grabbed one of those big cans of green tea and sat down at a table next to a power outlet to charge my phone. I was going to call Janis and see about staying there as she was only about 3 miles from there. 

I looked at my map first and I was 10 miles from the next town, Stafford, and a motel. For some reason, I wanted to get there. I decided to just go for it. It would be 30 total miles for the day. I felt like I had it in me after the burrito. I bought a protein shake and refilled my water bottles before leaving. The owner told me that when he opened the place it used to be the oasis that I had imagined but he said no one came and he was losing money. He had given up on all the extra stuff long ago. Bummer. I still enjoyed it being there though!
There are mile markers on Highway 50 which is nice. I would walk to one, take a swig of water, and then tell myself to just get to the next one. Going one mile at a time was all I could do at this point. The heat of the day was wearing on me and I wished I hadn’t had committed to the extra miles. I had to keep telling myself to keep going and that I could do this. 

I stopped 6 miles later to sit in the shade and while I was cooling down I looked over and saw a cyclist that was obviously cycling across the country. I yelled but I was pretty hidden so he didn’t see me. I was 5 miles from the motel and I figured that he was most likely going to the same place. There isn’t anything past there for at least 50 miles and it was near the end of the day. 
I struggled through the last 5 miles. I saw a large cornfield with one of those huge sprinklers that rolls around and waters the crop. I was about to run across the street and stand under it. Right before I got there, the water stopped. Lame. 

Somehow I made it to the hotel and I gave a quick celebratory fist in the air to myself. Julie, the woman who ran the place, was awesome! As we were talking, the cyclist came out and I got to meet him. Things were looking great! All I wanted to do was shower and sleep though haha. 

I put my stroller in the room and before getting comfortable, I walked across the street with Dave (bicycle guy) to the gas station for dinner. We both grabbed a ridiculous amount of food and laughed about it. We walked back and passed a tornado shelter. Dave is from Philly and I am from Atlanta. Neither of us had seen one of these outside of the movie “Twister”. We took pictures of it and caught Julie taking pictures of us taking pictures of the tornado shelter haha. 

I ate all of my gas station dinner and didn’t last long enough to even find something on tv. I was out! 

Late start today. I didn’t wake up until 8. I ate a huge breakfast and got on the road just a little after 9. Way later than I wanted to. It was already hot as hell. I walked through Hutchinson and really liked it. The people were very friendly and it had a cool look to it. It’s very Kansas. 

A woman and her two teenage children came up to me and were so sweet. Jennifer, Jack, and Jordan. They asked to speak with me and offered water. They had seen me yesterday and wanted to know what it was all about. I told them about my sister Brittany. I didn’t hit me until after that they have the alliteration thing going on too. We were Brett, Brittany, and Brandon. And I named my daughter Brooke to keep it going. 

Anyways, Jennifer and her son both offered money to help me out. Very nice looking family. I was thankful to start the day out with great people. The trend didn’t stop there…

On the other side of town, I was met by a woman named Janis. Super sweet. She offered to help out by hosting me at her bed and breakfast that she runs. I was hoping to make it there tonight but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. She gave me her number and some money for lunch. I hope that it works out tomorrow. I’d really like to spend time with her and her husband. I’m about to hit a long stretch of nothing in western Kansas so it would be great to be all refreshed and ready for it. 
I got back onto hwy 50. My home away from home. Traffic is loud and obnoxious but the shoulder is wide and smooth. Unfortunately, it was so hot that I couldn’t get very far. I made it to an overpass and left my stroller on top and walked under the bridge to take a break in the shade. I knew right then and there that I wasn’t going any further for the day. 

I walked back up to get Lieutenant Dan and there was a man and his son leaving cold water on it for me. I waved and thanked them and they handed me one more bottle. Nice! Now I had enough water to have for the rest of tonight and tomorrow. I was all set. I set up my tent because of bugs and made dinner. Just kicking back and chilling out. It’s nice and relaxing under here. Quite loud but I’m ok with loud noises. Shouldn’t bother me to bad. I’m too tired to care anyways. 
Hoping to get an early start tomorrow. Only got 15 miles in today. Not great but it’s still something.. now I can scratch “sleep under a bridge” off of my bucket list!

I took yesterday off. I didn’t want to. But I just didn’t have it. I made the day worthwhile by getting a lot of stuff done though. It ended up being ok.
This morning I planned to get out early and go about 16 miles and find some shade and camp. I was packed and fed and on the road at 6:50 am. So far so good. The forecast called for a high of 101 with a heat index of at least 108. I wanted to be done before that happened. 

I walked through McPherson which looked like a nice town and was feeling good. I came to a point where I had to make a choice. I could either go south and connect with hwy 50 which has a big shoulder or I could stay west and go on hwy 56 with a crappy shoulder and probably end up taking gravel roads. I would connect with 50 in about a week if I went that way. I knew which way i was going to go but I flipped a coin anyways. Heads. Go south. 

I walked to state route 61 which goes into Hutchinson. I planned on being there tomorrow night. Once I got on 61 I was cruising! I was in the zone and feeling great. There was cloud cover and a breeze. I walked 10 miles before even stopping quickly for a snack and some water. I saw a sign that said Hutchinson was 18 miles away. I was like I got this. I made the choice to try to make up yesterday and just go for the long day. It would be 29 miles if I made it.
I was enjoying myself today. I was singing out loud and making funny faces at cars passing by. I was definitely talking to myself in a rain man voice for a while. I was waving to cars and trucks passing by and they were all friendly. I even got to wave at a train passing by and the engineer waved and gave a light toot of the horn. 

I thought about the old wagon days. That railroad is on the Sante Fe Trail which was used by wagons transporting goods. I imagined that people would wave to other wagons passing by and some of them may have even made funny faces at some of them. 
I saw a huge turtle about to walk into traffic so I picked him up and changed his direction. Hopefully he went back to the ditch instead of the highway. 
I got to the point where I planned on stopping originally and stayed with the choice to keep pushing. I hadn’t even broke a sweat yet. The temperatures did start to rise quickly after that but I was ok. I kept eating bars and drinking water when I needed to. One thing I should have done was put sunscreen on. But I didnt. 
After 20 miles I was feeling a little like trying to find another spot to camp. But I was already committed and I still had plenty of time in the day. I pushed on. I should’ve taken a break but there was no shade and I was also thinking that the longer that I am out here, the hotter it will get. 
I see a sheriff in an SUV pull up and flash his lights. Great. I pull to the side of the shoulder and let him pull up. He gets out and very kindly asks if I am ok and if I needed anything. I told him that I was good and only about 4 miles from my destination. He shook my hand and said to let him know if there was anything I needed. Shocked the hell out of me. Gave me the happiness to keep pushing. 
When I was about 2 miles away it was scorching hot and my arms and legs were cooking. I could feel them burning. My sunscreen is very easy to grab. I didn’t do it. Kept walking. Stubborn…

There was a bridge ahead that had a place to sit in the shade. There. I stopped. Cooled down and ate a little and drank a lot. I looked at my map and I was a mile and a half from dinner and a hotel room. I rested a little but not too much. I didn’t want to tighten up. 

The last stretch hurt like hell. My feet my legs. My arms were burning. Forgot sunscreen. I didn’t care. I was so close to comfort. I swung into Qdoba and ordered a ton of food. The people looked at me like I was crazy. I told them I walked here from mcpherson and they understood. 

Got my food and they threw in a Mexican coke for free. Walked right across the street and into one of the good Super 8 hotels. Super 8s are either in great shape or in terrible shape. I’ve been in some that smell like feet and dirty laundry and have a layer of sticky on the walls from Crack smoke and hooker sex. This one wasn’t like that. Haha

The lady at the counter was nice and helpful. Came in and washed the day away and then popped my mexican coke to celebrate the long mileage. I ate all my food and watched soccer and baseball. Then I was ready for bed until I remembered that I needed to write this dang blog! 😛