I'm currently in Limon Colorado and there are some pretty fierce storms all through Kansas which is where I'm headed so I've decided to take a few days off. Since I've been in Eastern Colorado there have been storms, tornado warnings, flash floods and just all kinds of crazy weather. I'm trying to catch up on my posts from the past few weeks, so lets pick up where we left off.
As I'm leaving Craig I get stopped by a reporter and we have breakfast together outside on the patio of the restaurant. It was the typical interview (not to sound ungrateful) but they tend to be the same just in different locations. While we were there, I met these two ladies who were listening into the interview next to us. They were completely in shock and awe at the entire project and Leeroy. They were in town visiting but were heading back towards Steamboat in a of couple days. They said they wanted to bring me food on the road and wanted to know the route I was taking. I put that little nugget of hope in my back pocket, finished our interview and headed out.
The landscape totally changed, more mountains, more rivers, and trees. Let me tell you about trees, they are AWESOME! Trees provide shade in the heat of the day for me and LeeRoy and I will tell you what, nothing is better than taking a break, kicking back in the shade of a big tree. Makes me feel a little like Huck Finn at times.
*Sidenote, here's the problem about posting blogs out of order. I already wrote about walking into Hayden and just the trouble I had in town and sleeping overnight at the park. You can go back and read that here:
I know this is confusing but bear with me. So not getting any sleep in Hayden, I got up early, packed my stuff and headed across the street to get some coffee and a breakfast burrito at the local gas station. THE COFFEE WAS TERRIBLE! I asked if there was a coffee shop in town else where but sadly there wasn't so I headed out. I walked about four blocks and saw a sign for a coffee shop… hahaha YES! Leeroy and I quickly took a detour and let me tell you, this place turned out to be a little haven for us. They not only gave us coffee but food and even hay for Leeroy. One of the owners had some in the back of his truck… Unbelievable! I told them the story about my horrible night and not being able to sleep and one of the other workers at the coffee shop spoke with their church and set up a time for me to be able to go and sleep for the afternoon in the church basement on a couch. Sooo good!!! I slept for a atleast least 5 hours and headed back out on the road around 4pm.
Leeroy and I were on highway 40 for about 11 miles when all of the sudden on the other side of the road an ice cream truck pulled up. That's right, I said an ice cream truck! Now if you don't believe in God this is an example of Gods provision. I look over at her as she was laughing with her window down. She said "hey, you want some ice cream?" You just can't help but laugh at those kinds of moments, complete and utter joy! I crossed the highway and walked up to the window of the truck. All of a sudden I felt like I was an 8 years old again in the neighborhood trying to pick out what ice cream I wanted. I laughed the whole time. The ice cream man doesn't stop on the HWY for anybody! Now here's the thing about picking your ice cream… its a big deal! I don't like the push-up pops because I feel like I'm getting gypped somehow. I don't like Klondike bars and the rocket pops are too small. The Super Treats melt too fast, which left me with the ice cream sandwich or the chocolate fudge bar. I went with the ice cream sandwich. We talked and took pictures for a bit. Not only did she give me a free ice cream sandwhich but she also donated. I tell you what, life doesn't get much better than that moment right there.
Now the lady I met in Craig wanted to bring me food. I would just like to reiterate, I might be the only person who is going to walk across America and gain weight. Just about the time I am going to stop for the night the lady, her boyfriend, his brother and his girlfriend stopped and they brought me a feast! Jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon, corn on the cob, two hamburgers, potato salad, and a green salad. I mean it was INCREDIBLE! They also brought me a bunch of water. I set up camp at the boat launch and feasted. But as I'm sitting there eating all that delicious food, a guy pulls up and says that he had seen me in the paper. He got out of his car and we took some pictures. He made a donation to Needle2Square and he asked me if I needed anything. Turns out, he owns a store back in Hayden and wanted to bring me whatever I needed. I told him I would really appreciate some bug spray cause the mosquitos were eating me alive. So I set up camp and an hour later he came back with 2 grocery bags full of candy, chips, soda, bug spray, and toilet paper. That was crazy, absolutely crazy! I sprayed myself down with the bug spray and uncomfortably slept on my flat sleeping mat.
The next day I got up, packed up and we walked all the way to Steamboat.
Awesome day for ya's!
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