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It's sad. I really needed the sleep. But I was up with the dawn. I went to the office for my free coffee but everyone was still abed. So I enjoyed another long hot shower. I would have preferred a bath. My second-best knee could do with a soak but it was not to be. There was only a narrow shower stall with mould in its every seam.
I took my time packing up all my gear. It is harder when my laundry is clean. And I've got extra socks; some of them I think are good for fifty more miles. I don't want to throw them away til I have to. I like to get value for money. So I stayed in my room until check-out time. I passed the time watching TV.
Perhaps one lesson of this adventure is that people aren't as bad as I thought. I had never liked them personally. I avoid their company. But there are some nice people out there, even a few I respect. Or did until I spent my morning seeing what they watch on TV.
Stupidity is not a virtue. It is a birth defect.
I had a hearty lunch and a piece of pie and headed out on the road. I stopped at a grocery store to get more bread and cheese. Their bagels were too expensive. I am back to hamburger buns. Regular bread does not last long mashed into my pack. And I bought some more sports drink. Water, I'm afraid, wouldn't do. The water in Corydon, Iowa is suggestive of urinal cakes. That all-American cocktail of Lysol and Easter candy.
I had the damnedest time walking. There was some wind. I do suffer from my knee. It was in fact surpringly hot. My nose continues to run. I had done some surgery on my feet and left some open wounds. But I am used to all of that. I was just so blasted sleepy. I could barely keep my eyes open. I decided to have a nap.
It was a warm day so that wasn't a problem. I was sure I could make the time. I was concerned about micro-vipers, a new discovery of mine. Once in Montana I went to sleep and woke up covered in grasshoppers. I think it would be worse with snakes. So I spent some time trampling a big circle of grass to scare them all away. And folded my hands across my tummy and rested my head on my bag.
I fell asleep almost immediately and woke some few minutes later. A pick-up pulled over and honked at me to see if I was dead. "Are you OK?" a woman asked. I told her I was just resting. I didn't want to admit to sleep. She drove away disappointed.
Even that short nap did me some good. I still stopped several more times. Fifteen miles would be plenty today. I need to get some sleep. As it was I have managed only thirteen. I stopped at a great tentsite. There was time enough for four more miles but it was Providence. I am at a sort of roadside chapel. It has its own little park.
The truth is churches give me the creeps. As do temples and shrines. And saloons, believe it or don't, and any kind of school. And tire shops and those beauty salons where women put their heads under dryers. But it is fairly nice here and not state funded and I don't think Jesus would mind.
I waited an hour for the sun to go down before I put up my tent. I don't think I'm breaking any rules but I like a low profile. There is a nice lawn but I am camped in a corner on the only lumps there are. Let no one believe that I am asking for unearned luxury.
Goodnight.
YESTERDAY, at noon or so, a full 250,000 Iowans set out for a one-kilometer walk. The governor is promoting fitness. Last week a man got his picture on the front page of the Des Moines Register because he was "thinking about" walking the Appalachian Trail. Aren't they cute?
THE NICE LADY at my motel gave me two acorns with condoms inside them. They are to all appearances ordinary acorns, but when you smash them open you find a condom. I did not know what to say.
"I'm Chip!"
"I'm Dale!"
"We're just a couple of crazy rascals out to have some fun... "
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