I did take yesterday off and rest.
Today was a long day. 28 miles to Coolidge. The last nine miles was in soft sand during the dark. Not sure what was worse, sand or I-40.
Ira has suggested I stay at the El Rancho hotel in Gallup. It is a pretty neat themed hotel on Route 66. I had been walking about 7 miles when I came upon it. I was thinking about calling it a day and checking in. At that moment my son called. I sat down on a planter adjacent to the sidewalk but in the parking lot of El Rancho. As I was talking to Dusty I was on Booking.com looking at the rates. Right then a security guard came up to me and said I needed to get off the property. I said I would after I finished my call. He said “Now”. I just smiled and finished my call. I then called Ira and told him what happened and I wasn’t stopping at the El Rancho. Plus it was too expensive.
Ira, bless him, called the El Rancho and gave him a piece of his mind.
Down the street I stopped at Route 66 Diner. I sat at the counter and ordered a chocolate shake. The owner, Brian Dominguez came to the counter and pointed at my cart outside. He asked who was walking with that. We spoke for awhile about what and why I was walking. He handed me a $20.00 bill and said thank you. He then started telling the customers what I was doing. It was a fun experience. I left him a challenge coin.
As I walked along I heard all these funny noises. It was prairie dogs. I was watching for quite awhile. Funny creatures.
As I was along the frontage roads, the views were spectacular. My GPS led me to a dirt road. Prior to getting there, Lance and Tex drove up next to me. They handed me a coke and told me how to get to the dirt road. As I walked on past some houses, I heard a voice say, “hold on”. It was Kyle. He is the nephew of Lance and brother to Tex. He handed me two waters and a peach. That peach was soooo good. Kyle gave me instructions again on to get there. It was fun, I had to go around fences, over train tracks and around a barricade.
I made it and am sleeping on the side of the dirt road. Only issue is that the train is about 100’ away.
I am so tired, I don’t even think I will hear the train.