This morning I made my way into Fort Morgan, CO. The largest city I have come across since leaving Kansas City. 11,000 is the population here. I feel like a kid heading to the big city for the first time, although 11,000 people is hardly a big city and living on the road I look more like I'm 40 than a kid. I have gone 89 miles since my last update in Wray, bringing me to exactly 1800 miles.
From Wray I walked towards Yuma. Trying to beat the upcoming storm schedules for around 2pm that day. I was getting a motel for that night because I hadn't showered in a week and became constantly itchy. I made it into town dry. Only 0.3 miles remained between me and the Nelson Inn. In that stretch, the biggest storm I have seen on the road hit. Everything I owned was soaking wet in an instant. The wind picked up and the hail came flying into my face. The misery turned to pain with the thick hail pelting my body. I could see the sympathy from the drivers of the passing cars. I was luckily close to a gas station where I could wait it out until I got my room for the night. Just think if I began walking 5 minutes earlier.
The next day I walked to Akron, CO. Completing a 7 day stretch of 200 miles. This was my longest week to date. In Colorado It has been a mix of ferocious thunderstorms and the first signs of summer I have experienced with temperatures in the mid 80s. I have been told by many locals that all of this rain is very uncharacteristic of the area. I have pretty much heard that everywhere I have been. The rain has seemingly followed me across America. With these rare storms, come mosquitoes.
This morning I woke up in Brush Memorial Park. Having slept in a little bit, it was 645 am. My entire body fely sticky and itchy throughout. I discovered roughly 80 mosquito bites spread across my sun beaten skin. I began to just itch like crazy. My calves, swollen up with bites now almost doubled in size. My base layer bottoms had to be cut with scissors in order for me to take them off.
Right as I entered Fort Morgan this morning I hit a stretch where the shoulder disappeared, forcing me to a dirt path. Here I found stickers. These stickers deflated my front tire. Unfortunate, but Can be fixed. I went to unscrew the front tire with my allen wrench only to find out I need two in order to do this. Very luckily once again, a hardware store was just a mile up the road. It took 2 allen wrenches and 4 grown men to finally get the thing loose. Ok, perfect. I get out my spare tire tube. It is too small. I call the bike shop in town knowing they will not have an 8.5 X 2 tire tube. They didn't. The man told me to come by the shop to see if he could fold a 10 inch tube in there for the time being. After hanging up the phone I reached to take my sunglasses off. As I pulled them off they snapped into two indentical halves. I remember thinking today is not my day.
Walking towards the bike shop with no front wheel attatched I couldn't help thinking how unlucky I was, but also how lucky I was. All of these issues at once, but being in a town that at least had some resources at my disposal. Getting ready to show me how to fold the tire tube to make it fit, the bike shop employee found that a 10 inch tube fit perfectly without needing to be folded at all. This was shocking, some good news finally coming my way. The tire specifically says 8.5 X 2, but a 10 X 2 fits. I don't understand it, but I was finally able to get back on track today. My cart is now back on track. I should also have everything I need to fix this problem myself should it happen again.
1800 miles. I have come so far in these past 90 days. I will say I am more mentally, physically and emotionally drained than I ever have been on this walk. I feel like I have finally entered the west. I am so close yet still so far away. I don't even know how I feel about this. I have come this far, faster than I could have ever imagined. I am not in a hurry to finish. I want to enjoy this. I know that even though I have already learned so much about myself out here on the road, I have to get to the Pacific Ocean. If I don't I will still feel like that same person who always comes up short. I need to finish because I need to believe in myself and that anything is possible. A year ago this walk seemed impossible. I now know that is not the case.
I need to take it a little easier in the next few days. I am hoping to stay in Fort Collins a couple nights and check out the city. I should be there around Friday. I am still not exactly sure what rote I will take from there towards Utah. I am absolutely sure that I am going to buy everything the Walgreens across the street has for mosquito bite relief.
Side Note
Finally getting a shower in Yuma after a dirty week was amazing. Although, there is a degrading quality to clean up only to put on the same smelly clothes. I have not done laundry in close to a month. Walking west out of Yuma I had an itch on my chest. I reached to scratch it. I grabbed a big lump within the fabric of my shirt. Reaching inside with my other hand I found a moth that quickly escaped my hand. I wonder how long it had been in there.