It is day 151 out on the road. 2703 miles walked in that span. I am sitting on the bed of the Park Motel in Winnemucca, NV taking my first rest day since returning from Tahoe. This is the cheapest motel I have seen across America at $25 a night.
Walking through Nevada has been nice so far. The days are long and hot. I have finally begun to feel like myself out here again. The walk into Winnemucca was the first time I eclipsed 30 miles in a day since returning to the road. I have been pretty much exclusively camping alongside the I-80. I always seem to get a second wind around 6pm as the mid afternoon sun wears off. The nights are so relaxing here. I love watching the sun duck down below the mountains in the distance leaving an orange glow lining all of the mountain tops. The sun is gone but I feel its presence still shining down on the places I will soon be.
As the end of my journey becomes closer I often think about how this experience has changed me. In reality I haven’t changed all that much. I didn’t necessarily want to change. What it has done is give me a sense of pride. To feel comfortable and confident in the way I am. To feel like I deserve to function amongst others, and to feel strong. I almost feel like the last few years I haven’t really lived. You know when you see a person who just woke up and they have that stiff glazed over look on their face. Like there is a wall between them and the world. I feel like I have been wearing that emotionless face for the last 4 years of my life. Sometimes I force myself to show emotion on my face. It gets harder every time. The longer it has been stuck without emotion, the harder it is to feel anything. I make it a point to smile every day. I feel like it breaks away at the wall between me and the world. I want to feel things as they come and stop reminding myself to get caught up in a moment. I want to just react. I want the wall to be gone. I think the two sides have been separated long enough.
I met a couple from Madison, WI the other day while at a rest stop along the 80. They were on their annual summer trip out west. They shared something with me that I really loved. When they were asking around for advice when they were planning to get married. A friend shared with them his own experience. He said when I was deciding to get married I thought about all of the sacrifices that would be necessary. The thing that surprised him was that he could experience joy. It never occurred to him that he could experience joy. I think this is true when making any decision or possible change in life. It is so easy to look at the potential complications. Great things can happen. Usually how you look at something directly effects the result.
I have come across several homeless and transient people across Nevada. A strange bond is always formed between those who don’t have a place to safely rest their heads at night. Speaking to them has made me realize how lucky I am. Their stories of how they are treated by the police and their peers is truly sad in some cases. These people are all have a very interesting story to tell. It goes to show that not all people are the same and you wouldn’t know unless you talk. My mission to cross the US helps me relate to the common people. I basically live like a homeless person, only with more change. The main difference is they are stuck in these towns. I walk from town to town. All of the towns are 50-70 miles apart. 50-70 miles of empty desert separating them. The ability to pass by everyone living in a town constantly makes me feel invincible. I can always move forward. I will never be stuck. There is always a way out if I want it.
I have about a week left until the California border. Back home. I will finally use my handy whistle for the first time at this point. A week from now listen for a whistle and you will know that I am back in my home state.
Side Note (s)
Arrowhead is by far the worst kind of bottled water.
The Dollar Generals of the south and Midwest have become Family Dollar beginning in Wyoming on west.
In Elko I parked my cart on the side of a convenient store. I walked in to get some drinks and the manager greeted me. She said “can I help you? You know I can’t have you out there with your cart. I can’t have the customers see you.” This really angered me. I understand she probably thought I was homeless, but that is not how you should talk to any human being. This is rare. I am usually treated very well.
Green grass means sprinklers. Good to know when camping.
I had to walk through a tunnel between Elko and Carlin. I basically had to put my life in the hands of the drivers. The tunnel was about a half mile long with no shoulder. No other way of getting through. Cars flying by me at 75 mph. I could reach out and touch the cars. The echo of the tunnel magnified the noise of the cars. Sometimes I can’t afford to think about the consequences of my actions. I am thankful I made it out of there.
I have come to realize the amount of possible places to camp throughout my journey. There are so many campsites all across the country not marked by a wooden post and given a number. You can camp anywhere. I have paid to stay at a campsite 3 times. Those spots are really no better than anywhere else.
My eyebrows have basically become just a collection of dirt above my eyes.
If anybody wants to walk with me at any point in California let me know. I am still figuring my route from Reno to Truckee. The roads through the Tahoe National Forrest contain a lot of switchbacks and stretches with no shoulder. That is the last piece of uncertainty concerning my route. It always seems to work out. I’ll find a way. 3 weeks left.