I rose early and devoured road like strips of bacon along the Mo-Pac, reaching Eagle by eleven. I spent two hours there immersed in conversation with a group of farmers, including veterans of the Korean and Vietnam "conflicts." They warned me of the dreaded Sand Hills and regaled me with the sights of Nebraska I could see if I had more transportational flexibility or didn't want to enter Colorado until sometime in the far off year of 2014.
I finally moved out towards Walton at one, arriving there by four. My original plan was to stop and ask for accommodations at the Lutheran Church. Instead, feeling frisky, I continued on, finishing the Mo-Pac and entering the outskirts of Lincoln around six.
I had noted on the turn-by-turn the presence of a hotel on 70th street, but when I arrived at the indicated location all I spotted was a Taco Inn. Since I can not sleep inside a burrito, though the lord knows I want to, I soldiered onward in the direction of Holmes Lake. Being a macho man I refused to ask anyone for directions to lodgings or help of any kind, passing through miles of hotel-free Lincoln.
Holmes Lake in Lincoln |
By eight thirty as the light faded my inner little boy gained the ascendancy and I asked a couple out playing with their children if there was a place to stay nearby. Kevin and Tasha used their fancy Smart Phone, found a Hampton Inn a few miles to the south, and Kevin offered to drive me there. I could easily walk up 56th the next day and rejoin the trail at tonight's stopping point so I gave his suggestion a hell yes. Kevin even took me by a Runza so I could pick up dinner - I had forgotten to eat for hours in my overwhelming lust for a place to stay.
There is one more event to report. After showering I retired to bed where I was immediately wracked by fever and chills. I shivered uncontrollably if I left the safety of the covers. When underneath I felt like I was in the midst of an inferno. A sudden epiphany led me to the culprit: the heating/cooling unit. I turned the system off and was well within minutes.
20 miles/1873 total miles
1 comment:
Well, you've now had more Runzas than I've ever had in all my years as a Nebraskan.
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