My First BJ Day

August 11

This morning was one of the toughest emotional moments I have yet faced.  Colin and Mom were set to leave.  The next six hundred miles are mostly desert and I don't know a soul along the route.  On a more positive note, I realize I am blessed to have a family that will come out on their vacation time and suffer in the roasting pan with me.  Their presence will be greatly missed.
With the support car gone I am now reliant on the baby jogger to carry the massed of liquid required in these great open spaces.  I went ahead and named the stroller B.J.  Since I am bound to go mad from loneliness I thought I would get a head start by developing a relationship with an inanimate object.  Hopefully the pack won't become jealous.  I didn't name this one after losing the first two.  I didn't want to be hurt again, the pain is still too deep.

Photo by Amy McCandless

There wasn't much for B.J. and I to look at on our first day of companionship.  A ranch runs along both sides of the highway here for forty straight miles.  There were no crops, no livestock, nor was there oil or natural gas extraction in evidence.  Pretty exciting stuff.
The ranch's fence restricted my ability to remove myself from the road for camping purposes to about thirty feet.  At nineteen miles I resolved to take what appeared to be the best camping spot available, a gray spot of dirt below a small hill.  I would at least be partially concealed from motorists' prying eyes.
I crawled into my hole and hid from the sun's radiating blast.  The fly was attached, turning the tent into a sauna.  You can open one side to allow a breeze in - if you don't mind a pound of sand entering as well.  A small storm combined with a strong wind cooled me down, but brought a new problem.  The sandy ground pukes out stakes with ease.  Two kept firmly implanted in the earth while the others were coming undone and with them the fly.  I managed to tie my rain protection to B.J.'s rear wheels, which proved a temporary fix.  I'll have to work on a more permanent solution.  Perhaps B.J. will think of something.

Thanks to Matt and Nina for stopping and giving me some cold water as well as a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.  Let us not forget other recent givers:

Henry Martin
Cynthia May
Mark and Melissa Normington

19 miles/3099 total miles