D3 Toadstool to Chadron

FYI - I am running behind because I am either having too much fun or have no cell service or both.
(Written September 10)

Man, it rained and thundered last night. It's morning and it's still raining. I'm getting a jump on writing. (Ooh, big lightning just now. Scary). I am grateful my Warmshowers host who live 45 minutes away by car extended a rescue offer. That's especially nice because it's 12 miles to pavement. I could be stuck regardless of my desire to stick it out. That's a pleasant surprise, my desire to stick it out, I mean. I am in good spirits despite the scary weather. 

My tent has held up well, just a little leaking around the edges. The first thunderstorm came through around 11pm with a lot of wind. I spent an hour pushing against the side wall, but I don't think that was necessary. 

My work phone gets two bars but my personal is in and out of service. Nice again to have two phones. It is nice to be able to get information in a stressful situation. I was able to track the storm on the Windy app and communicate with my hosts. 

The storm seemed to be winding down around midnight, but it picked up again around 5:00 am. I put all my stuff in my bike bags and got dressed with my rain gear on. Now I am just ... waiting….

(Written later in Alliance)
I waited until the rain stopped around 9am. It was a long wait. I talked with Steve and Cheryl and told them I wanted to attempt to ride the 12 miles to pavement. I packed up my camp and prepared to take off. I offered my excess water to some hunters at the next campsite. It was good I did because they had driven in that early morning. They said the road was “gumbo mud”. Think Burning Man level mud. All that nice smooth clay from yesterday was impassable. I called Steve back and asked for a ride. He was concerned about his own car’s ability to make it and suggested asking for a ride from someone there first. I hung up steeling myself to ask for a favor. Just as I hung up two more hunters pulled out in their 4x4 pick up. I flagged them down and asked where they were going. They were not headed toward Crawford, but agreed to take me without hesitation. I was so glad they did because their truck was sliding around all the way back to Highway 71. They offered to drive me into town, but vanity required me to make it to Crawford under my own power. Thus ended my Toadstool adventure.
(Sliding up the road)

After a quick three miles under pleasant skies, I was back in Crawford. I went straight to the Frontier Restaurant and Bar. I was eager to meet Dalton who’d driven me to Denver when I bailed on the trip last year. I learned he’d sold the business and now works for the railroad. The new owners had done a nice job. I chatted with a funny Argentine guy who lives in Denver with Barb. He’s 82 and very into motorbikes, but I think he was messing with me when he said his name was Alfredo Fettucine. He liked Italian bikes, had a thick accent so I asked if he was Italian. Payback.
Back on the bike I toured Crawford. I can’t tell you how big this town had grown in my mind over the past year. I had looked at it so many times on Google! I wanted to experience Crawford close up. It doesn’t take a lot of time to see most of Crawford. I hit the Dairy Sweet on the way out of town for one of their famous malts. The caramel malt is worthy of being famous.
The ride to Chadron along US 20 was uneventful except for a Trump sign that had been graffitied to say “Trump Lost”. I was in Chadron by 2:20. It was a short day. 
The reason I was there at 2:20 was that my hosts, Steve and Cheryl had invited me on a hike. I quickly set up my tent in their yard before their friends arrived. Friend Kate was a former Peace Corp volunteer who served in the Philippines. Bogan (sp?) was a high school sophomore and from Ukraine. I don’t know how his family got to Chadron, but I am guessing it wasn’t for pleasure. Steve, Cheryl, and Kate are the kind of people who hold up BLM posters in rural Nebraska.

We all headed up to the Pine Ridge to a spot called Hole in the Wall. Beautiful. Just beautiful. Steve is a geologist and filled me in on the Pine Ridge formation which is essentially the side of the Oglala aquifer. After the hike we returned, had dinner and great conversation. That night it rained agains, but without the wind and thunderstorms.


Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2023 at 5:15 AM

    Looks great TJ! Glad you had a ride out of the mud pit.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consolation Tour - Seattle to Yakima and back - D1 Home to Carter Creek

Image
I am not sure who'll actually read this, but writing this is helping me get through my recent cancer diagnosis. I couldn't do the continuation of my planned cross USA trip so I did a five day trip from home to Yakima via the Cascades to Palouse Trail and back via Naches Pass. To paraphrase my brother, spinning my pedals was better than spinning my mind. Overview static map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48494574 Day 1 Map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/220754440 Animated Map: https://www.relive.cc/view/vwq1gzDDdLO (This was the only entry written the day of the ride. It was written in the dark at Carter Creek ). Today's ride begins with me nervously pondering which way to ride my big loop. Go counterclockwise to Greenwater or clockwise to Snoqualmie Pass. I flip flopped all the way up to my departure. I decided to ride my commute route into work to see folks in the office. Work is a comfort in these times. I was worried about the rain situa...
Read more

Consolation Tour D3 Yakima Canyon to Little Naches River

Image
Static Map:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/221899884?privacy_code=Hrw5hypqs7SqCpXgaV4qYVyJRR6aVWVB Animated Map:  https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vjY87M8Jq I woke up a little after six. The sky was blue but the sun hadn't reached the canyon floor. I listened to the morning birds while I contemplated the day ahead. The Waffle Caffe in Yakima two hours away, beckoned. With just a mini breakfast of bars and dried fruit, I set off down the road. Beaufiful views abounded. I found myself stopping to snap pictures almost every mile. Traffic was light. Most of the time I had the road to myself. Despite the number of times I have driven the canyon, the experience was new. I thought about my mom who drove the canyon almost daily to attend classes at CWU to finish her BA while being a new mom and managing a marriage that was heading toward the rocks. The canyon walls seem to enclose us on our own personal journeys. The canyon is more developed than I remembered or ma...
Read more

Consolation Tour D2 Carter Creek to Yakima Canyon

Image
Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/221188106?privacy_code=aq0uBAb1YD3hG0VxuuIfF4J5F4JOE5iy Animated map:  https://www.relive.cc/view/vXOnkz8kn56 The day began gray at Carter Creek. I slept well despite a visit by a small critter outside my tent. In the morning I found a stroupwaffel in my handlebar bag. It all made sense. The morning prep was easy paced and steady. I was on the trail by 8:17 on the nose. The sound of the creek pervaded the camp but as soon as you reached the trail you could hear I-90. It was a strange feeling being so physically cut off with the sounds of the modern world still present.  The trail continued up past the Lake Annette trail where I spent time with college friends, Kisho as a baby, and Jesse's family at various times. This was a different perspective having taken so long to reach it. I'd find that a lot of this trip. New perspective on familiar places.  I passed the snow shed where I'd been on my fir...
Read more