July 17, 2023
Day 64 - ending at Crawford, NE
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Up at 4:50am to a somewhat foggy morning with dew on the picnic table and the bike. Back to thinking about the problem with my phone's memory being full. I deleted a few pictures which gained me space to take about 40 more. Then I deleted some unused apps, which provided space for 100 more pictures. That should be enough for today's pictures. I ate pop tarts for breakfast at 7:20am. Left at 7:45am into more fog than there was earlier. Destination today is Toadstool Geologic Park near Crawford, Nebraska.
I started east on River Road. This was a good flat gravel road and I was making good time. I pulled to the shoulder to let a pickup truck coming up from behind pass. The truck stopped and the driver got out and introduced himself - Josh. He's a farmer and a member of the Border of Directors for Sioux County. He wanted to make sure I was OK, and was curious about which way I was headed. He definitely knows the roads in this area, and was able to tell me their conditions. I couldn't have run into a more willing-to-help person. With several handshakes and best wishes, Josh got on his way and so did I. Shortly after, the fog dissipated and the sun came out.
I've always wanted to get a picture of a meadowlark sitting on a fence post. I got one today. Not a great picture, but I'm happy with it.
At 9:10am, I turned north on Pink Schoolhouse Road. Another pickup driver stopped to make sure I was OK. There was some climbing to do on this road. I walked some on the uphills, and avoided the washouts on downhills that Josh had cautioned me about.
At 9:50am, I had a weak cell signal at the top of a hill. That signal came and went the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. I stopped at the top of a hill for my noon break. I'd come along 14.6 miles so far. Ate a bag of peanuts. I also took advantage of the cell signal to make a couple phone calls. The first was to the Verizon store in Chadron to see if they could help with my phone's memory-full problem. The fellow answering didn't sound too hopeful, but said he would try if Walmart couldn't do it. I didn't really want to go to Chadron. It's not on my route, but they do have a Walmart where I could get a memory card or USB drive. Anyway, I needed to get to Crawford first. The second phone call was the one I wanted to make last night to the owner of Pavement Ends Campground. I wanted to know if I owed $20 more for camping at an RV site. She said no, and wished me well.
I sent text messages today to my two sons, soliciting their advice about my phone's memory situation. The younger son was thinking along the lines I was - a hardware solution. He checked for me and found that the Walmart in Chadron has a USB drive with a USB-C connector that fits my phone. My older son had a software solution, so to speak. His recommendation: "I think your best course of action is to utilize the cloud services included in your Amazon Prime account - you can store unlimited photos there and then download them to your computer when you get home. So I'd check into a hotel with wifi, download the amazon photos app, and start sending them to the cloud." I liked this 'software' solution. I could see by now that I wasn't going to get any further than Crawford today anyway. And Crawford has a motel. Also, I wouldn't lose 2 days getting to and back from Chadron. So, the new destination for today: a motel room in Crawford.
Back to bicycling. Somewhere along the way Pink Schoolhouse Road turned into Corkscrew Road, and I was in the Pine Ridge area. This was quite a sudden change from the grassland area I'd just come through. Now I was hearing that quiet hushed sound that the wind makes through the branches of pine trees. It was downhill from here mostly, but the road was too sandy to ride or even slowly coast down. I found this to be even more frustrating than a strong headwind or having to walk up steep hills. Pushing this heavy bike through sand is work. I was on and off the bike so many times. There are a few places where I could ride and then all of a sudden I'd be bogged down. Eventually, at 2:45pm, I made it to White River Road. Its surface was a little better, but not by much.
At the end of White River Road I was close to US-20. Just then two elderly ladies in a car going the opposite way pulled up. They asked if they were headed the right way to get to Crawford. I told them no and that they needed to turn around. Then they asked what the next town was if they just stayed the way they were going. I said Scottsbluff. They said they were going there tomorrow, so they turned around and headed in the right direction to get to Crawford. The next turn for me was onto Vogel Road. That road was OK, and brought me to US-20. New pavement and a smooth shoulder. Now I can make some time.
Arrived at Fort Robinson at 4:55pm. Took some pictures then called HillTop Motel in Crawford to make a reservation. All set with that, I continued to Crawford by way of White River Trail, a rail-trail. I was back at US-20 and in Crawford at 6:02pm. I headed to Dairy Sweet on the southeast side of town for supper.
While eating I received a notice on the phone that a storm was coming. After supper, I took a few pictures at a travel information park, then headed to the motel. I got the bike into motel room #4 at 7:45pm. The storm was here with hail at 7:55pm.
Of course, next I signed into the motel's wifi to see if the pictures would upload. They did, or I should say, they are. They're still uploading. There are about 18,000 of them.
With this unplanned motel stay, I decided to shave my beard off. Shower next, and finally my "I've arrived" email to family and friends. I'm still on Mountain Time here, so they received that message really late.
I went to bed thinking that I'll stay here one more day. I am getting too far behind on posting journal entries, not to mention answering comments received.
Jeff
Spent: $17.12 plus $3.88 (supper) + $78.91 plus $5 (motel room) = $104.91
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9 months ago
I love hearing meadowlarks. This may be due to the fact I hear them in grassland areas, which is one of my favorite places to be.
Jeff
9 months ago
Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 2,598 miles (4,181 km)
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9 months ago