Hot, hot, hot.
Thank goodness is was another short day today, 13 miles. With a high of 99, it's so hard to keep hydrated and have any kind of appetite. Nothing too exciting while walking, but I did have an interview with a local newspaper, The Pioneer Review, that will be out next week. Malcom was also coming out to pick me up to stay another night at his and Nola's home back in Wasta.
He came when I was getting interviewed so we ate some Subway and headed into the Badlands! I was pretty excited. The Badlands are one of the main reasons for coming through South Dakota. It was even hotter there, 103, yuck. We did the 30 miles loop you can drive. What amazing country, I am very lucky in that this has been a very wet summer, so the valley was very green and lush, when most of the year it's pretty bleak and baron. We spend about 2 hours in the park before heading home.
When we got back, Nola was home so I showered and we all got ready and went down the local bar. Now I should mention Wasta has a population of about 70 people. While we were enjoying our beverages, a woman walked in asking if anyone had a truck code reader. Of course no one did. She went on to say that her truck had been giving her problems all day and her and her daughter (?) were on their way home to Billings (population of 106,000 people) from... somewhere... I can't remember... haha, anyway, so they were also looking for a mechanic or a place to stay that would keep their horses. The 4 people in the bar put in his or her two cents, she left saying she needed to go make some calls.
She and her daughter came in about 15 minutes later and said they would be sticking around to have a beer, and they had a friend from Rapid City coming down to bring them whatever it is that they needed. They sat next to Malcom, Nola and I and we started up a conversation. They are horse people like Nola and Malcom and got to talking about that for awhile, then they asked if I was their daughter, so I told them my story. She said that she was kinda familiar with BOC and she was actually given a beautiful bead by someone at the hospital. I told her that Billings was the second hospital that I visited and then she asked if I happened to meet a woman who worked there by the name of Sara Blackburn... and I said YES! I do! She was the wonderful woman who showed me around and introduced me to all the kids there. How crazy is that?! Tiny-town-USA, two people from two very different worlds, both far from home, meet in a tiny bar and just so happen to know the same person who lives 600 miles away.
We took the picture that you see up above, and then headed home for steaks and potatoes! Great way to end a very hot day! The pictures below are from the Badlands.
Thank goodness is was another short day today, 13 miles. With a high of 99, it's so hard to keep hydrated and have any kind of appetite. Nothing too exciting while walking, but I did have an interview with a local newspaper, The Pioneer Review, that will be out next week. Malcom was also coming out to pick me up to stay another night at his and Nola's home back in Wasta.
He came when I was getting interviewed so we ate some Subway and headed into the Badlands! I was pretty excited. The Badlands are one of the main reasons for coming through South Dakota. It was even hotter there, 103, yuck. We did the 30 miles loop you can drive. What amazing country, I am very lucky in that this has been a very wet summer, so the valley was very green and lush, when most of the year it's pretty bleak and baron. We spend about 2 hours in the park before heading home.
When we got back, Nola was home so I showered and we all got ready and went down the local bar. Now I should mention Wasta has a population of about 70 people. While we were enjoying our beverages, a woman walked in asking if anyone had a truck code reader. Of course no one did. She went on to say that her truck had been giving her problems all day and her and her daughter (?) were on their way home to Billings (population of 106,000 people) from... somewhere... I can't remember... haha, anyway, so they were also looking for a mechanic or a place to stay that would keep their horses. The 4 people in the bar put in his or her two cents, she left saying she needed to go make some calls.
She and her daughter came in about 15 minutes later and said they would be sticking around to have a beer, and they had a friend from Rapid City coming down to bring them whatever it is that they needed. They sat next to Malcom, Nola and I and we started up a conversation. They are horse people like Nola and Malcom and got to talking about that for awhile, then they asked if I was their daughter, so I told them my story. She said that she was kinda familiar with BOC and she was actually given a beautiful bead by someone at the hospital. I told her that Billings was the second hospital that I visited and then she asked if I happened to meet a woman who worked there by the name of Sara Blackburn... and I said YES! I do! She was the wonderful woman who showed me around and introduced me to all the kids there. How crazy is that?! Tiny-town-USA, two people from two very different worlds, both far from home, meet in a tiny bar and just so happen to know the same person who lives 600 miles away.
We took the picture that you see up above, and then headed home for steaks and potatoes! Great way to end a very hot day! The pictures below are from the Badlands.
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