31 August 2002 (Part 1)
I had a fitful night. Not necessarily restive - just sporadic. Couldn't really get comfortable. I would sleep for an hour and then my body would wake up my mind to complain about the rocks. Then I would shift positions and sleep for another hour or so... At least it was a beautiful night! I don't tend to move much when I sleep. In the past I have been able to get a reasonably restful sleep on surfaces narrower than my body - where any movement would have caused me to fall off! So I know that I tend to be quite still when sleeping. I think my body prefers to ask permission from my brain before it changes positions.
During the night I heard voices below me. And the clomping of horses. This morning when I was all packed, I studied the tracks. It appeared that there were 5 horses. My assumption is that they were kids from the farm or maybe some neighbors. The tracks led me to a fire road that went up a hill. Following it, I came out at the top and encountered the base of the radio tower I had seen before.
The puddle at the foot of the rockpile seemed to have a lot more tracks around it then I remembered from yesterday. Deer and racoon I recognised. Something with claws - I assume a dog of some kind. I don't know how to tell the difference between wolf and coyote tracks.
I was not bothered by mosquitos at all! Such a nice change from some of my previous trips where I have awakened with blood spots all over myself from the little pests. At one point I did wake up to the sound of munching or scratching under my head. I figure it was my mouse neighbor and I tried to ignore it. Probably my tarp was right over its home. I don't know if I would be able to hear it if it was underground...
After taking some pictures and simply enjoying the view, I got back on the road. It was about 7:15 or so...
I saw a couple of cemeteries today that I could have camped at. One was in the front yard of a country church building. A rather interesting design. You had to walk through the cemetery in order to enter the church.
Just past Arcadia (where I stopped to get some bananas and Nutrageous bars at a gas station) was a huge long hill. It just kept going and going. I climbed and climbed. There were two designated scenic overlook areas but I found that the most scenic viewpoints were at different spots so I stopped a few times alongside the road to take pictures. One of the times, my 50mm lens broke and I was very upset. Apparently one of the glass lenses came loose so it could no longer hold focus. I don't know how it could have happened. Certainly I am glad I brought my other lens but it was very disappointing. The backup is a zoom and is not nearly the same quality of lens - although versatile in its own way.
Finally I arrived in Centerville. Stopped at a restaurant having a large porch and chairs. Closed I think. Kind of a mom and pop family establishment called "At The Corner". My saddle is loose so I need to tighten it and then eat and assess where I am.
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