It drizzled overnight. The tree branches above me caught most of the rain, though the tarp/fly (which was extended by staking it out away from the tent) did get a good soaking. But there was no rain when I awoke.
I was a bit lazy and slept an extra half hour, which meant that I was packing up the tent when it was fairly light out. I got it done, and no one was the wiser. When the pack was on I walked back to the Valero to get a coffee and then turned right round and started up 29 again. I always see the nice welcome signs when I'm leaving town. For some reason heading into town from the south deprives me of a welcome sign. I turned around to get a shot of it for good measure...
It was a typically overcast day. This stretch from Anderson has been like that. The dreariness would have got to me I think, if I had to stay in one of these towns for more than two nights. As it was, I felt a bit chilled and longed to see that nearest star.
The train tracks often run parallel to 29. As I've mentioned in past posts, I really enjoy trains now. There is something comforting and powerful about them. I used to see them as kind of scary. But now I think of them as the giants of town life. In the way a blue whale might seem scary as one is swimming, actually, it will do you no harm. I slept right next to the tracks in Memphis. And, I could even sleep through the train going by. This interest first took hold of me while I was camping in Spokane, Washington below a train bridge that delivered several trains a night. I heard the train nearby a few times as I passed from Spartanburg County into Cherokee county...
I reached a side road that led over the tracks just as a train was about to pass,
and caught a great shot of the engine.
Bamboo is becoming one of my new favorite plants.
It looks so gorgeous from above, like soft feathers.
Thicketty was a kind of non-town that I passed through on the way to Gaffney. The only way I knew I was there was when I crossed over its river...
Every flight must end.
This was a thirteen mile hike and it got very monotonous after a while. After drinking the coffee I found myself thirsty. In the pack was half a Gatorade, I stopped and drank it. I was pretty sure there would be no stores until Gaffney. I had very little money left on the card and no cash at all. But there was enough on the card to get another Gatorade. I try to keep one in the pack all the time now. It is reserved for walking or camping, I don't drink it if I'm working inside.
The miles kept going by slowly. I've noticed that I get three "winds" that tend to recharge me and send endorphins to kill some of the pain in my heel (which is still going on with these long distance walks). The first one is when I start out, then it subsides. The second happens after about five miles. And the third usually hits me after about twelve miles. I was in between the second and third, when I passed this, thinking it was kind of humorous...
I was amazed, overjoyed, really, to see a store up ahead. It was really in the middle of Nowheresville. I went straight to it, grabbed a Gatorade and stood at the counter. The man at the register rang it up, and I handed him my debit card. He said, "No, no. No card purchases under seven dollars!" in his thick Indian accent, then tapped the tip of his finger on a ripped up sign, taped to the counter. I said, "You have to be kidding me"
He shook his head, "No kidding." I was not pleased. I left the Gatorade on the counter, put my card back in my wallet and walked away even more thirsty, and now angry.
Okay, I won't rant too hard on this. But such policies rank among the stupidest business practices in this country. It is always overboard at these little shit-box stores, and usually under Middle Eastern or Indian ownership (that isn't as a prejudicial statement--only a fact). It is as if when they get advice on starting the business, all their friends tell them to do it--not accept debit/credit cards for less than a certain amount. Sometimes they also don't take American Express. And many places charge a fee to use a debit card under a minimum purchase amount.
Here is why it is stupid...
This guy with his store in the middle of Nothingsburg probably had one other customer on this morning. Actually, I saw her leave. For drivers, this store would only be a desperation stop, since they would be close to either Cowpens or Gaffney. So let's face it, he's not rolling in gold.
The rationale for this stupidity is that certain banks, and Mastercard, Visa, and American Express charge the merchant a transaction fee of varying amounts on every card purchase. The amount is determined by the particular merchant servicer (the bank that the store owner uses to process payments). He lost a sale. He may be proud of himself that he didn't incur a fee, but a simple cost/benefit analysis would tell him that losing the sale was worse than incurring the fee.
Let's say that I spend $2.00 on a Gatorade. And, the servicer charges $0.50 (which would be extremely and unrealistically high). So, he makes $1.50. He adds all of his other expenses (stock, labor, utilities, blah, blah, blah) and proportionally subtracts them from the item - let's say (again, liberally) $1.00. That leaves him with $0.50, free and clear. It is real profit, even if it is very little profit. Now, weigh this against making nothing at all during the five minutes I was there. The first rule of business is to make money (especially a profit) at EVERY opportunity. So, he dropped that ball.
The other excuse these guys will use is that it is to prevent fraud. But, here's the thing with that... Why would you insist that your liability be only above a certain amount? In other words, wouldn't it be better to sell me a fraudulent $2.00 item than a fraudulent $7.00 item? Put these two idiotically logicless policies together, and you don't make as much money, while you piss off your customers every day. I guess maybe you get the point. I took a nice picture of his place to post on TripAdvisor and Google Reviews...
Yeah.... Friendlys.
In line with the color of my mood, came the next eyesore, oops, I mean landmark. Even it's sign was grungy...
Finally the pile up of trash on the side of the road indicated that I was getting closer. I'd noticed on Google Earth that several large industrial buildings were located just south of town. First came the cemetery, and the traditional plastic flowers...
Ahah! Nestle's Frozen Foods, Stouffer's plant! And, on this day they were cooking up
pizzas to be flash frozen. I was so friggin hungry, and it smelled soooo good. Arg...
Still in the red earth zone of the South.
Interestingly, this is the first female pastor I've seen advertised after passing a thousand churches.
And, I'm sorry, but this looks like the least inviting possible place to worship Anyone;
a split-level prefab building with four windows behind a mud driveway.
Yet, it is one of the nicer independent places I'd seen.
Finally, I saw the city of Gaffney coming into view. Perhaps matching my irritable disposition on this morning, it looked run down and trashy. However, I was learning not to let first impressions rule me. There was still all of the rest of the day and night to go here.
They did have a very nice veteran's memorial...
Even Walls have made the ultimate sacrifice. It turned out that
there were quite a few of us around town.
The Spark whispered that maybe no future names need be chiseled here.
It was truly shocking to see how many empty buildings and businesses there were downtown. I felt sad for this place. It was waiting for an economic break of some kind. Not everyone can work in the Nestle factory or the three fast food places around town. It was obvious that people had tried to start businesses and failed. But there was every indication that businesses that had been there for decades were now suddenly gone. Technological industries and richer cultural interests might keep younger folks from leaving and allow a better environment for other kinds of places to get their roots secured. I'm sure that a revival will come, and that the elders are working toward just such a future. I really hope to check in someday to find that the Gaffney downtown district has flowered into a beautiful and modern place...
I had about $4.00 and change left in the whole world. I needed to eat. While walking along Limestone I saw the only open restaurant and thought it would be worth a try. So, I walked into Harold's Restaurant--which had apparently been featured on the Food Network's Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives.
I was served by an enthusiastic young man named, Chris. He was very attentive, addressed me like he might a friend or a regular, and told me that these low prices (which I have frankly never seen before at a diner) were the real deal.
I still was skeptical, until he walked over with my meal. I didn't have enough for a soda, so I asked for an ice water and Mike made sure to put a wedge of lemon in that sucker!
Check out these prices!
Chris! Look for him when you stop in. It's worth the drive through Gaffney.
Here is the episode...
A gentleman at Harold's gave me directions to the library. And I set off to find it, now in a completely better mood--thanks, Chris!...
I think this machine might actually be worth somthing?
Dropped a business card off here.
City Hall.
Well I was glad I hadn't gone with my first impression. Apparently, it was only the downtown area that was a bit rough. The neighborhoods had some truly beautiful houses. They were clean and very well appointed...
What the heck is this? It has styrofoam-like seed pods.
It isn't a vine (just happened to be near the ivy).
Nice library.
I worked to get the day's post out and double-checked around the area for a sleep spot. Looked like there was one right down the street from the McDonald's, which was only a half mile down the road. I still had enough change left for a coffee the next morning. The next day, I would be taking the same length walk from Gaffney to Blacksburg, even across the border to Grover, North Carolina. When I was done I left to seek out my spot...
This was going to be a precarious one. It looked like a big woods area, but the security profile was not in the least ideal. I had no idea what I'd find, how accessible it would be, nor whether I'd be visible.
When I got to the street (Route 105) and then it's side street, Serene Drive, I noticed a patch of grass that I could scoot across on. Having made my way into the woods I found a lot of dead branches and many soft spots on the ground. It was a leaf-covered area. But soft spots always made me weary. I tightened the elastics on the bottom of my pant legs so nothing would crawl up there.
After checking out three places, I finally found a fourth that looked like it would work out. The leaves were quite damp. I set up everything and crawled into the tent. By the time I'd gotten into the sleeping bag, I realized that the leaves were going to be excellent at retaining heat. They were soft too, except for a stick under my back--which I reached outside the tent and removed...
I had been having an issue that had gotten worse each of the last three days. There was a point like a cramp on my back just below my right shoulder blade that hurt if I breathed in too quickly. It would bother me during the night, and I tried all kinds of stretches and positions to eliminate it, but it was there to stay--at least for a while. I would also have some early morning visitors, of the antlered kind...
From my tent door. You can almost make out the McDonald's in the middle right.
Gaffney Sleep Spot.
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