A Living Magazine - Day 294 - Homecoming - Ladysmith to Thornburg

What a crappy night! I slept, but each time I turned over I was reminded of my mistake in choosing this place. When my watch beeped at 7:00 a.m. I was more than happy to get going. The green tarp had soaked through, and underneath it was a mess of frozen leaves and mud stuck there. Even the blue tarp was completely frozen. I quickly remembered what it was like to pack up in the cold air as my fingertips kept going completely numb. I'd roll up the tarp, then stick my hands in my pockets for a minute, then fold the tent and do the same thing. It is weird doing work like this when you can only feel up to your first knuckle.

I did get it all done and squeezed the backpack to zip it up. Now I had to climb up that steep hill again. It led me onto an I-95 off ramp, then back onto Route 1 where I walked nonchalantly into the McDonald's parking lot that I'd slept below all night, went in and bought a coffee...

View of my sleep spot (below in the very center) from the parking lot.

Making sure I wouldn't miscalculate my distance as I had two days ago, I finished processing some pictures and then left for Thornburg--a 10 mile walk... 

Louis and Clark had been iconic symbols for me since the first crossing.

And, now I was passing through William Clark's childhood area.

Here's a guy who got a raw deal. He risked his life helping to successfully cross

the continent, and then Clark wouldn't even free him!

Took a long time before "this land was made for you and me."

I found this kind of pathetic. Memorial for child, with teddy bears weathering in the ditch.

As often happens, the first five miles went by rather slowly. I get my second wind at that point, and am better able to ignore the weight on my back. That is when I do most of my thinking, drifting, meditating... 

I liked this. The plant found a great way to stay protected and still grow.

Watch that first step out the second floor door. It's a doozy! 

Talk about an odd shaped building! It curves, and the bays of the second floor aren't symmetric.

Evidence, perhaps of an architectural afterthought? 

When I got to Thornburg, for the third time, I had to take a sideroad to get to the McDonald's. Unfortunately, their Wi-Fi didn't work. I tried again at Dairy Queen, but the girl at the counter gave me a puzzled look: "Wi...Fi??" Ha!

I decided I could go without. There was a stand of trees between the Shell station and the Quality Inn, so I investigated it. Not a bad area. It was very well-hidden by thick small pines. The ground wasn't that comfortable, but it was better than the last place had been. First priority was to dry everything, which went quickly. The temperature was recovering and the breeze was constant. Frankly, I'm amazed at how fast the green tarp dries. It only took about four minutes!

After I had the rain fly on the tent and the stakes down, I decided to add more artwork to it...

I'd done the above way back in North Carolina.

I added my Nomad symbol for IWALLK. It just so happens that my initials: a and w are the

same as the Greek lowercase "alpha" and "omega." I made the dot a Tao symbol.

And, of course, above it all the Spark of the Sevenfold Center of Infinity.

Pacing around as the sun went down, I decided to see if I could get a Wi-Fi signal. Sure enough, the Quality Inn obliged with three separate high speed connections!...

I was tired pretty early on. And knowing I had a fourteen mile walk ahead of me the next day, I retired at about 9:00 p.m. I slept well. 

Thornburg Sleep Spot