9/10/2015
My legs felt as if they were made of lead. The misadventures of the previous day had left me drained. In the badlands I employed muscle groups that had remained dormant for most of the great reading run. Propelling my body forward had become mechanical and easy. The leaping, pulling, and half stepping were not activities in my normal regimen. Crystal took sympathy upon me and left me laying in the bed while she prepared her coffee.
After repeating the phrase, “Get out of bed”, over and over again, I willed myself to roll over. When I cracked the door open, I squinted from the sunlight that bombarded my eyeballs. At least the weather was warm and there was very little wind. I followed the scent of soyrizo and egg to the trailer. It was a spicy breakfast that had a meat like texture and flavor. The food travelled into my belly and I felt my energy returning.
From the map, the day seemed like a simple run. Highway ten made up the majority of the day. There was only a slight patch of road off the beaten path that led to the main highway. I filled my lungs with deep breaths of clean air as I trotted through the town that still felt like a village in the old west. After crossing the Little Missouri River I hit a dirt road. Once again I encountered a small sign that read, “No Trespassing”. I had learned the signs had a meaning but I had to keep moving forward. The map told me to do it.
Within a few minutes I found myself among hundreds of squeaking prairie dogs. They scattered in every direction as I approached. My first obstacle of the day was a fence that stood ten feet tall. I scaled it and found that I had to climb a second fence to reach my path. The fences were the easy part. Next I had to step gingerly through some dense grass. The blades had been folded over and they camouflaged the puddles of water and mud underneath my feet. I decided the slow movement was a bad idea and bounded out. Water seeped into my shoes. The dampness penetrated my socks as the splashing and sloshing continued.
The end of the soggy earth brought forth new energy. Like the day before, brown prickly grass and dry dirt attacked my lower legs. The hills rolled up and down. Steep drops threatened to bring me down. When I caught sight of Crystal and the trailer at the end of six miles there was one final obstacle to maneuver. I had to weave through a herd of cattle and their steaming piles of dung.
Crystal joined me for the next mile then let me loose on the asphalt road. The absence of traffic made it easy for me to find a cruising pace. The occasional drop of water would fall from the sky but there was no worry of a downpour. Crystal eventually coasted past me. She waved out the window and made her way to the vanishing point on the horizon. After she disappeared, the scenery kept me company. I remained steady on the road for many miles until a ringing sounded. It was a phone call from Crystal. She said, “Hi, I’m taking a lady to the hospital in Glendive. She just got stung by a bee and has a rash all over her body. She works at the Westgate Motel. It’s on your route and they will donate a room. Just go inside and grab the keys. I’ll leave everything for you on the table by the front desk.”
Glendive was the destination town in two days so I figured she would be gone for some time. I decided to wind down and take my time reaching the town of Beach. Prairie foul would sporadically spring from the bushes beside the road and fly away. Every time it happened I jumped back from being startled. When only a couple miles remained, the mosquitoes decided to appear. After prying a couple of bloodsuckers off my legs I decided it was time for some speed work. The pace went from leisurely to race pace. The electronic speed reading sign flashed 10 mph as I ran into Beach. I decided to see if I had enough in the tank to bump up the number. With a little boost, the mph increased to 13.
I was greeted with a smile by Jane: the proprietor of the hotel. She filled me in on everything that had happened and invited me and Crystal to join her, Richard, and Shelby for dinner. It sounded like a plan. I gathered Crystal’s essentials and my computer from the trailer and made myself at home. This spotted beagle named Hans followed me to the room. He played with me for a moment then started to sniff around the room. He was searching for something.
The manager had to stay at the hospital overnight for observation so she sent Crystal back on her own. Crystal returned to a wonderful pot of noodles, tomato sauce, and cheese. After filling our stomachs and chatting over food, Crystal and I cleaned up and hit the sack early. Two days of rugged terrain and going head to head with nature left me drained. My body hit the bed, my head hit the pillow, and my consciousness faded to black. 
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