9/27/2015
I didn’t see a hint of the impending winter. The sun beat down on my skin while I said good bye to Laurette at the Riverside Guest Cabins. A handful of miles were on the itinerary for the day. I knew we were headed to the middle of nowhere. It was possible that we would park the camper next to the river. With a big question mark for the day, I was lucky there were no twists or turns for me to worry about. I ran along the flowing river for most of the day. The sound of the rushing water put me into a tranquil mood. I was in my zen zone as the clean air pumped in and out of my lungs. I hit a point where, I had to choose between, running onto the freeway or putting extra wear and tear on my feet. I chose the path of least resistance. The oncoming traffic left my heart booming so maybe I should have opted for the extra miles.
The adrenaline had me flying on the interstate. I just wanted to get myself off as quickly as possible. I found myself in Reed Point in no time. When I scanned the place, I noticed none of the businesses were open. We could have ventured farther on down the road but there would have been no place for us to park. Crystal stir fried some veggies in the trailer and we watched a movie on our computer.
The middle of nowhere often provided me with excellent sleep. When I rose from bed I hit the road for a thirty-one mile run. The day would be spent on Old Highway ten once again. The Yellowstone River had become my constant running companion through the state. It was reliable and always let me know I was close to the freeway. Despite being near the freeway, the air had the clean scent of nature. With such pure air, I could always tell when a deceased animal was near. I even caught a whiff of a dead skunk. The rotting scent always put me into another gear. I crossed over a bridge into the town of Big Timber. There, Crystal and I found several places of lodging along the old 10 highway. We also encountered several rejections. In light of our sleeping situation, I continued past the town while Crystal stayed behind. A kind lady at the Super 8 hotel allowed her to use the internet service even though they couldn’t donate a room. We also figured the neighboring truck stop had spots where we could park for the evening. We needed a location that Crystal’s father could meet us. He was bringing us supplies that had arrived at his house.
I ran a couple miles on the frontage road and the clouds began to darken. The clouds looked as if they were dripping from the sky. My little corridor remained dry until the sky decided to dump a bucket of water on me. It signaled the point of turning around.
I sprinted back to the trailer. I took the time to shower in our modest bathroom before joining Crystal in the hotel lobby. When I walked into the lobby the scent of fresh baked cookies greeted me. Cindy also gave me a warm smile and chatted with me about our books and the importance of reading. She had been behind the desk for about fifteen hours and was ready to rest. Considering the busy traffic and her tired state, I felt humbled that she made it a point to contact her manager and get us a room. She delivered the news just as she was about to change shifts. I couldn’t believe she made it happen. We were super grateful. The room had two huge beds so when Crystal’s dad arrived in the AM hours he would also have an opportunity to grab a couple winks of rest.
This trip had provided us with plenty of stories about mechanical failure. Around 5:00 AM, Crystal phoned her dad. I pried my eyes open and noticed that he hadn’t arrived. His car stopped running just seven miles away. He was preparing to call AAA when Crystal contacted him. The entire morning turned into a long ordeal. Crystal left me in the room resting while she went to keep her father company. The tow truck was supposedly on its way to Kevin. At 11:00 AM it still hadn’t arrived. I had to ask for a late check out and stay with our stuff otherwise I would have hit the road.
Crystal returned shortly after 11:00. With Livingston some thirty miles away I got to running. At that time Kevin was being towed to Miles City. Mechanical failure had dashed his travel plans. We just hoped that the problem wouldn’t end up to be too costly.
I encountered lots of climbing. The weather cooled a little bit which reminded me of the urgency of finishing stage three. We were approaching the end of our northern expedition. We were closing in on the area that caused Lewis and Clark to turn around on their first trip west. The margin of error grew slimmer with each minute.
Livingston was a fantastic little town. There was lots of activity on a Sunday afternoon. The sky was bright red from the blood moon and we were anticipating a lunar eclipse. The highlight of course was the Hotel Murray. This building had so much character. A bar was connected to the lobby and a bakery was connected to the bar. We rode a hand cranked 110 year old elevator to our third floor room. Our suite felt like home from the moment we stepped inside. The wood flooring and earthy tones gave the room a warm feel while the art and amenities kept the room comfortable. A band had been playing downstairs at the time of our arrival. The sounds were festive and we decided to clean up and wander around before going to bed. I wondered what other adventure we would stumble upon.
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