For whatever reason I had a hard time sleeping the night before last and walked out of my motel room with a beer in hand and a clouded mind. I don’t remember what dreams I was having, but they resulted in me being anxious and heavy minded. I found a picnic table in the parking lot and laid down and took in the deep blue sky as the sun was peeking over the low hills surrounding town.
A few minutes later a woman walked out of her room and I said, “hello.” Her name is Connie and she was going on the same bicycle route as me, but in the opposite direction with her friend Josh. They had both recently finished teaching English in South Korea and were doing a bit of cross country cycling before going on to their respective graduate programs. It was nice to meet fellow cyclists.
As I head farther west the land is getting more orange and yellow with lots of green from all the rain Texas has been having. It feels better and better the drier the air gets. I can’t wait until I start seeing reds in the earth.
The ride to Marathon was hot, but easy. No deadline so no flat tires or other bicycle problems. Ha ha.
Tonight I’m camping at the Marathon Motel and RV Park. It’s a lovely spot on the western edge of town. I was the only camper there and shared a big area with two RVs. I found a nice spot under a tree next to a small pond. The wind was blowing through the leaves and I found the sound relaxing.
As I was making my way out I ran into Dorance who was with his wife Janie in an RV near by. We chatted briefly and he asked if I wanted to join them for dinner. What a pleasant surprise. Of course I said yes.
Dorance had recently retired and they were traveling around the country with plans to visit family, but otherwise seeing where each day took them. They are from the Tucson area and had some good advice for places I should see in Arizona.
Thanks so much for dinner and the nice chat. I hope you guys have a great time touring around the South.