111108

                                                                                                    Ozona to long walk, TX

Tuesday November 11, 2008

     5:04am  It started raining like at midnight with a little flash of rain. I scurried to cover my stuff with my rain ponchos and tarp. It went away for a bit and I fell back asleep. Around 4am it started raining again, harder. While it was pouring I got underneath my tarp and took marijuana hits, hehe. I'm going to wait for the sun to come up. I can leave my stuff here during the day and not worry about it. You have to jump the fence to get to it and nobody is going to randomly do that. Whenever the sun comes up I'm going to take my damp stuff to the laundromat I saw yesterday. I got money. I am actually nice and toasty warm. I've got all my clothes on. Alright, I'm going to take another hit. I'm going to eat some peanuts.

                    God is Love Personified. That's all there is to it.

     7:30am  I didn't tell you but like half an hour ago or maybe a little more than that I woke up. The sun is up. Oh yeah, it started raining again at like four. I have all my stuff hung up and drying in the sun a ways down the corridor. I'm like right behind that historic house on the other side of the fence. I should take a picture. I had such an awesome night last night telling my story to kids in the park. Those kids loved me. Nobody had any weed. This town is dry. I ended up smoking more people out. Nobody smoked me out. I still have a little bit of weed left, hell yeah. But I need to get out of town. It's dry. I need to skip town. I think I will wait for the sun to dry all my stuff. I thought I was going to go to the laundromat, but I'll save the cash. I'm going to go stand on the onramp. I had originally considered walking but there's nothing for like eighty miles until Fort Stockton.

                   My stuff.

     9:14am  At long last I am finally up and at 'em. I waited for the sun to come up and I dried off some stuff. It's still a little damp. Shit, I left my gloves back there drying. I forgot them. I have to jump the fence and go get them.

     9:18am  I got my gloves back. I had to hop the fence. I should take a picture.

                   I just walked to the main street. I'm going to go hit up the taqueria. Then I'm going to go check my email at the library.

     9:32am  Brian's Poco Taco.

     9:35am  Cecilia Rodriguez at Brian's Poco Taco me esta dando comida. Muchisimas gracias, Cecilia. Todo el mundo recibe credito.

     10:30am  Oh yeah, I should make an entry. I got hooked up at the taqueria and then I walked by the laundromat. I put all my damp stuff in the dryer and ran it for a while. I shouldn't have wasted my time drying it off in the sun when I could have just gone to the laundromat when it opened. I had a good time relaxing this morning. Anyway, I came to the laundromat and I was hoping there would be somebody to tell my story to while my stuff was drying. I did tell this guy and a girl who were waiting for their stuff to wash in their car outside. It got really noisy with all the trucks driving by so I just gave them my website. I'm going to go to the library now and check my email.

     10:34am  Coming up on the Crockett County Public Library. Hmm, it doesn't seem like there's anybody here.

                     Closed for Veteran's Day. That's my sign to go stand on the onramp. I'll stop at the Town and Country gas station and take a shit and get some ice and food. I ate some crackers I found in my cargo short pocket for breakfast this morning. My peanuts got water in them so I left them there. For some deer to eat.

                     Wiccit, I just gave him my website at the Town and Country gas station.

     11:02am  I walked all the way to the onramp. This town is dead. I need to get out of here. I think they told me the next gas station is fifty miles, screw that. I'm going to the onramp. It's cool that on this onramp the highway traffic can see me too.

     11:09am  I'm feeling the transit rush in the back of some guy's truck! Hell yeah! Just like that I got picked up real quick.

     11:25am  Frank was the nice guy who pulled over and let me ride in the back of his truck. This is Sheffield, you said? Umm, is there a gas station closeby? Fifteen miles. That's walking distance, alright.

     11:35am  This is where I get my exercise today. I have to walk these fifteen miles. I am in the middle of nowhere, man. Seriously. This is Bumfuck, Texas.

                      He dropped me off right before exit 343.

                      I just took my first shot of Riovida. I am walking good.

     11:57am  Fort Stockton 86, El Paso 324. I could've been in El Paso two days ago. Jasmine was well worth it.

     12:33pm  I walked for about an hour, but I am really tired. I didn't get enough sleep last night at all. I got rained on and woken up. No R.E.M. at all, I'm sure. So I needed a place to take a nap. I am in Nowhere, Texas. I have some fries that guy gave me. I've also got a taco from the taqueria this morning. I've walked like a mile or two. Frank told me there was a gas station fifteen miles away. I really hope he wasn't lying. I hope that's enough food for me for when I wake up tomorrow. Anyway, I found this shady spot in the vast median here and I made my bed. I'm going to try and take a nap. I'm
tempted to take another hit of weed, but I won't fall asleep if I'm stoned. I'm just going to lay down.

     1:00pm  As comfortable as I am here the noise of the cars nearby still prevents me from falling asleep. It's a beautiful day though. I'm going to take a hit of weed and start walking again. I am in the middle of nowhere.

     1:25pm  I am up and at 'em walking the highway again. I'm up from my attempt at a nap. I'm going to keep walking. Man, I don't know where I am or when there's going to be another gas station.

                   I am envisioning myself getting a ride soon. I am in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea where I am.

                   I got to this part where I10 splits earlier. The woods in the middle make a natural median. That's where I stopped and tried to take a nap. Two or three miles up ahead it joins back together. I envisioned myself getting a ride here, so I walked to the spot and I'm going to chill and smoke a cigarette. I'll take a hit of weed and then I'll take off walking again. I'll drink some more Riovida. I'll have a good hike.

                   Uh-oh, I am running low on supplies. I am running low on the essentials. Weed, food and water. I only have a taco to eat. I hope the guy who gave me this ride wasn't talking shit and the gas station really is fifteen miles away.

     2:18pm  I'm up from a stop. I drank some Riovida and I'm energized. I took a hit of weed too. Riovida totally enhances my high.

     2:20pm  Coming up on Mile Marker 339. I started on Exit 343, I think. 343-339 is only like four miles.

     2:21pm  Passing Mile Marker 339. Let's time this mile. Let's see how I do with this bigass pack on my back.

     2:37pm  Mile marker 338. Sixteen minutes miles again. Not bad with all this weight I'm hauling. I'm going to walk fifteen miles and ascertain if there's a gas station or not. Then I'll stop and thumb it.

     2:57pm  Shit, about three minutes ago I passed another mile marker. I'm all stoned and zoned out. I'm going to keep walking.

     3:03pm  Walking over Live Oak Creek.

     3:05pm  Fort Stockton 80 miles, El Paso 318. It was 86 last time so I've only walked six miles? I have more than halfway to go.

     3:15pm  Mile Marker 336. I'm going to take a piss-pause. I won't rest that long.

     3:51pm  Leaving Mile Marker 336. I'm all stoned and energized with Riovida. I ate half of my taco. I'm going to keep going. I took a longass break trying to get a ride somehow. Thumbing it. Nobody stopped. I'm bored and if I just sit there I'll waste away the food in my stomach, so I'm going to walk. Maybe somebody will just see me walking and pick me up. I'm getting closer to this rumored store fifteen miles away. Shit, I've only walked like six or seven.

     4:03pm  I took a couple of pictures. One was all the distance I've walked already. I've been walking from way before that bridge you see in the distance. Around the corner from that. I turned around and took a picture of my forward view. I'm coming up on this corner I've been looking at from a distance. I want to see what's around the bend. It's probably nothing.

     4:11pm  Mile Marker 335.

     4:30pm  Marker 334. At 333 I'm at ten miles.

     4:40pm  Oh shit, I have to get on the other side. It will end up being a longer way if I stay on the side going with the traffic. There's a concrete median I have to step over.

     4:44pm  I climbed to the other side of the median. I'm going to take a breather. I'll switch my socks out and air out my feet and smoke a cigarette.

     5:15pm  I'm walking. When I took off my socks I did a little first aid on a new blister that has formed on my right foot. I popped it. It hurts now while I'm walking. I used a little piece of cotton and some tape. Hopefully it helps. I hope it doesn't hurt anymore. I don't know where the fuck I am or where I'm going to or will end up. Hopefully I'll get a ride soon. I'm walking now because I ate my second third of my last taco. It won't be hard to fall asleep if I have to just crash out somewhere. I'll have to get away from the road so the cars won't keep me awake.

                    I'm not going to stress. The spirit's got my back. I love you, Love.  Thanks for all the blessings I've gotten so far. I am having a blast this time around. I can wait to be mobilized. It will happen. I believe.

                    I should've bought some Ramen. I can't believe I forgot to get snacks when filled up my ice at the Town and Country store in Ozona.

                    Holy shit, I just found a cigarette pinch hitter on the ground! One of the exact same ones that I use. My one-hitter. Now I have a backup! What a crazy, random, yet familiar thing to find on the side of the road. That's just crazy. It would be even more awesome if there had been resin in it, but there wasn't.

                    Now it'd be nice if I could find some weed on the side of the road, hehe.

     5:25pm  Mile Marker 333. Ten miles so far.

     5:26pm  I took a little pause and took off my bag. I was paranoid I didn't have the last third of a taco I had. I took off my pack and checked and I still had it.

                   There is absolutely nothing out here. I hope somebody picks me up soon. The sun is going down. Maybe I'll camp out. I will save this last third of my taco for the morning, if I have to. I should've really brought some vitamins. I am bummed out that I forgot them.

     5:46pm  Mile Marker 332.

                   Sunset.

     6:28pm  Mile Marker 330.

     6:30pm  Crossing sign that says River Road, 1 mile. Exit 238.

     6:37pm  Taking a breather.

     6:56pm  Up and at 'em. Walking the highway again. It's night-time now. It's dark. I think the moon is full tonight.

                   I'm going to walk to at least River Road and hopefully there's a place to camp there.

     7:06pm  Mile Marker 329.

     7:24pm  Well, I finally found the gas station Frank was talking about...but it's closed down and out of business. There's a sign on the door that says, "Station closed. Out of fuel." It used to be a FINA gas station. All the lights are off and at least I got a campspot, but I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I have no water. Just ice that hasn't melted. They have a spigot here, but the water is turned off. It sucks. Maybe there will be a good place to camp here.

     7:42pm  I didn't tell you. I am already settled into my mobile home. Right behind the gas station there was an empty, unlocked mobile home! Right now I am looking through all the closets. Maybe I'll find some water.

Next day..