We woke pretty early thanks to the sun and hustle/bustle of the Walmart carpark. Despite the few “no overnight parking” signs I’d seen around the place, both the Astro and the Cabana had gone undisturbed throughout the nigh and the rain had gone again per usual morning practice. Feeling the need for a shower, we got up and moved our cars over to the loading area of the carpark where I could be discreet in hanging up my tarp and stripping down. Unfortunately it was short lived. Just as I’d finished heating the water and taking my clothes off, a Walmart guy on a forklift wearing a vest approached us and thankfully Dan was there to receive his message that we couldn’t park there. Not wanting to get caught with my pants down, I poured the hot water into a bottle, put my clothes back on and we moved on.
Dan was heading off this morning so I planned to spend mine in a library using their Wifi to catch up on my blogging and figure our my next move. There was a library right around the corner with a big carpark so we drove there to continue our morning ritual. The carpark was big enough for us to find a corner where I could discreetly shower and I got straight on to it. It felt great to run water and soap over my body. Dan selected my outfit for the day so I could get dressed without leaving the confines of my tarp set up and we were ready to make breakfast.
Keeping it traditional, Dan fried up some bacon, eggs and pancakes. Whlie he was doing that, I got my big map out (for the first time in months) and consulted it, trying to decide how much more of America I could see before going into Canada. In the next ten minutes, using my Lonely Planet book to guide me, I’d decided I had enough time to head to the Great Lakes and then head back west through Canada for an explore before coming back into America to see a solar eclipse in Oregon and then return to San Francisco at the end of August to sort out my affairs before going back home at the end of September. It was nice to have a plan again, even if it was only a vague one.
Breakfast done, Dan and I sat on the sidewalk with Cleo on the grass, looking out at the Pikes Peak mountains before us. We reminisced about our time together and speculated about how and where we could meet up in the near and distant future. Soon enough, Cleo started the entertainment when she sat up abruptly from her relaxed position because she’d seen a squirrel at the base of a tree. It wasn’t far from us and after a small hesitation, she was off like a rocket. The squirrel gave her no hope, retreating high up into the tree, much to Cleo’s frustration. She stood at the bottom, putting her paws all over the trunk and looking up, frustrated that she couldn’t climb through the branches to reach her prey. Bloody hell she puts on a good show.
Dan did the dishes and I did one last look through his van, checking for any of my belongings. There was nothing left to do now but for him to leave. We said goodbye to each other the only way we knew how. It was a stark contrast to the way we’d left each other before but again, we were sure we would rage again. I gave Cleo a hug as she sat on the grass, more interested in her bloody squirrel than me, but I would miss this little pitbull nearly as much as her owner.
As Dan pulled away from the carpark, I sat on the front of my van, watching him drive away. When he turned on to the main road, I turned around and pulled down my pants, showing him my white cheeks as a final “see ya later” and then, they were gone. I felt a big hole as I turned back to my van to gather my things for the library. To go from having company (and great company at that) to none at all was a shock to the system. I sat for a while to collect myself, then carried on putting my stuff in a bag before walking to the entrance of the library. I walked through the doors exactly when the library opened.
I spent the next four hours sitting at a nice desk with a good view of the carpark. I watched the rest of the F1 race and got my blogs up to date. It was a nice session just to sit in a comfortable, quiet area and do some “work”. By the time I was finished, I was itching to get on the road. To Kansas!
I made myself some lunch at the back of the van, discovering that in our thoroughness to check Dan’s van for my stuff, no one had thought to check mine for his stuff. I had his mayo and mustard. I used both of them to make a wrap which I quickly scoffed before getting in the driver’s seat, putting some music on and driving south out of Colorado Springs. I was raging solo again and I planned to make the most of it.
I was happy to get off the multi-lane highway fifty miles later and turn east on a smaller road. The terrain was pretty well flat, all the mountains being on the west side of Colorado, but the sky was my entertainment. Storm clouds were again overhead and they made for a beautiful horizon to look at. When I got to the town of Las Animas near the border of Colorado and Kansas, I could see how this was tornado country. Blue skies bordered a huge cone-shaped black cloud. If it had have been spinning with wind, I’d have seen it as a tornado.
I spoke to Mum and Dad on the phone as I approached the border, enjoying a decent catch up with them, explaining my most recent plans. When I crossed the border and went down a dirt road looking for a camp suggested by freecampsites.net, I said goodbye needing to concentrate on the hunt. The first suggestion was a dud, so I got back onto the website and found something another twenty minutes down the road. I had the option to go back to a rest area and camp there, but I was on for a nicer camp considering it was my first night out on the road solo again.
After turning off the highway and driving down a dirt road for a few miles, I came to Hamilton County State Park, a wildlife refuge around a swampy-type reservoir of water. It was deserted which suited me just fine. I drove around to the opposite side of the reservoir where I avoided a big muddy rutted out section of road to reach the first campsite. After checking out the second one, I decided I was satisfied with the first and went back to park. It was a pretty place with the sound of crickets buzzing in the air and only the faint smell of cow shit emanating from the nearby feed yard.
After I parked, I noticed my fridge had turned itself off AGAIN so I got my multimeter out. 12V at the end of the cable, what the hell? After much faffing around with the connections to make triple-sure they were tight, I discovered the problem was coming from the low voltage cut-off switch being in the high position. Whoops. Oh well, at least it was an easy fix!
Knowing there’d likely be bugs near this water, I got onto collecting some firewood. When I found a rotted out fencepost, I had plenty to keep me going and the smoke kept away the small biting things as I cooked dinner. My pantry was pretty low, but I scrounged up some pasta sauce, rice, sausages and beans and came up with a hearty meal. As it cooked, I got out my chair and trusty table, the latter not having seen the light of day for quite some time.
I ate dinner sitting facing the sunset and watching a TV show that I’d well got behind in. A perfect first camp back on my own. After the sun went down, I did the dishes and packed up the kitchen, feeling good to be back I my home full time. As I brushed my teeth with the lights out, I noticed a flash on the horizon. I thought at first maybe I’d imagined it but I kept watching the spot and saw yet another one. The sky was dark with cloud so initially I actually thought the yellow-golden balls of light were actually bombs going off. They looked exactly like the footage you see of war zones when the clouds light up with the reactions from bombs. When another went off, I saw the distinct line of lightning within one of the balls and it was a bright gold colour. Relieved it wasn’t a sign of warfare, it was also something I’d never seen before. Only a few blasts later and the show was over. I’d been lucky to see it.
The entertainment over for the night, I retreated inside the van, wondering if the distance storm would reach me. Even though it was a bit hot and steamy, I kept the windows closed in order to deter bugs from entering. My recent experience in Crested Butte where I got absolutely annihilated by bugs made me really want to avoid a repeat.
Miss you already Dan, see you at the next rage.
