Waking up to turkey fight outside of my tent provided a bit of entertainment to start the day. It marked the first time I've ever seen turkeys fly as the losing rafter (I must admit I looked up what a group of turkeys was called) flew across Pine Creek one at a time in retreat.
As I was packing up to leave for the morning, the state park ranger drove down to ask me how the weather was last night. The park ranger, Gary, was also the mayor of Bassett, a town I would be passing through in about ten miles. We talked at length about his ride across the United States when he was younger and how he ate lunch with Neil Young at a diner in Colorado along the way. He also had recently encountered a kid who was carrying his father's ashes in a canoe on the entire Missouri River from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Three miles into the run, I heard someone come running from behind me and pass me on the right side. No one had done that the entire run, but I figured I may be picking up my first disciple Forrest Gump style. He looked sorta like my dad, but what would my dad be doing outside of Long Pine, Nebraska? After a few seconds I realized it was my dad! And my mom was in a rental car at a turnout just down the road! It was an amazing surprise that caught me completely off guard. They had flown into Omaha the night before and spent the night in O'Neill-my stop in two nights. They had actually passed me on the road just before and were worried the surprised was ruined.
My dad joined me on the run into Bassett where we stopped for fuel of floats and pizza at the gas station. He joined me for a few more miles towards Stuart before being picked up off of the side of the road-leaving me to finish the final 15 miles on my own. After getting done, we unloaded my cart and folded it up to fit in the compact rental car. We drove through Main St. of Stuart and returned to Bassett where we had a room in the Bassett Lodge.
After showering and a bit of rest we went to dinner at the Range Cafe on the bottom floor of the hotel. We walked around town a bit and found our way into the Corral Bar with a large group of friends who were on a tubing trip of the Niobrara River. They ended up buying my and my parents' drinks. One of the group, Matt, offered me a place to stay down the road in Sioux City.
It was amazing to be with my parents and sleep in a bed when just a few hours earlier I had expected to be camping alone in another city park. We all got to sleep pretty early as my dad was going to join me on the jaunt to O'Neill.
As I was packing up to leave for the morning, the state park ranger drove down to ask me how the weather was last night. The park ranger, Gary, was also the mayor of Bassett, a town I would be passing through in about ten miles. We talked at length about his ride across the United States when he was younger and how he ate lunch with Neil Young at a diner in Colorado along the way. He also had recently encountered a kid who was carrying his father's ashes in a canoe on the entire Missouri River from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Three miles into the run, I heard someone come running from behind me and pass me on the right side. No one had done that the entire run, but I figured I may be picking up my first disciple Forrest Gump style. He looked sorta like my dad, but what would my dad be doing outside of Long Pine, Nebraska? After a few seconds I realized it was my dad! And my mom was in a rental car at a turnout just down the road! It was an amazing surprise that caught me completely off guard. They had flown into Omaha the night before and spent the night in O'Neill-my stop in two nights. They had actually passed me on the road just before and were worried the surprised was ruined.
My dad joined me on the run into Bassett where we stopped for fuel of floats and pizza at the gas station. He joined me for a few more miles towards Stuart before being picked up off of the side of the road-leaving me to finish the final 15 miles on my own. After getting done, we unloaded my cart and folded it up to fit in the compact rental car. We drove through Main St. of Stuart and returned to Bassett where we had a room in the Bassett Lodge.
After showering and a bit of rest we went to dinner at the Range Cafe on the bottom floor of the hotel. We walked around town a bit and found our way into the Corral Bar with a large group of friends who were on a tubing trip of the Niobrara River. They ended up buying my and my parents' drinks. One of the group, Matt, offered me a place to stay down the road in Sioux City.
It was amazing to be with my parents and sleep in a bed when just a few hours earlier I had expected to be camping alone in another city park. We all got to sleep pretty early as my dad was going to join me on the jaunt to O'Neill.
Dad and I right after the surprise
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