I'm ending my day similar to the way I started it. This might be the first day out here I've had 2 hot meals. I am still in Medora, but now I am at a peanut bar. Marty Robins' El Paso is playing on the radio, I just had a burger and cold beer and I am throwing peanut shells on the floor. My waitress is a young lady from Ukraine, here to work for the summer. Half a dozen locals sit at the bar, a couple of tourists at a table, and me in the corner with my laptop plugged in. Another slice of heaven. A guy can learn a lot in a place like this. A lot of it would be crap, but learning that is part of the experience.

I headed to the Theodore Roosevelt Park this morning with plans of hiking a few of the trails. I ended up spending about 7 hours in the park and hiked 9+ miles of badlands terrain. There is no shade in the badlands. I was one tired puppy after that jaunt. The only wildlife I saw in the park today were a couple of antelope and a couple bison. Oops, I forgot the wild horses. I don't have any of those pictures loaded on here yet. Use your imagination. They pretty much look like regular horses. I also got about as close to a rattle snake as I ever want to be. If it hadn't rattled I might have stepped on it. Didn't know I could still move that quickly. Sorry, I didn't stop to get a picture of that one. I don't even know what you're supposed to do if they bite you. Suck the venom out? I'm not that flexible anymore. "What did the doctor say?" "Doctor says you're gonna die." Hahaha - I love that joke.

This is likely to be my last entry from the road. My current plan is to hit the road in the morning and try to make it all of the way home. My "no interstate" rule means the drive home is about 700 miles. That is 150 miles more than the interstate, but about 4 and a half hours longer. Sometimes I am stubborn to a fault. I will see what the weather is like and how I am doing with the drive. If I get within 2 or 3 hundred miles of home, I really don't see me stopping for the night. I also lose an hour as I head back into the central time zone. It might be very late, but I think I can get home tomorrow.

I have mixed feeling about heading home. I really want to get back and am looking forward to seeing everyone again. But, I see new things out here every day. I have become comfortable with being on my own and have learned to relax a bit ( I believe). I hope I can bring my new found state back to my "real" life.

Thanks to any of you who are still reading these. I hope there was something here entertaining and worth your time. I will probably write a wrap-up or two when I return. I have a number of things to do before I get back to normal. Everything I brought with is filthy, with the Jeep leading the list. It will take me a couple days to get everything back to it's proper state. Thanks for the comments, the messages, the phone calls and the emails. It was really great to hear from someone back home when I was out in the middle of nowhere. I hope to get caught up on all the emails and messages when I return. I owe many of you responses.

Song of The Day:

I really didn't hear many songs today, and I was tempted to jump on the El Paso playing here at the peanut bar - but today's winner is

• George Benson - On Broadway

Thoughts/Lessons

• The young lady I met in Jackson Hole (Sally) stumbled upon Polebridge just as I had. We were both shocked to find it there. I looked at in wonderment, she in awe, exactly as I would have expected. Enjoy your time there Sally.
• Here's one I haven't shared. You can drop your money clip and $200 next to the Jeep when you got to watch for moose near Gros Ventres and it will still be there when you return. Yes, I'd lose my head if it weren't attached.
• I can't wait to get home.
• I wish this journey wasn't ending.
• My mother was right to warn me about rattle snakes.
• I am terrified of getting back into the chaos of the real world.
• My flip flops stink so back I won't even put them on any longer.

As usual, I can't remember 95% 0f the things I want to put in here each day. That is probably best as these get too long the way it is.

Good night,

Tom