Day 32

Day 32
La Junta, Colorado

We rode about 133 miles from Colorado Springs to La Junta, Colorado. It was awesome. It was my longest day ever on a bike, and I think it was the longest day in Journey of Hope history, though that is unconfirmed.

Anywho, I was a little sad to leave Colorado Springs and Jackson Hall at Colorado College, but it was exciting to think about just how far we were going to bike in one day. Anywho, once we left the mountains of Colorado Springs behind us, we were essentially in Kansas. Very wide, flat, open cattle ranges and farms. Here is a picture:


We stayed in La Junta High School. I slept with a giant fan right next to my bed. It was amazing. The showers were extremely hot. I could barely stay under the stream long enough to rinse off my body wash. Also I developed painful red rashes where my butt cheeks meet my legs. Craig said they could be pressure ulcers. That scared me a lot. They were better today though (the next day).

We had dinner in a really nice park in La Junta sponsored by the local Lions Club. Their local governor, a man named Henry, told me that their international president had recently started promoting a new interpretation of their name:

Loving
Iindividuals
Offering
Needed
Services

I liked that.

Dinner was great. We got our first mashed potatoes of the trip, which was awesome because I love mashed potatoes.

Later on everyone walked to a local bowling alley. It was only 2 or 3 dollars per game but I didn't bowl because I was sore and I didn't bring socks. A bunch of people ended up not bowling and just hanging out at the alley. It was fun. I walked back with Wes and Brent and when we got back to the school, which was located on a hill, we saw an amazing lightnig storm many miles away. It was awesome. We could see so much of the shape of the clouds and the landscape just from hundreds of brief flashes of orange light. It was awesome. I tried to get a picture or video but my camera couldn't pick up the light. I went to bed somewhat early and got a great night sleep.

I really wish AT&T had better service in the less populated areas of the country. I can make calls fine because they rent time on other providers' towers, but I can't get Internet access in a lot of places.


- Posted from my iPhone