Brydn Journal 2009 - Hitch Hike Travels from Portland to Detroit, Pg5. Bk. 1

Brydn Journal 2009 - Hitch Hike Travels from Portland to Detroit, Pg5. Bk. 1

First day of three I get stuck in Ogallala, Nebraska.


06.17.09

Brian buys me lunch at Sonic Drive-In in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The state is mostly flat as you can imagine. Hitch hiking along the interstate is permitted. A couple big rain storms come up but don't last long. No house seen anywhere outside the towns. Mostly fields of corn, wheat or cattle.

We get to Ogallala about 6PM. Brian lets me out at the South Conaco that has a sign "Eat Hot Dogs." I call home to check in. They have a phone card number to re-charge my phone account. No phone signal anywhere around here. Buy 2x 24oz beers for a buck each. Limp over to freeway entrance under a tree for shade cos it's 85 degrees out. I wanna fix my blister with antiseptic and a Band Aid in case my blisters pop.

I walk North to look for a campsite according to a tourist map I got from the Conaco. The river is swollen so I can't get down to it. I hike up to "Boot Hill" to check it out. Most of all the bodies are now interned in the West end of town. I check out the Manor Building. Read all the info signs. Ogallala equals cowboy town. I walk back to the river to find a place to stay over. Some dude's already staying under the bridge over the river to town. Having enough of Squirrel, I go into the woods along the South side of the river. It gets swampy. A thunder storm blows in an instant. I sit up on blown-over trees when it starts to rain hard.

No hitch hiking on the interstate in Nebraska. The speed limit is too fast. The highway is narrow.

The thunder storms come up on you quickly and unexpected.

Boot Hill is all but empty with markers where the bodies were.


Ogallala, Nebraska's nickname is "Cowboy Town"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala,_Nebraska

http://www.ogallala-ne.gov/