As Annika and Hugo began to get ready to turn in for the night, I left the Pawnee Buttes Trailhead in the Pawnee National Grasslands and headed toward higher ground.
I found a wonderfully isolated spot on a bluff with a good internet connection, leveled my trailer, and tucked in to work for a couple of hours before calling it a night.
Being isolated and back in my tiny bed in my tiny trailer felt rather conforming. I was back on the road, back to my adventure. In a few days, I’d be at my Dad’s and a big bed again before heading northward. I drifted off, thinking about how thankful I was for the day, my new friends, and my lifestyle.
The next day I awoke to work for a while before hitting the road. As I pulled away from the campsite, I told myself to take it slow. Stop and smell the roses, or at least, stop and take those pictures you wish you would have. Go slow. Breathe. Enjoy.
Before I left the grasslands, a lonely house on the prairie came into view. I downshifted, pulled over, and snapped a few pics. There’s a story here. One we may never know. A person. A family. A dream. All that is left is a lonely home losing the battle to time and Mother Nature.
I love dirt roads. I love going slow. Most of the Pawnee National Grasslands are dirt roads.
Okay, I get tired of cleaning the dust in my Jeep and Trailer, but I love heading down roads without another vehicle in sight.
This time I got kinda lucky. They were working on part of one of the dirt roads I traveled. It was absolutely smooth sailing. However, they had just sprayed some liquid product on the road, likely containing calcium chloride, to keep the roads from being dusty.
This meant that the wet dirt that flung up onto my trailer and Jeep stuck. If I let it dry completely, it would be hard and a pain to remove. So, I made an unscheduled stop in a carwash.
I headed down the road with my Jeep and trailer freshly washed but not too clean!