I know its been several days since my last post but I’ve been having some technology issues.

Day 17 went off without a hitch for the most part. Day 18, however, brought some more challenges with it.   I woke up at about 1AM because I was uncomfortably cold.  Somehow, (I’m assuming from the cold) my tire on my new cart managed to pop in the middle of the night so my first step for the day was to fix it. I pulled out my tools and got to work.  The issue was that this cart has MUCH deeper rims so getting my solid tube over it was a hassle to say the very least.  After fighting with it for 2 hours I couldn’t get it on properly so I rolled the cart down Route 66 on nothing but the solid tube.  A few hundred yards down I managed to get some better tools from a couple of meth heads living on a junkyard.  Super nice people with 4 not-so-ferocious guard dogs that were trying their hardest to help me change the tire.  After a while I managed to get the tube about 90% on but the last part was so difficult I actually snapped the end of the screwdriver off.  It was good enough to get me into town so I left it.

After nearly a full morning of frustrations I was very glad to have somewhere warm to stay in a church for the night.  (Thanks Pastor Joe!) I stayed in Barstow all day yesterday, walking around to get some supplies and food as well as a good day’s rest.  My uncle happened to be driving in from Vegas last night so he stopped by and bought me dinner and some new, super comfortable shoes.  This morning, after a barrage of technical issues with my laptop I finally got on the road.  I stopped by Walmart to get some more food for my next few days then continued on.  I only made it 6ish miles today because I got a late start.  I had time to go farther but I was impeded by a Marine base.  In planning my route I didn’t realize it was there and I’m not allowed to go through it.

Tomorrow I’ll go around the base when I have more time but for now I’m in the sketchiest motel I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in.  Some of my favorite features include:

• Blinds that don’t close without a paperclip to hold them
• 2 Lamps on the same table but only 1 has a bulb and a shade
• Shower water that is either cold or close to the temperature of the sun
• A big square TV from 1995

Also I’m pretty sure if I wanted some meth I could just yell over the balcony and get some offers back.  I suppose that’s what you get for $27 a night!