Saturday, June 10, 2006 - The wind was still blowing when I awoke. I’d planned on a late start, since it was a short day, but I ended up awakening at around 6:00. Surprisingly, a lot of my fellow campers were already packed and gone.

I’d decided to skip the ride to the Colorado border and back. I didn’t want to start with an 80+ mile day. Plus the wind was blowing from the west, so the ride to the border would have been tough.

Breakfast was fruit, biscuits and gravy, and coffee in the school cafeteria. It wasn’t very good, really, but it was something.

I got away around 7:00, and with a brisk tailwind, made great time, arriving in Ulysses (our scheduled lunch stop) at around 9:00. Stopped at the McDonalds and had a McGriddle (which was actually quite good), then sailed on to Satanta, arriving around 11-something.

There were several great SAGs along the way, and a stand serving shaved ice by the school in Satanta. It wasn’t Hawaiian shave ice, but cool and refreshing nonetheless.

After helping to unload the truck, and setting up my tent, I went for a shower. The showers were interesting. It was the first time I’d shared a communal shower since high school - 25 years ago or so. Seeing all that naked and wrinkled man-flesh was quite a shock for the system…

I spent the afternoon cruising around the town, ending up with a snack and a cold drink in the park. By that time it was quite hot, but very comfortable under the shade trees.

A cool start, nice tailwind, and short day made this a great start to the trip!

The Road Leaving Johnson City - Straight and Flat
The Road Leaving Johnson City - Straight and Flat