March 20, Tuesday, 2007 - Spearfish, South Dakota
We went 330 miles today all for free in less than seven hours. Not the best time for that distance but not too bad either. Our first ride was an older gentle man in a Subaru by the name of John. He was off to go use his metal detector to try and find some rare things in one of the many battle (and skirmish) fields littering these parts of the country. We rode with him from Billings to Hardin.
Once in Hardin we waited maybe 30 min to get our next ride from, "Dick, like penis" is how he introduced himself to us. I'd seen him pass by and thought 'he's not going to give us a ride, meh, ok.' Just after a week or so of doing this you kind of get a feel for who'll give you a ride. For us it's been middle aged white men most of the time driving alone. There have been a few acceptations to that like Sara and Heather who were both alone. Something I never thought would happen, a single female driver giving us a ride. But anyways Dick looped back and when I saw him I smiled thinking, 'yep, I thought he might.' We rode in the back of his mini van on the floor since all the seats had been taken out to make room for the casket he was moving. At first when he said, "you'll have to push the casket to the side to make room." My mind had turned the word in to 'bassinet' and I thought. 'Ok a guy in his early 30's, new baby on the way, went to get a bassinet, that makes sense.' But when I opened the side door and saw a brand new brushed aluminum casket in a see-through plastic wrapper I said, "oh, you said casket. That's a first, hahaha, ok that's cool." It was indeed a first for this trip and ever, glad it wasn't full with someone, although that might have been cool in a whole different way.
After Dick dropped us off in Sheridan, WY where it is illegal to hitchhike just as it is in Montana (which I don't get, two states where they get -0 degree weather routinely it's illegal to hitch a ride. So technically if your car breaks down and it's -15 out well that's just too bad you don't have a cell phone and you're 20 miles from a town. Start walkin chump! It'd have to be a pretty heartless cop that gave you a ticket under those circumstances though. But the whole illegal thing doesn't make sense to me at all. "Too many wackos' I guess" is what a cop in Idaho told me when I asked "why?" Ok, so don't pick them up? The law doesn't need to be a coin that states on one side that it's illegal to hitchhike and on the other that not picking someone up is as well. Just have it like Oregon and now South Dakota too, if you don't want to pick them up well then don't.)
We got a ride from two drywall workers from Sheridan to Gillette. When they made a turn off the I-90 I started to get a bit nervous. Just in case you ever pick up a hitchhiker and tell him or her "yeah I'm going to abcville" then decide you need gas, just say so. "Hey, I've got to get some gas it'll just be a minute." I say that because if you tell someone you're going someplace they're going to assume that's the next stop you're going to make with nothing in between, all they have to go off of is what you've said. So like today when these guys in their garbage ridden van pulled off I had no clue what was going on. It just turned out to be a quick gas stop but hey, they didn't say that, I had no idea.
From Gillette we didn't even have to wait to get a ride to Sundance. We were walking up to a good spot where the on ramp and main interstate were connected so as to be spotted by people on both when a truck pulled off. I hadn't had my thumb up but when I turn back I saw Dean did. I went up to the side of the truck and opened the door, "where're ya headed?" I asked as always. No since in getting all set to take off if they're turning around or going someplace you don't want to.
"Fera rid." The guy slurred.
"Where?" I asked confused.
"Com ah in, lesh go k? I'm goin fer a ride."
I didn't know what this guy's deal was, "ok but where are you going to?"
"I wash tinkin bout makin a spot in Moorcroft I guesh, I dunno."
"Umm," something wasn't 100% about this guy but it was close to sundown, only about 3 hours of light left. "Alright but where is your final stop, we're trying to get to South Dakota."
"Sundance, bout 20 miles from the border I spose." He told us, "put your gear in the back lesh go!" He waggled his head eastward.
I moved around back and took my pack off and began lifting it into the back of his truck, "this guy is a bit off I think," I told Dean. "Just," I paused thinking what it was I wanted Dean to do exactly considering I didn't even know what was up. "Keep an eye out I guess."
We got in a set off, within a minute I found out what his deal was. He was drunk and still drinking. He finished the can of beer he had open and opened another all while chugging down some Irish cream liquor. He kept on assuring us that he was fine and must have asked what we were doing at least three times. I gave him the same answer each time, "just seeing the country." When he found out we didn't drink or smoke weed he said we were boring. Yeah, darn, I don't drive drunk after I get pissed at my wife and go for a drive, sucks to be boring me hahaha.
After that ride we got one into South Dakota from a much more stable guy and he let us off in Spearfish which is where we are now.
We went 330 miles today all for free in less than seven hours. Not the best time for that distance but not too bad either. Our first ride was an older gentle man in a Subaru by the name of John. He was off to go use his metal detector to try and find some rare things in one of the many battle (and skirmish) fields littering these parts of the country. We rode with him from Billings to Hardin.
Once in Hardin we waited maybe 30 min to get our next ride from, "Dick, like penis" is how he introduced himself to us. I'd seen him pass by and thought 'he's not going to give us a ride, meh, ok.' Just after a week or so of doing this you kind of get a feel for who'll give you a ride. For us it's been middle aged white men most of the time driving alone. There have been a few acceptations to that like Sara and Heather who were both alone. Something I never thought would happen, a single female driver giving us a ride. But anyways Dick looped back and when I saw him I smiled thinking, 'yep, I thought he might.' We rode in the back of his mini van on the floor since all the seats had been taken out to make room for the casket he was moving. At first when he said, "you'll have to push the casket to the side to make room." My mind had turned the word in to 'bassinet' and I thought. 'Ok a guy in his early 30's, new baby on the way, went to get a bassinet, that makes sense.' But when I opened the side door and saw a brand new brushed aluminum casket in a see-through plastic wrapper I said, "oh, you said casket. That's a first, hahaha, ok that's cool." It was indeed a first for this trip and ever, glad it wasn't full with someone, although that might have been cool in a whole different way.
After Dick dropped us off in Sheridan, WY where it is illegal to hitchhike just as it is in Montana (which I don't get, two states where they get -0 degree weather routinely it's illegal to hitch a ride. So technically if your car breaks down and it's -15 out well that's just too bad you don't have a cell phone and you're 20 miles from a town. Start walkin chump! It'd have to be a pretty heartless cop that gave you a ticket under those circumstances though. But the whole illegal thing doesn't make sense to me at all. "Too many wackos' I guess" is what a cop in Idaho told me when I asked "why?" Ok, so don't pick them up? The law doesn't need to be a coin that states on one side that it's illegal to hitchhike and on the other that not picking someone up is as well. Just have it like Oregon and now South Dakota too, if you don't want to pick them up well then don't.)
We got a ride from two drywall workers from Sheridan to Gillette. When they made a turn off the I-90 I started to get a bit nervous. Just in case you ever pick up a hitchhiker and tell him or her "yeah I'm going to abcville" then decide you need gas, just say so. "Hey, I've got to get some gas it'll just be a minute." I say that because if you tell someone you're going someplace they're going to assume that's the next stop you're going to make with nothing in between, all they have to go off of is what you've said. So like today when these guys in their garbage ridden van pulled off I had no clue what was going on. It just turned out to be a quick gas stop but hey, they didn't say that, I had no idea.
From Gillette we didn't even have to wait to get a ride to Sundance. We were walking up to a good spot where the on ramp and main interstate were connected so as to be spotted by people on both when a truck pulled off. I hadn't had my thumb up but when I turn back I saw Dean did. I went up to the side of the truck and opened the door, "where're ya headed?" I asked as always. No since in getting all set to take off if they're turning around or going someplace you don't want to.
"Fera rid." The guy slurred.
"Where?" I asked confused.
"Com ah in, lesh go k? I'm goin fer a ride."
I didn't know what this guy's deal was, "ok but where are you going to?"
"I wash tinkin bout makin a spot in Moorcroft I guesh, I dunno."
"Umm," something wasn't 100% about this guy but it was close to sundown, only about 3 hours of light left. "Alright but where is your final stop, we're trying to get to South Dakota."
"Sundance, bout 20 miles from the border I spose." He told us, "put your gear in the back lesh go!" He waggled his head eastward.
I moved around back and took my pack off and began lifting it into the back of his truck, "this guy is a bit off I think," I told Dean. "Just," I paused thinking what it was I wanted Dean to do exactly considering I didn't even know what was up. "Keep an eye out I guess."
We got in a set off, within a minute I found out what his deal was. He was drunk and still drinking. He finished the can of beer he had open and opened another all while chugging down some Irish cream liquor. He kept on assuring us that he was fine and must have asked what we were doing at least three times. I gave him the same answer each time, "just seeing the country." When he found out we didn't drink or smoke weed he said we were boring. Yeah, darn, I don't drive drunk after I get pissed at my wife and go for a drive, sucks to be boring me hahaha.
After that ride we got one into South Dakota from a much more stable guy and he let us off in Spearfish which is where we are now.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
Life is too short to not do something because of fear.
but apparently it's not to short to back out of doing something because it's hard.