Down into the heat

I was grateful to be going downhill and downwind as the afternoon got hotter and hotter.  For about ten miles, I was really anticipating a stop where my map indicated there was a little store and hotel.  I began feeling weary, and wondering how Lewis & Clark's company felt as they traveled through this dry and desolate place.  They didn't stop to cook during the day.  No Lunch!  I started feeling pretty soft by how strongly I wanted to stop, eat and drink something cold. 

When I finally got there, it looked like the old hotel had been shut down for a long time.  A bunch of dogs came out barking at me.  I felt like I'd walked into a ghost town in an old western movie.  I was so hot I didn't even think to take a photo of the place. When the dogs decided I was not threatening, one by one they retreated back under the old truck where they'd sprung out from. Though I heard voices in a nearby house, no one came to investigate the dog's alarm.  I found a little shade and ate a snack. So much for my dream for a little ice!  

I'd been so concentrating on climbing the pass, I had not mentally prepared myself for the dry heat on the other side. For a brief moment I felt a little forlorn, my friends gone, the hotel abandoned, in a place forgotten; and another 10 miles to ride in the cruel heat.  But then I remembered I am never alone.  I have a Friend who is always with me, no matter what, who says, keep on pedaling!  With a big grin I remembered the little spray bottle I found by the side of the road the first day out...time to put it to use as I stepped back into the sun to pedal the last very long ten miles.