Pleased with my planning from the previous night I’d left myself a continental breakfast of fruits for the morning and I awoke to it still waiting in good health. Packed up and ready to go I hit the road munching on my last two bananas. It was another mile before I succumbed to eating one of the apples, then an orange, then another apple, and finally two miles gone by I ate the final orange and was happy. The air was still cool and my dietary needs were content.
By noon I settled into Mabton, WA at a little gas mart after scouring the town for a library and restaurant. The library was closed for the weekend and due to circumstance of wandering I missed the cafes of the town either from them being closed or a promise to a sort I was seeking lead me away from the open ones I was happy with my gas mart when I settled. One of the first things I was informed of once the cashier guy found out what I was up to was that Mabton was the hometown to mad cow disease. I ordered four beef and bean burritos and a coffee.
Over breakfast I talked with the cashier and an old Indian guy who would smile and ask somewhat random questions. I stayed about an hour and had a PowerAde before refilling my water and shoving off. The rest of the day was another long hot road toward Toppenish, the local big town and home to a casino, being on the Yakima Reservation I’d just entered.
The rest of the way was interesting. It was mostly excruciatingly hot but this sought out the kindness and/or pity in folks as they saw me hauling young Checks upon my back like a pack mule. My first hospitalors came at a time the sweat was pouring over my face and the heat nearly knocking me over. A pickup truck of workers stopped by offering a ride and when I turned them down and spoke of my trek they became quite enthusiastic.
It started with a Gatorade, which I quickly guzzled as they pulled to the side of the road to hear more. They offered water which I took them up on and soon the pack was off and tailgate came down to unload the Igloo cooler full of ice water. My water bottle only holds so much but they were unsatisfied with their giving so they told me to get under the tap and they’d douse me so I could wash up. I was showered with the cold trickling of refreshment over my sun scorched scalp, arms, and shoulders until none would trickle anymore. As I strapped the pack back on they still weren’t done as they shoveled the remaining ice into the now empty Gatorade bottle for me to drink as I went.
Introductions went all around by the end but with such a flurry of goodness I apologize for not catching them all in permanent memory cells. I do recall, as they sped off, one yelling back about the website, “Put down a hello to Travis”. So Travis and friends, thank you dearly. Chunks of ice littered the ground where they’d soaked me so I picked up one particularly huge block and kept on down the road working it down to a splinter as it melted over my head and face.
Some whiles later I was approaching a crossroads four miles off when another car pulled over to offer a ride. It was a family out of Prosser who became intrigued about my journey once I turned them down. I asked if anything was ahead before Toppenish hoping for something at the crossroads and was told there was. According to them it was a mile or two away, maybe not even, but a produce stand lay ahead with fruits, soda, and ice cream. A dreamy delight out of this sauna. After a little chatter and a card exchange they sped off.
A mile later they returned saying they were horribly mistaken. It wasn’t a mile but probably four but it was open and they had all they said. They knew because they’d returned there and picked up some refreshments for me. They gave me a selection of Pepsi, 7up, and an apple grape juice that were ice cold. I opted for the apple grape so they gave me that and with an “ah, take this too” for the 7up as well. My second saviors of the day then sped off with my many thanks.
Four miles up the road, my cans were emptied, my ice was melted, and the heat was back in full effect. I hit the crossroads to Granger and just beyond it spotted the grove of shady willow trees that the produce stand was under. Sweaty and beaten I staggered under the shade and dropped my pack at a picnic table by the stands. Inside were two cute girls who provided me with a stool to sit on after I sought out another juice and a strawberry shortcake bar. I told them my story as they worked over the next half an hour and they were intrigued. As I was gearing up mentally to take off one of them brought up that there was an empty house going unused behind the stands and if I liked I could stay there for the night. It was 5:30, I could make it in and out of Toppenish that day and be just that much closer to my goal, but here was a shower, a couch, and rest in its finest of forms. Plus I’m trying to teach myself patience and appreciation, of course I’ll take it. I got another strawberry shortcake bar, a milky way, and a soda then was lead in.
The house was great. No heat in the water, or curtain on the shower, but the water flowed and it had been hot outside so I cleaned up and shaved under the icy spout. There was a radio inside that I got to play oldies and ‘70s Motown. The electricity worked so I charged my phone. Then I sat back on the couch, read a bit, ate my candy, and made some calls to friends back home, of the various back homes that I have. It was a rest to behold.