MAY 21ST 2010 DAY NINETEEN

Well its another day gone in the push for Arizona. I stated in our last blog that we would walk late in the day to avoid the heat as much as possible and that's just what we did. Stepped off in the afternoon on one of the most 'desolate' legs of this journey to date. The wind, which was nonexistent all day, did decide to show up with a vengeance throughout the afternoon, evening and night. The good news is this wind was blowing hard in an easterly direction, which just so happened to be right in our back. I almost didn't write that because of the chance I might hex our good fortune, but then I thought, hey, everything has gone perfect so far, no drama and no mishaps, might as well. And if you believe that, I would like to talk to you about this beautiful piece of property that I rested at yesterday in the middle of the desert, it had a wonderful oceanfront locale and was just a minutes drive from Rodeo Drive. We all know that things haven't gone as smoothly as I had hoped but things are definitely looking up. Along the way today, I rested at a dry lake in the middle of nowhere. It was my favorite time of the day (late afternoon), and the wind was feeling good and I found that I didn't want to leave this place. I wasn't tired, sore or anything like that. I just felt at peace in this place for some reason. I forced myself to ruck up and continue but it wasn't long before stopping again and taking out my camera and snapping some shots. It was not some picturesque view or anything that resembled a painting, but there was something right there that would not let me leave, so I stayed a while and enjoyed the moment. Shortly after this, I passed a trailer that was bout 50 meters off the trail and was excited to see a sign of life. A woman and her dog were sitting on the porch as I passed and wondered why anyone would want to live out here with nothing and no one around for miles. I tipped my hat as I passed and continued to walk, and that is when the Chihuahua attacked. This 3 pound dog left the shade of the trailer and immediately sprinted to the trail, barking and growling at me. This is when it became quite apparent to me that this one of those situations where it was either him, or me. The lady could not stop or control the advance of this wild animal. This is when I tore my 14 inch knife from its sheath and struck a good fighting stance. He immediately jumped six feet into the air, going right for my throat. We continued to roll around the desert floor until nightfall, both of us physically exhausted, the beast finally fell victim to my blade. The woman was horrified and distraught but understood that the better dog won. So I continued on my way, picking up where I left off, battered and cooked well done, he was delicious. In all seriousness, the little ferocious dog ended up wagging his tail when he got to me and I petted him and made friends. As I started off down the trail, the dog followed me, refusing to go back to his home, once again, he was delicious. Sorry, he went back home eventually, but i'm sure he would of tasted delicious. Day turned to night and I continued to walk into the night and what can only be described as "darker than than three foot up a cows ass." My only problem at this point was that my phone was quickly running out of juice. Three quarters of my way to my destination, it finally ran out. I continued to walk until I realized that I had better get my phone back up and running in case of emergency, so I stopped and dug through my ruck in the darkness trying to find the wire that connects the solar charger that I carry, to the phone. Twenty minutes later I get it done, tighten everything up, and pick up movement. five minutes later I began receiving text messages and phone calls from The Mackenzie's Army night shift, asking if I had stopped for the night, and if I was done for the day and if I was taking an extended break in the middle of nowhere. Unsure of what they were talking about, I pushed on until my friend Joe called and said that spot is not working. So sure enough I look at Spot and his eyes were shut, no blinking lights. I had the choice of stopping and going through the entire sequence I had just completed for the phone, or, continuing a short distance to my destination for the night. I chose the latter and arrived at about three in the morning and went to sleep at about four. Today's lesson that I learned was this, pay attention kids, Never steal the batteries from the TV remote control from a cheap motel and put them in your GPS to try and save time and money. Thanks for being a part of day nineteen and know that I am going to have some Lance time on Saturday.
*Mackenzie always knew that she was the most important thing in my life and it showed. Sometimes she would come to my office after I would pick her up from school and do her homework at my desk while I was in a meeting down the hall in the conference room. She would get bored and come down to the conference room and poke her head in to see what was going on, never worrying about who was there or what the situation was. When she was with me, she always felt that she had the right to be with me anytime or place she saw fit and I felt the same.