There's Adventure to the West -Day 1 pt. 1

Stranded.

I knew I shouldn't have taken that last ride from Iowa 80, the world's largest truck stop.
I made the terrible mistake of getting too sick of standing on-ramp way too quickly. So when my fourth and final ride of the day came around, I was eager to go wherever it was that she was going. The woman I ended up taking a ride from was going some 60 miles to Iowa City, which I figured would be populated enough to keep me going on my merry way. But in hindsight, I know now that if I had waited outside Iowa 80 until I could catch that one golden ride, I probably could have been in Oregon by now... And well, now here I am in the middle of nowhere, Oxford Iowa. Although I had ought to count my blessings, traveling 221 miles in one day, all while only spending two bucks on lunch is not too shabby for a first-time hitchhiker.

Her name was Jen.
She was a nurse from Iowa who lived just outside of Iowa City who decided to give me a life because I looked like her son-in-law "... except without the dreadlocks. And as far as I know, you don't seem to be a self-prescribed anarchist." This wasn't the first time that my youthfulness was doing me a favor. Every ride that had ended up giving me a lift today ended up telling me that they picked me up because I "looked like a college kid", which is great, because that's exactly what I am. A college kid, trying to spend the last Summer break of his life having one great adventure before real life sets in.

As we rode along she asked me why I was on the road, and what I was going to college for. When I told her I was studying to be a minister, she pointed to the skeleton hanging from her rear view mirror and told me not to mind the skeleton. "I'm not an Atheist, or a Wiccan or anything", she assured me, "it's just my good luck". "I don't mind at all", I told her, "I don't think I'd be taking offense if you were any of those things either. I'd been raised Atheist, or Agnostic, depending on who you talk to I suppose. You know, I always get nervous when the people I'm getting a ride from ask what I'm studying. There's two things people get really fired up about; politics and religion, and sooner or later my schooling will probably make someone uncomfortable."

Jen was a grandmother of five kids. She told me about her youngest who wanted to be a preacher. "I don't know where he gets it. He's very into his theatrics, and he loves to get up in front of people and speak, but when he speaks, he's not speaking a whole lot of gospel. This one time he made one of his classmates cry. He told her she was going to Hell because she was a Mormon, haha."

As Jen continued to talk of her children and grandchildren, it became clear that Jen was the proud owner of a magnificently large heart. She loved a lot in her life, and by virtue of her career, was constantly helping those in need. It's this same large heart that I so greatly appreciate that got me into trouble. Realizing that it was going to be dark in a few hours, Jen began asking me about what I do for sleep. It was my first day on the road, I hadn't had to find anywhere to crash yet. I told her that I figured I would just find a spot to string up my hammock before the sun goes down, and call it a day nice and early. This worried her a little bit. She began to tell me that there's a park nearby that she knows of that I could probably sleep of. Then she remembered a campground near Iowa City, and she told me she's go out of her way to take me there so I could spend the night in a safe place. Honestly, I'd much rather have a safe place to sleep than some really stellar mileage. So I took her up on the offer. What I didn't know was that the campground, "Sleepyhollow", was some 15 miles away from Iowa City, right off of the interstate in the middle of a couple of large fields. Aside from the campgrounds, there wasn't another building or soul to be found. As she dropped me off, she gave my ten bucks to buy my camp site. So I trodded inside and purchased my camp site. As I began to head out to set up camp I looked out the window and asked the shopkeeper if she had any idea if it was supposed to rain. "The forecast doesn't say so, but who knows, it's Iowa."

I found some trees and began setting up camp. It didn't take long for me to realize that the weather was going to be far too horrible to camp in. The wind was blowing strongly, turning my hammock into a parachute. Off in the distance was evidence of rain. "I've got to get out of here," I thought.

So I sold back my camp site, feeling guilty now that the ten bucks Jen had given me to buy my camp site was just cash in my pocket. I walked out to the on ramp, and waited. An hour passed and I had barely seen a single car. The sun was beginning to fall beneath the horizon, and I was beginning to get nervous. I tried to cop a ride for a little while longer, kicked at the dirt, and made my way back to the grounds.

The weather was too bad to hammock in, and there was no way I would find a ride here in the middle of nowhere.
"Couldn't find a ride?" asked the woman behind the counter. "I was surprised when I saw you come in here the first time. No one out here is going on the interstate." Her statement essentially confirming that I was now stranded. She gave me a map and showed me that the nearest town with any hitchhiking prospects was probably about 7 miles back in a town called Tiffin. "I wish I could help," she told me but I've got to stay here. Keep the map though, it's free." I looked outside at the weather and asked if it'd be alright if I used the side of the building as shelter to keep me out of the elements. After she gave me the "ok", she told me that I'm free to use the bathhouse as a place to sleep or the laundry room. "They stay unlocked all night". Laundry room it is.

I checked out the laundry room, saw the tiny spot I'd be calling a place to sleep, and decided to look around for an outlet to charge my phone at. As I waited outside the restroom, I met nice man who seemed a bit wary of me, as well as a sweet old lady. Both wished me good luck and went on their way.

I sat in the grass and watched the taillights of cars and trucks zoom by on the interstate in the dark of the night as I waited for my phone to charge. As I sat watched, my frustrations turned into thankfulness. I may be stranded in the middle of nowhere Iowa, but I had met some really great people, and better yet, I had a free and safe place to sleep for the night. Tomorrow might bring a 7 mile hike to Tiffin, but for now, it's time to rest.