Miles traveled: 21.7
Mile marker: 1009.8
Today is the 4th of July! The tall, thin trees on the hill are reflected in the water as he begins to walk. The sky is a fresh morning blue.
It soon becomes bright. Crickets still sing and birds chirp as I look out over a deep blue lake. Rafiki, Luxy and I are resting on some rocks enjoying the view.
We continue walking. It’s after noon when we reach the thousand miles!
Bumper plays A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton and starts dancing.
“37.7% of the way traveled!” Voyager says.
Rafiki is at the 1,000 mile marker.
We spent a lot of time taking photos. It is a bright and hot sun. Soon we have our legs and arms intertwined while taking photos. It’s silly and fun, and we make Bumper take it a few times to get it right.
Voyager and Bumper move on. Rafiki, Luxy and I leave a few minutes later.
1000 miles? I thought it would feel big, just like every extra 100 miles feels big. But it is not like that. I feel like it should seem significant, but it isn’t. Another day on the road.
Not a mile later we reached the next thousand mile marker. We take a photo and Luxy receives a message from inReach.
«I’m at the 1000 mile marker. How far away are you? It’s from Voyager,» Luxy says.
Good. InReach messages always take time to deliver.
After lunch, we crossed an incomplete bridge deformed by water. Rafiki crosses him slowly, being careful not to take a wrong step. He doesn’t want to fail.
We walk forever along a ridge. The terrain is beautiful. It is open and I look at the distant mountains and trees.
We went up, up and up. I keep looking up, guessing where Bumper and Savannah might be.
I finally see Bumper! It is hidden behind a small stone barrier. He’s been sick all day, so he’ll sleep here on the hill.
We back up and I see Voyager behind a four-foot barrier. We join her.
We’re hoping to see fireworks up here, so we make our way up this ridge.
The four of us camped like cowboys. The wind is wild and cold. I feel bad that Bumper is so isolated! But he’s sick and Voyager has a possible job opportunity coming up that he can’t get sick for.
The sun sets. We poked our heads over the barrier like meerkats to watch the golden sunset.
Luxy dresses in all her layers and goes to bed.
«How cold is it?» Rafiki asks.
“It must be 20 degrees below zero!” Luxy says.
I laugh as I watch her get into her sleeping bag. It’s very windy when we sit, but not THAT cold!
When it gets dark, we close our eyes. Voyager says it can hear fireworks. I wear earplugs so I can’t hear it. I’m too tired to stay up and watch the fireworks.
What a beautiful afternoon!
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