My turn to be the scary guy

Hello Everyone,

There are a lot of ways to describe the phenomenon: karma, luck, the balance of the universe, the Lord works in mysterious way, etc. Basically, I had it coming. No sooner had I been intimidated by the outward appearance of someone, I too got to be judge by my appearance.

Today I stayed in the greater Austin area to find some local trails. The spot I was looking for was in a swanky, residential part of town, but the trailhead wasn't obvious. As I drove around, I was moving slowly and craning my head around to try to find where I was supposed to go. I noticed I was getting a few looks from the retirees out for a jog and the stay-at-home parents walking to the park with their kids.

Why, you might ask? Well, I fit a different stereotype. I was the single, dishevelled, white, male individual, slowly trawling through an area with schools and parks, with my pickup and a camper, looking around intently. I might as well have worn large framed glasses and a moustache.

My phone also died while I was out on the trails. It's getting old and the battery indicator isn't very reliable, apparently. Since the area wasn't marked at all, I got a bit turned around. It's a good lesson about preparedness. I did everything else correctly, I had lots of time in the day, lots of water, etc., but I still ended up doing about 30 minutes of walking by the time I got back to a city street. There will be trails in the future where I won't have that option, so I'm going to have to do a better job of charging the phone and bringing a back up battery.

It's Friday night in Austin, so I think I'm going to head into town and check out a bit of the nightlife. Arthur's pretty tuckered from the ride today, so I'm not sure he'll be down for a lot of tomfoolery, but he's got a comfortable spot in the car if it gets a bit much.

wes