A Long Night

After seeing off Ms. Hino, I headed to the bathroom to wash up and then went into the convenience store to get a snack. I figured I'd have a ride in to time, so I took about an hour to stretch, eat, and walk around for a bit. Boy I was wrong!

As soon as I got the sign out, I had nothing but power walkers. One guy even tripped as he tried to look away from me, catching the first step with awkward timing. Repositioning myself in a few different places didn't produce any results. It was now close to 2:30 am and all the truckers were fast asleep or couldn't be bothered with a traveler at this time.

The best thing to do was catch a little sleep myself. I was very hesitant to just sprawl out in the parking area, but thought I'd better get my practice now. I brought a tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag with me in case of an emergency like this. I opted to find a secluded space and just use my sleeping bag and pad. I found a spot between some hedges and a line of trees in an unlit area and set up my mini camp. I put my pad down, wedged my pack between my body and the hedges, and climbed in my sleeping bag. It was a cool evening and all I could hear were crickets and the running of refrigerated trucks. It would have been a great sleep, except for the mosquitoes and dani (a sort of flea) biting at my wrists and knuckles. I set my cellphone alarm for 6 am and somehow managed to get 4 hours of restless sleep. The wafting smell of dog crap and passing car lights would wake me every hour or so until finally at 5 am an unexpected guest decided it was time I get up. A three legged dog appeared and stood about 5 yards away. He incessantly barked at me, making me nervous. I cautiously stood up and packed my things up. He was quite skittish and ran away as soon as I walked toward the bathroom to wash my face and check my stuff for dog poo that might have been hidden in the grass where I lay.

After stretching and giving my back a good crack, Sapporo seemed a far off place with the sleep and ache remaining in my core. I sat at a table eating an early snack, drinking some veggie juice, and hoping that my good spirit would return. No one wants to pick up a person with a scowl on their face.

As the sun was rising just behind the tree line, the brown, 3 legged mutt stood in the middle of the parking area barking, irritated by everything. The traffic began to pick up and a patrol car cruised the parking lot, sending the mutt off through a hole in the fence.

It was also time for me to get on my way. I wrote out my sign and headed over to the rest stop exit.